Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Green Inferno Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf November 6, 2019

Writer/director Eli Roth adores the cannibal pictures of the 1970s and ‘80s, and he wants to share that appreciation with his own take on the subgenre, “The Green Inferno.” His enthusiasm for this grisly, borderline irresponsible series of movies is understood throughout the endeavor, but his natural instincts toward jocularity and uninspired casting work to dial down the true terror of the feature. It’s a blood-soaked ride into the jaws of Hell, but “The Green Inferno” is too frivolous to score as nightmare material, finding Roth displaying habitual timidity when it comes to truly shocking encounters.

The privileged daughter of a U.N. lawyer, Justine (Lorenza Izzo) is coaxed into college campus activism when handsome Alejandro (Ariel Levy) pulls her into his orbit of concern. Joining a group of students on a trip to Peru, the team hopes to halt a natural gas dig that threatens the local tribes, with Alejandro planning a major Twitter event to bring attention to such senseless destruction. While the protest goes off as planned, Justine is left disillusioned by the experience, which reveals Alejandro to be a callous, untrustworthy man. Experiencing engine failure on the plane ride back to safety, the team crashes into the deepest section of the jungle, with Justine, Alejandro, and a handful of survivors (including Daryl Sabara and Aaron Burns) quickly captured by a cannibal tribe, soon imprisoned by the ferocious society. Witnessing the extent of their butchery, the students struggle to escape, while Justine is marked for a higher purpose, with her virginity requiring special attention.

Eli Roth tends to make the same movie whenever he steps behind the camera. He’s a fan of his own formula, with “The Green Inferno” asking the audience to once again watch a group of dim-witted young people march into an unfamiliar area, gradually picked off one at a time. It’s a shame that Roth isn’t interested in a directorial challenge, but cannibal cinema doesn’t get much attention these days, making “The Green Inferno” a curious return to a bygone era of monumentally violent filmmaking, with Ruggero Deodato’s 1980 bruiser, “Cannibal Holocaust,” the primary influence on the production.

Unfortunately, while Roth is aching to replicate a specific run of films that trafficked in frightening gore zone visits and crushing tonality, he fails to match the masters when it comes to the intensity of cannibal doomsday. There’s plenty of shocking material in “The Green Inferno” to give casual viewers the chills, including a mid-movie sequence that finds one of the characters sliced, diced, and cooked up by the tribe, with his eyeballs, tongue, and limbs removed with blunt instruments. There’s an ant attack and a bizarre subplot that finds Justine outraged over female genital mutilation, threatened with the same fate by the hostile natives, yet Roth plays the material (co-scripted by Guillermo Amoedo) with his traditional goofball tone, hoping to lighten up the effort by wedging jokes into dire situations. For example, the gang resorts to stuffing a bag of weed down the throat of a dead friend, attempting to get the tribe stoned while the victim cooks. Obviously, it’s not a good idea to get a cannibal high. And why? Munchies. Don’t worry, Roth has this reveal covered.

There’s potential for piercing commentary on the “slacktivist” generation in the early going, though Roth undercuts the sting by casting a team of unseasoned, uninteresting actors, many unable to complete the high-wire act of communicating disengaged naiveté. The screenplay’s attempt at characterization also falls short, falling back on cliché to generate personalities in a hurry, with our heroine, Justine, perhaps the most one-note of them all. As with his previous work, Roth is excellent at dispatching his ensemble in ghoulish ways, but he’s utterly incapable of making us care about any of them.

The Green Inferno Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Originally issued by Universal Studios in 2016 , "The Green Inferno" makes a return to Blu-ray with an AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation. The distinctly HD-shot feature enjoys terrific colors, as primaries leap of the screen, giving tribal body paint and costuming real presence. Greenery is heightened as well, delivering a lush look at the jungle maze. Detail is sharp, securing facial surfaces and the fibrous outfits, there's plenty of gore to peruse, with the goopy details of sliced bodies up for examination. Jungle distances are dimensional. Delineation has mild issues with solidification, but most evening encounters are protected.

The Green Inferno Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix is certainly aggressive at times, offering lively atmospherics with protest panic, jungle travel, and the Peru bustle, working surrounds in full to generate an often chaotic position. Some panning effects are smartly utilized as well. Dialogue exchanges are distinct, giving the actors clarity to best understand their professional choices, and native accents are appreciable. Scoring is supportive with compelling volume and instrumentation. Low-end is active, delivering on explosions and percussive emphasis.

The Green Inferno Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Soundtrack is included on a separate CD.

• Commentary features director Eli Roth, producer Nicolas Lopez, and actors Lorenza Izzo, Aaron Burns, Kirby Bliss Blanton, and Daryl Sabara.

• "Into 'The Green Inferno'" (50:25, HD) is an extended chat with Eli Roth, who's very excited to explore the creation of the endeavor, beginning with his education concerning the history of cannibal movies, offering a map of creative connections and directorial rivalries in the international film scene. Getting an idea to make a feature about "cannibals getting the munchies," Roth set out to find his cast and secure an authentic village, ultimately coming across a peaceful riverside community in Peru. Hoping for access, translators showed "Cannibal Holocaust" to the villagers to share what type of picture they were planning to make. Roth details his time with the locals, getting to understand their needs and teaching the kids how to act. Difficulties were plentiful during the shoot, including erased footage from time in New York City, dangerous interactions with weather and water, and encounters with jungle creatures. The interviewee also shares memories of stunt work, technical issues, and the bonding experience of "The Green Inferno," and talks of a planned sequel that was trashed when the original production company went bankrupt.

• "Uncivilized Behavior" (34:54, HD) is a discussion of "The Green Inferno" with Lorenza Izzo, Kirby Bliss Blanton, and Daryl Sabara. The actors (interviewed separately) share their initial awareness of the project and their hiring, with Izzo actually in a relationship with Eli Roth at the time. Location shooting is recalled, along with village memories, making friends with the locals while the cast dealt with the physical challenges of makeup effects and jungle creatures. Some talk of the screenplay's themes is offered, but most of the anecdotes presented here are already covered in Roth's featurette.

• Behind-the-Scenes Footage (55:26, HD) is a fantastic overview of the production effort, showcasing actor prep, location management, and the execution of individual shots. Crew and villager camaraderie is also highlighted.

• Making-Of Featurette (15:57, HD) is an older summary of Roth's vision and execution of "The Green Inferno."

• Additional Featurettes (HD) include "Meet the Villagers" (1:23), "Lorenzo Izzo" (1:15), and "Amazon Jungle" (1:24).

• Image Galleries include "Movie" (5:00), "Behind-the-Scenes" (12:34), "Village Construction" (3:03), "Storyboard and Makeup Tests" (6:25), and "Publicity" (1:19), which includes a social media quote from Blu-ray.com, spelled "Blue-ray.com" on the image. Thanks, Eli Roth's intern!

• T.V. Spots (2:10, HD) offer five ads for "The Green Inferno."

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:11, HD) is included.

The Green Inferno Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Green Inferno" has a creepy remote atmosphere about it, and Manuel Riverio's score is unexpectedly potent, with a memorable theme and tribal percussion. A few technical highlights can't rescue the viewing experience, which carries out in a routine manner, especially for anyone well-versed in cannibal film appetites. Thankfully, one of the sickening staples of the subgenre, animal cruelty, is missing from the effort, but the rest is accounted for. Only without the chest-seizing sense of unease that made the movies cult favorites in the first place.