Marian Dora Cannibal (2006)

Cannibal

Starring: Victor Brandl, Carstan Frank

Plot: A man goes about his day to day routines, occasionally chatting with others on his computer, looking for someone who shares his cannibalistic fantasies. The Man meets with several people he had chatted with, but he either rejects them or is rejected by them, except for The Flesh, a suicidal man who volunteers to be killed and eaten by The Man. The Flesh travels to The Man from Berlin, and the two bond and soon live out their darkest and most evil desire.

My Review and Thoughts:

Lately I feel I have come across some of the most shocking and vile pictures to grace cinema. I find myself shocking my nerves over and over again and now I have done it again in the department of gore and sexual perversity once again.

Cannibal is based on actual facts yet the picture does change and alter some of the facts but in reality it keeps the most important parts. Flesh, human flesh has always been a subject throughout history and time. From the taboo to the normality of the daily bath to clean oneself. What is that human animalistic desire hidden deep inside the evolutionary makeup of the human body to eat meat?

The twisted sick taboo of consuming human flesh has been a subject of myths, legends, countless books and movies and in true reality the basic truth of everyday life. From the Christian communion of drinking and eating Jesus flesh to researching the tribes of ancients and even modern people's, who consumed their enemies to gain there strength and power.

How far can one go to be one with human flesh? Not just to lay with another but to become it in every way possible. To devour it, so that the one you possess will always be a part of you. The movie I am reviewing today is Cannibal the true story of human flesh obsession that left one man dead and another famous in criminal human history.

Inspired" by the real life story of the "Cannibal of Rotenburg", Armin Meiwes. Armin on Christmas Day in 2001 visited his favorite chat site The Cannibal Cafe there he met Bernd Brandes they both had an obsession and that was human flesh. One wanted to eat it, the other wanted to be eaten. Armin would go on to eat Bernd for the next 10 months. Amazingly Armin only got 8 and a half years in jail, why you say because Bernd was a willing partner and both of them filmed the whole ordeal from beginning to end. The aftermath though would change because they decided to not charge him with manslaughter but with murder. He then received a life imprisonment after another long trial.

Now in the movie the two main characters do not have names they are known as the man and the flesh. The man searches the chat rooms. Not just any chat rooms but chat dedicated to human flesh eating. A chat room devoted to the desire of eating humans. It glorified cannibals and the meat of humans. The flesh searched and searched for one who would fill his most important and most wonderful desire. The man wished to eat another human. The Flesh was that desire. The flesh answered his call. The flesh desire was to be eaten where the man's desire was to consume.

What does it tell you about a human being that desires or craves the desire of eating human flesh? Marian Dora wrote and directed a haunting and disgusting flick that leaves the viewer horrified and yet also pleased in that the movie gave the viewer countless emotions.

A good movie is one that showcases not only acting, direction and production but also the ability to bring emotions to the viewer to the point they flinch, they close their eyes, they say “what the f***” and that’s what this movie does.

Cannibal is not for everyone it has strong sexual content, homosexual fake sex, countless gore and blood and it leaves a bitter taste in the viewer’s mouth at times. From watching one of the several penis mutilation shots, to the dinner setting when both of them decide to eat the penis. This is a movie that pushes the boundaries and never lets up.

The first 45 minutes is the love affair between the two men and then the completion of the fantasy, the torture, the taste, to the consumption, to the naked sexual orgy of a mutilated corpse. I have to say the mutilation and chop up part is by far one of the goriest moments I have ever seen and I have seen a lot. This hacking job mixed with the sexual tension and orgy of blood stunned me and gave me that “what the f***”, reality.

I really have to say this is a new favorite of mine because it made me disgusted, it made me flinch in parts. Movies that cause deep reactions through emotions are true winners in my book. I feel this film showcased a horrible moment in crime history and brought it to the screen in dramatic and horror induced mayhem for all to see.

There is another movie recently created on the truth behind this story and it’s a great film also. Where it was less shocking and gory it still created that twisted horror in that it’s true and it’s about eating another human begin. I highly recommend it, it’s called Grimm Love.

I also highly recommend Cannibal. If one is squamous I say go for Grimm Love and then if you want to be adventures then I say go for Cannibal.

I enjoyed both of them. I enjoyed Grimm Love for its story and acting and deep dark reality and I enjoyed Cannibal for its no holds bar approach to a topic that makes many turn away.

Carsten Frank plays The Man perfect. Victor Brandl plays The Flesh perfect. The Flesh is a wonderful ultimate victim and yet not because he chooses it, because he wants it, because he has the desire to become one with someone. His sexual fantasy is to be eaten whereas the sexual fantasy of The Man is to be the eater.

In the end the movie alters the real reality in life because the ending of the real story has The Man locked up in this it shows him just living his life.

This is a twisted wonderful and in my viewpoint brilliant movie that took a subject matter and also a true crime story and showed the world it’s disturbing and yet historical makeup.
 
This is a must see must own must watch piece of horror cinema that truly shocks, disturbs and takes the viewer on a ride that few movies ever dare to do. I speak highly of this movie because it's filmed in an artistic way a low-budget indie film that captured everything so brilliantly. It captured in away reality. It's almost like watching life unfold right before your eyes.


The crime scene comes to life. It’s like you're there as it’s happening in graphic detail. You see how wonderful it's directed. You see how amazingly accurate it is. There is hardly any dialogue in the whole movie it’s just two people throughout the film with an occasional third and fourth person in a flashback but the main two characters hold you throughout the whole movie giving you that one-on-one feeling. If you're a horror fan, if you're a true crime buff, if you're an adventurous movie watcher, seek this film out. Make sure it's the unrated version, don't get it if it’s rated.