The Italian director and screenwriter Ruggero Deodato, nicknamed by the press “Monsieur Cannibal” due to his most famous films, has died at the age of 83: Last cannibal world from 1977 and above Cannibal Holocaust, of 1980. Born in Potenza, he began his career in cinema with comedies and detective stories, but he made a name for himself above all as a director of horror films.
Cannibal Holocaust it told of the expedition of a group of anthropologists to the Brazilian Amazon to document the habits of a population that practiced cannibalism. For its time – but really even by today’s standards – the film was extremely violent and even gruesome, causing numerous controversies and attempts at censorship. However, also for this reason it became very well known internationally and a cult object for many enthusiasts. The way Deodato chose to represent violence also became a reference for great directors who came later, including Quentin Tarantino. Cannibal Holocaust is conceived as a fake documentary and for this reason Deodato is also considered one of the creators of the “mockumentary” genre, which has had a lot of following more recently.
