No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Revisiting Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno (2013)
If there is one thing Eli Roth knows how to do, it is making an audience squirm. Released in 2013 (though delayed for wide release until 2015), The Green Inferno is Roth's blood-soaked love letter to the "cannibal boom" of the late ’70s and early ’80s. It’s a film that doesn't just want to scare you; it wants to turn your stomach. The Plot: Activism Meets the Abattoir
The story follows Justine (Lorenza Izzo), a naive college freshman who joins a group of student activists. Their mission? To travel from New York to the Amazon rainforest to protest a logging company threatening an indigenous tribe.
In a cruel twist of irony, their plane crash-lands in the jungle, and the survivors are captured by the very tribe they were trying to save. What follows is a brutal game of survival where the "civilized" world meets a society with very different culinary habits. A Homage to Horror History The Green Inferno EN – FEFFS
Released at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno is a polarizing homage to the Italian cannibal exploitation boom of the late 1970s. After a two-year delay due to distribution challenges, it finally reached mainstream audiences in 2015, sparking fierce debate over its graphic gore and portrayal of indigenous cultures. Plot Summary: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
The film centers on Justine (Lorenza Izzo), a college freshman in New York who joins a group of student activists led by the charismatic but manipulative Alejandro (Ariel Levy). The group travels to the Peruvian Amazon to stage a protest against a petrochemical company that is clearing rainforest and displacing local tribes.
While their initial livestreamed protest is a success, their return flight ends in a catastrophic plane crash deep in the jungle. The survivors are soon captured by the very tribe they were trying to "save"—a group that practices ritualistic cannibalism. The activists are imprisoned in cages and subjected to horrifying violence, beginning with the brutal dismemberment and consumption of their peer, Jonah. Production and Inspirations
Director Eli Roth, known for his "torture porn" hits like Hostel, specifically cited Cannibal Holocaust (1980) as a primary inspiration. In a notable piece of production trivia, the film was shot on location in a remote Peruvian village where the inhabitants had never seen a movie. To explain the concept of filmmaking, Roth reportedly showed them a copy of Cannibal Holocaust, which the villagers apparently found to be a comedy.
Unlike its 1970s predecessors, The Green Inferno avoided real animal cruelty—a staple of the original subgenre—opting instead for high-end practical effects by Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger. Critical Reception and Themes
The film received a "Rotten" score of roughly 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics often divided between praising its visceral thrills and condemning its thin characters. However, it received high praise from horror legend Stephen King, who called it a "glorious throwback". Key themes explored in the film include:
Plot
The film follows a group of student activists who travel to the Amazon rainforest to document the destruction of the environment. However, their plane crashes in a remote area, and they are forced to trek through the jungle to find help. As they journey deeper into the forest, they stumble upon a cannibal tribe that has been living in the jungle for centuries.
Cast
Reception
The Green Inferno received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising its intense and graphic violence, as well as its commentary on environmentalism and the clash of cultures. The film holds a 74% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.5/10.
Themes
Trivia
Watching the movie
If you're planning to watch The Green Inferno, be prepared for:
Overall, The Green Inferno is a disturbing and thought-provoking horror film that explores themes of environmentalism, cannibalism, and cultural clash. If you're a fan of extreme horror or are interested in exploring the genre, this film may be worth checking out.
The Green Inferno (2013), directed by Eli Roth, is a graphic cannibal horror film that serves as both a gruesome survival story and a sharp critique of modern social activism. Los Angeles Times Plot Summary
The story follows Justine, a naive college freshman in New York City, who joins a student activist group led by the charismatic but manipulative Alejandro. Los Angeles Times The Mission
: The group travels to the Peruvian Amazon to protest a natural gas company that is destroying the rainforest and threatening a local uncontacted tribe. The Incident
: After successfully halting the bulldozers through a viral livestream, their small plane crashes deep in the jungle on the return trip.
: The survivors are captured by the very tribe they were trying to protect. Mistaking the activists for the developers destroying their home, the tribe takes them hostage to be ritually tortured and eaten. amazonwatch.org Thematic Elements
If you have never seen a "Cannibal Film," you need to be prepared for the specific sub-genre rules.
The final act introduces a darkly comedic twist: Justine discovers that the tribe’s entire food supply is laced with the wrecked plane’s fuel. She sets a portion of the village ablaze. Roth deliberately makes the audience cheer for the destruction of a culture—a moral gray area that separates The Green Inferno from simpler slasher films.
Critics panned it as gratuitous torture porn, missing the satire. Audiences expecting Hostel’s gritty realism found cartoonish gore (a penis bitten off, ants eating a tied-up man). But that tonal clash is intentional—Roth makes the violence so over-the-top that the “serious” activist dialogue becomes absurd. The film is a rage comedy about liberal guilt, not a horror movie about Amazonian dangers.
Filmed in a single, shaky long take, the crash sequence is genuinely disorienting. Roth uses sound design—screaming engines, snapping bones, the roar of the jungle—to create immediate chaos.
The Green Inferno did not start a new cannibal revival (a proposed sequel, The Green Inferno 2, was produced without Roth’s direct involvement and released in 2015 to poor reviews). However, it cemented Eli Roth’s reputation as a preservationist of extreme cinema. By remixing the tropes of Deodato and Umberto Lenzi for a post-9/11, social-media-obsessed audience, Roth forced a new generation to confront the ethical questions of the original cannibal films: Are we any more civilized than the "savages" on screen?
For fans of unrated, uncompromising horror, The Green Inferno is a must-watch—a fever dream of blood, bamboo, and bad decisions. For everyone else, it’s a reminder that some movies are designed not to entertain, but to scar.
Final Verdict: A savage, problematic, and undeniably effective piece of grindhouse horror. Not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.
Rating: R (for aberrant violence, disturbing gore, language, sexual content, and drug use)
Run Time: 100 minutes
Streaming Availability: Often rotates on Shudder, AMC+, and for digital rental. The Green Inferno -2013-
Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno (2013) is a modern revitalization of the Italian "cannibal boom" of the late 1970s, specifically paying homage to Ruggero Deodato’s infamous Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
. Below is a developed essay outline and analysis focusing on its themes of "slacktivism," cultural clashing, and visceral horror.
Essay Title: The Price of Performance: "Slacktivism" and Savage Irony in The Green Inferno I. Introduction: The Return to the Jungle The Premise
: A group of idealistic student activists travels from New York to the Amazon to protect a vanishing tribe from a petrochemical company, only to be captured by the very people they intended to "save". The Homage : The film serves as a meticulous callback
to the "Mondo" horror style, utilizing realistic gore and remote locations to challenge the audience's comfort. The Green Inferno
uses the "cannibal" trope not just for shock value, but as a scathing critique of modern "slacktivism"—the shallow, performance-based activism that prioritizes social media validation over genuine cultural understanding. II. The Critique of "Slacktivism" Performative Activism
: The protagonist, Justine, and her peers are motivated as much by a desire for digital clout as by environmental justice. Roth highlights this by including the Twitter handles
of the cast in the credits, mirroring the characters' reliance on satellite phones and GPS to "map" their righteousness. The Leader as Charlatan
: Alejandro, the group’s charismatic leader, is eventually revealed to be a cynical manipulator. His "activism" is a front for corporate-funded sabotage, exposing the corruption that can hide behind modern social justice movements. III. Cultural Disconnect and Deconstruction
Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno (2013) is a brutal, divisive homage to the Italian cannibal exploitation films of the 1970s and '80s, specifically Ruggero Deodato's infamous Cannibal Holocaust. Though it premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, legal and financial hurdles delayed its wide theatrical release until September 2015. Plot Overview: Activism Gone Wrong
The film follows Justine (Lorenza Izzo), a college freshman who joins a social activism group led by the charismatic Alejandro (Ariel Levy). The group travels to the Peruvian Amazon to protest a petrochemical company that is destroying the rainforest and displacing native tribes. After a successful but tense protest, their plane crashes deep in the jungle. The survivors are captured by a tribe of uncontacted natives—the very people they were trying to save—only to discover the tribe is cannibalistic. Production and Realism
Roth aimed for a gritty, authentic look, filming in a remote village in Peru that had never seen a movie before.
The Green Inferno (2013) - A Comprehensive Guide
Introduction
The Green Inferno is a 2013 American horror film directed by Arthur Harari. The movie follows a group of student activists who travel to the Amazonian jungle to document the deforestation caused by a proposed highway. However, their plane crashes, and they are forced to trek through the jungle, only to find themselves being stalked and hunted by a cannibal tribe.
Plot Summary
The movie begins with a prologue that showcases the brutal and inhumane treatment of indigenous peoples in the Amazonian jungle. The story then shifts to a group of student activists, led by Harold, who embark on a journey to document the deforestation caused by a proposed highway in the Amazon. The group consists of Harold, his girlfriend Olivia, and their friends, including Lætitia, a French photographer.
As they fly over the jungle, their plane crashes, and they are forced to trek through the dense forest. Initially, they are excited to explore the jungle and document the destruction caused by the proposed highway. However, their excitement is short-lived, as they soon realize they are not alone in the jungle.
The group stumbles upon a cannibal tribe, who have been living in the jungle for centuries. The tribe, fueled by a desire to protect their land and way of life, begins to hunt the group. The students soon find themselves fighting for survival, as they try to navigate through the treacherous jungle and evade the tribe.
Characters and Cast
Themes and Symbolism
Reception and Reviews
The Green Inferno received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its intense and suspenseful moments, while others criticized its graphic violence and perceived colonialist undertones. The movie holds a 5.8/10 rating on IMDB and a 23% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Trivia and Behind-the-Scenes
Conclusion
The Green Inferno is a tense and suspenseful horror movie that explores themes of environmentalism, colonialism, and survival. While it received mixed reviews from critics, it has gained a cult following among horror fans. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the movie, including its plot, characters, themes, and reception. If you're a fan of horror movies or are simply interested in learning more about The Green Inferno, this guide is for you.
Currently, The Green Inferno -2013- is available on:
For collectors, the Blu-ray release from Universal features a "Gore Cut" (unrated) that restores the razor-blade scene, as well as a feature-length documentary titled The Making of The Green Inferno which details the hellish Amazon shoot.
“The Green Inferno” is not subtle, and it was never meant to be. It confronts viewers with the uglier layers of activism, representation, and the cinematic appetite for spectacle. Whether it succeeds as moral critique or fails as re-inscription of harmful tropes depends largely on the viewer’s tolerance for shock and willingness to engage with uncomfortable questions. As a piece of modern exploitation cinema, it’s a blunt instrument—crude, confrontational, and impossible to ignore.
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