Good Cannibal Movies

Human flesh must be mighty tasty. How else can you explain all the good cannibal movies made over the decades? Sure, it’s probably a bit gamey, but a dash of salt and pepper should have it tasting like chicken in no time.

In this article, we’ll be looking at some of the finest cannibal movies to ever hit the big screen or receive a straight-to-DVD release. There are far more than you might have imagined, and an online rental service like Netflix will have dozens of them for your twisted enjoyment.

Speaking of which, you can click here to become a Netflix subscriber. If you hate late fees, you’ll love Netflix, because movies can be kept for a day, a month, or even a year…it’s your choice. The fine folks at the USPS will deliver right to your door, and postage is always pre-paid. Numerous pricing plans exist for every budget, and dozens of new and classic films are made available each week. For true fans of cinema, it just doesn’t get any better than Netflix.

Ravenous (1999) – A coward mistaken for a war hero (Guy Pearce) gets a new post in 1840’s California, and he quickly runs afoul of the shivering F.W. Colqhoun (Robert Carlyle), a man who claims to have barely escaped from the crazed and cannibalistic Colonel Ives. An expedition is mounted to save the other members of Colqhoun’s party, but the journey holds a few nasty surprises for the soldiers. Filled with gore and black humor, this quirky horror movie boasts a strong supporting cast in the form of Jeremy Davies, Jeffrey Jones, Neal McDonough, and Davis Arquette.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) – Tobe Hooper established himself as a directorial force in the world of horror with this harrowing look at a rural Texas family who also happen to be cannibals. When a group of teens stray across their path, you can almost smell the oil and gas from the growling chainsaw of Leatherface. Highly influential on later films, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre popularized the idea of the huge, faceless killer, as well as illustrating what fearsome weapons power tools can make.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) – Ten years after the original, Tobe Hooper once again went back to his cannibal roots and turned out another tale of the murderous Leatherface and friends. The gore is much more prevalent this time around (thanks to make-up whiz Tom Savini), and an emphasis is placed on black humor. As a radio DJ (Caroline Williams) marked for death tries to stay alive, the sadistic brood is in turn stalked by “Lefty” Enright (Dennis Hopper), a former Texas Ranger who’s the uncle of two victims from the first film. Watching the always-odd Hopper engage in a chainsaw duel with Leatherface is well-worth the price of a movie rental, as is the scene-stealing performance from Bill Moseley as the deranged Chop Top.

Dumplings (2004) – Originally included as a shorter film in the Hong Kong horror anthology Three…Extremes, Dumplings was filled out by director Fruit Chan and brought to the big screen as a solo effort. Miriam Yeung stars as Mrs. Li, a rich woman who’s getting older and losing the attention of her philandering husband. Hearing about the miraculous de-aging powers of Mei’s (Bai Ling) special dumplings, she pays her a visit. Turns out that the dumplings are special indeed, as Mei uses unborn fetuses as the primary ingredient. But they do get results, and soon Mrs. Li is looking much younger. One of the more disturbing Hong Kong movies you‘ll ever see, Dumplings will make you think twice the next time you try to eat one of those titular cooked balls of dough.

Frontier(s) (2007) – French horror films have become increasingly hardcore in the last decade, and the brutal and disturbing Frontier(s) is a prime example. As politically-charged riots take place in Paris, a gang of thieves head to countryside to divide up their loot. As luck would have it, they stop at an isolated inn run by a gang of crazed cannibals and practicing white supremacists. Want to guess what happens next? Intended for a theatrical release, it was quickly put out on DVD following an NC-17 rating from the MPAA. Famous French model Estelle Lefebure co-stars as a mad neo-Nazi babe.

Click here to join Netflix and start enjoying plenty of good cannibal movies.

Eating Raoul (1982) – Paul Bartel (who also directed and co-wrote) and Mary Woronov star in this black comedy about a down-on-their-luck couple who share an apartment building with their wild swinger neighbors. After a drunken assault leaves one of the swingers dead, the couple winds up teaming with a Latino locksmith (Robert Beltran) to sell the bodies of rich perverts to a dog food company (in addition to looting their bodies to finance their dream restaurant). But the Latin Raoul has designs on the wife, leading to attempted murder and a hilariously demented climax.

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007) – While most movie sequels tend to be inferior to the original product, Wrong Turn 2 is the rare exception. From the very beginning, in which a bitchy reality show star (Kimberly Caldwell) gets split in half with an axe, it offers more gore, more nudity, and more laughs. As contestants for the show Apocalypse: Ultimate Survivalist gather and head into the woods of West Virginia, they’re stalked by a clan of hillbilly cannibals, including the returning “Three Finger” (Jeff Scrutton). Soon it’s a desperate battle for survival, as the remaining youths must find an escape route or end up as a main course. Starring Henry Rollins, Erica Leerhsen, Texas Battle, and genre favorite Ken Kirzinger.

The Hills Have Eyes (1977) – Years before the Wrong Turn franchise introduced audiences to cannibalistic hillbilly mutants, Wes Craven’s film was doing the same. A vacationing family (including Dee Wallace) decide to take a shortcut, but they run across a booby-trap in the road and become stranded. That’s when the mutants move in for the kill, including Papa Jupiter (James Whitworth) and Pluto (Michael Berryman). While the 2006 movie remake has a bigger budget, it’s very close to the original source material. And be sure to check out the much-maligned sequel, if for no other reason than to see a canine actor get a flashback sequence.

Cannibal Ferox (1981) – Claiming to have been banned in 31 countries, this Italian film tells the story of a pair of Americans who head into the jungles of Brazil looking for wealth. They encounter a number of simple natives, and the American who’s hopped-up on cocaine is soon tormenting and killing them for his pleasure. That’s when even more Americans show up, and they have the misfortune to share in the wrath of the locals. Hands are chopped off, hooks are inserted into breasts, brains are eaten, a live pig is killed, and one poor bastard even has his penis forcibly removed. Combine it with Cannibal Holocaust for a perfect flesh-eating double-feature.

Dahmer (2002) – Before he received an Oscar nomination for The Hurt Locker, actor Jeremy Renner showed off a much darker side by playing real-life serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in this David Jacobson film. In fact, The Hurt Locker’s director, Kathryn Bigelow, admitted that she cast Renner in her film based on this performance. Highly troubling in its realism, the film follows the seemingly normal employee of a Milwaukee chocolate factory as he lures young men back to his home, drugs them, and then performs bizarre experiments on them before delivering the coup de grace. As you might’ve guessed from its inclusion on this list, cannibalism is also involved. Bruce Davidson also gives a solid performance as Jeffrey’s concerned father.

Now that you’ve finished this list of good cannibal movies, I imagine you’re licking your lips in a combination of hunger and anticipation. But before you run across the street and start nibbling on your neighbor, keep in mind that renting a few of these films from Netflix will be much safer (and legal). We do get a small commission when your join Netflix, but it all goes right back into the site (okay, plus a little set aside for salt and pepper).

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