Set in Brazil, The Cannibal Club is hidden in plain sight behind the wealthy and seedy front of the elite and politicians. A wealthy couple, Otavio and Gilda have a habit of hiring employees with no immediate family or friends in order to consume them once they deem their services to no longer be required.
It says so much for the film that it took me until after the credits rolled to realise that this was actually billed as a satirical take on the state of Brazilian politics. To a worldwide audience the film never manages to fully express that in an interesting or comprehensible way. Instead, for those who do not follow the news in this particular part of the world, we are presented with an ill paced yet interesting cannibal film that contains some incredible special effects but suffers with odd story choices and an ending which comes completely out of left field.
The Cannibal Club clocks in at around 81 minutes long making it one of the shorter horror thrillers on the market, but strangely decides to only truly get going once they introduce a character that turns out to be integral to the ending they follow is established approximately 40 minutes into the running time.
That’s not to say that there is little to like about the film because it is shocking in all the right ways. It’s always a pleasure to see filmmakers push the boundaries of what’s acceptable. Some of the scenes especially towards the climax (pun intended) of the narrative, even made myself, a seasoned veteran of the horror genre, wince in a mixture of disgust and dismay.
The accompanying score heightens the aristocratic feel of the club meetings and certainly makes the audience feel hatred towards our lead characters.
Even with its welcome stylistic choices and shocking moments, The Cannibal Club fails to work on a deeper level due to audiences needing to have a more comprehensive understanding of what it is a satirical take on, but has enough on the surface to keep gore hungry horror fans satisfied.
THE CANNIBAL CLUB / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: GUTO PARENTE / STARRING: TAVINHO TEIXEIRA, ANA LUIZA RIOS, PEDRO DOMINGUES, ZÉ MARIA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW