TIFF 2013: The Green Inferno Review

The Green Inferno

The Green Inferno

Midnight Madness

Director: Eli Roth

While the actual cannibal element to Roth’s latest tale of entitled American brats finding themselves in deadly situations seems more of a means to an end, the actual message at the heart of The Green Inferno’s bloodletting is the smartest and sharpest the gore-auteur has managed yet.

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A group of university students that comprise a political action committee (lead by a smirking egomaniac that’s shares Julian Assange’s same idea of backwards altruism and all of his selfishness, played to the hilt by Ariel Levy) head to the Peruvian rainforest to stop a natural gas pipeline from being built. Despite their success, the plane carrying them crashes into deadly native territory and the blood feast begins.

Roth’s directorial efforts have always been smarter than people give them credit for, often exposing the flaws of human understanding through heroes that can often be kind of douchy. Here, not only is the hero a strong woman (played by Lorenza Izzo), but she’s also the nicest person Roth has ever written. She never once does anything evil or hurtful to anyone. Her biggest crimes are being kind of naive and idealistic.

Combined with a spot on message about how selfish motives and cults of personality can be masked behind seemingly progressive protests and gestures, it’s Roth’s most progressive and intriguing effort to date. Oh, and the gore is pretty great, too, but don’t go in expecting a Ruggero Deodato flick.

Screens

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Monday, September 9th, Scotiabank 13, 1:30pm



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