Cannibal Holocaust to sicken audiences in 4K

Enjoy the previously banned fun of a squirrel monkey's beheading in a brand-new restoration of Cannibal Holocaust.

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  May 27, 2026 | 3:04pm
Screenshot: YouTube
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Cannibal Holocaust to sicken audiences in 4K

In the realm of horror, there’s perhaps only one Video Nasty more notorious than Faces Of Death‘s faux snuff: Cannibal Holocaust. Italian director Ruggero Deodato’s frequently banned exploitation movie served as the godfather of found-footage horror, following a crew of documentary filmmakers as they immerse themselves with Amazonian cannibals and the violent rituals they perform. Cannibal Holocaust compiles the mockumentary footage into a feast of grim, cruel horror that many people believed to be real. In fact, the humans were fine. It’s the animals that weren’t so lucky. Cannibal Holocaust depicts very real killings of a turtle, a pig, a boa constrictor, and others, and Grindhouse Releasing is finally restoring all that misery 4,000 beautiful Ks. 

Per Fangoria, Grindhouse’s 4K UHD Blu-ray will feature a completely uncensored Cannibal Holocaust restored to its original, and previously unseen 16mm aspect ratio. The restoration, which alternates between aspect ratios, premiered at Beyond Fest last year. Grindhouse owner and Academy Award-winning Bob Murawski called it a “whole new and perhaps even more powerful experience” and described the restoration process as “essentially the same way we constructed Orson Welles’ long-unfinished masterpiece The Other Side Of The Wind.”

Cannibal Holocaust remains one of the most controversial films ever made. Deodato later regretted the animal killing, saying he was “stupid to introduce animals.,” Unfortunately, he didn’t come to that realization before decapitating a second monkey. But censors were just as disturbed by the fake gore. The film was so shocking that Deodato was arrested for obscenity in Italy after the film’s release and later had to prove to the press that the cast was still alive. Nevertheless, the film was still banned in numerous countries. 

Cannibal Holocaust is playing in select theaters nationwide starting this Friday.

 
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