"Better to rest in peace in the warm body of a friend than in the cold ground."
Hailed as one of the most disturbing films ever made, it contains scenes of rape, mutilation, dismemberment, cannibalism. What's more, real animals were killed onscreen, and footage of real executions were used, convincing the brain that what they are seeing may in fact be real. This isn't helped by the film being in clear daylight with all the bright colours of the rainforest.
- The title itself. It's the epitome of Names to Run Away from Really Fast and the second you hear those two words paired together, you know you're going to be seeing something pretty damn horrific. It doesn't help that one word of the title refers to a severe cultural taboo while the other refers to one of the worst atrocities in human history.
- The quote on the page heading, which comes from the film's original trailer
. - Riz Ortolani's score is quite chilling, with many instances of creepy music being used at inappropriate times, such as the gentle, almost happy theme song being used in the scene of a woman being decapitated.
- The idea that a group of seemingly-normal people, once free from the constraints of law, would proceed to Rape, Pillage, and Burn with zero moral reservations is terrifying in and of itself.
- The scene of Felipe having his leg cut off, the group attempting to Heal It With Fire, and that final shot of the clip with Mark giving a look at the camera that's a disturbing mix between fascination and bliss at the blood.
- The notorious impalement scene, that serves as the poster and cover of most editions of the film. An innocent native girl is discovered dead, having been killed by having a 10 foot wooden spike stabbed through her entire body vertically, starting between her legs and coming out of her mouth and leaving her hanging there on the pole. The camera lingers on the extremely realistic scene far more than one would like.
- There is a strong implication that the filmmakers did not "discover" the impaled girl, but that they actually performed the impalement themselves. Just check out the expression of blissful pride on Alan's face before his cameraman calls him on it...
Mark: (offscreen) Watch it, Alan, I'm shooting.Alan: (immediately looking horrified) Oh, good Lord!!!- It was considered so realistic that the Italian government thought the filmmakers had made an honest-to-god snuff film, and it took producing the very much alive actors to prove that it wasn't. They had to demonstrate in court how they'd faked the impalement scene. The reason it seemed so realistic? Was because it was a real person with a real spike. But not actually impaled. note
- It used to be the image of this page but it was ruled as too violent therefore this page restricts any images, unless if one can discuss a more suitable image.
- Even though they absolutely deserved to die for what they did to the natives, the ultimate fate of the camera crew is horrifying:
- Jack is hit in the chest with a spear. Rather than attempting to help him in any way, Alan shoots him so they can get the footage of the ritual mutilation. It's unclear whether he's conscious, but he's still alive as his penis is cut off and one of his eyes is popped out. Afterwards, the natives behead him and hack his body apart with hatchets, then toss around his internal organs and flayed torso in triumph. His severed head is impaled on a spear and burned while the natives devour his remains.
- After being dragged away by the natives, Faye is likewise abandoned by her friends for the sake of their doomed documentary. Surrounded by the jeering tribe, she is stripped naked, bent over, and repeatedly raped. Next, they flip her over and, while multiple natives hold her legs apart, she is raped again. Finally, she is savagely beaten with clubs and decapitated. During the whole thing, Faye is screaming and crying, presumably begging for the other two to help her.
- Alan and Mark attempt to flee, but are chased down and surrounded by the tribe. As they lie helplessly on the forest floor, they are beaten and stabbed to death from all angles. Afterwards, their remains and the remains of their friends are turned into a shrine to ward away evil spirits and the natives refuse to part with them. Consequently, they never return home, even in pieces, and are never properly buried.
- The genuine, real-life, not-simulated animal cruelty. Real animals were tortured and maimed for this movie.
- The scene in which a large Arrau turtle is decapitated before getting its shell cracked open and its guts spilled out, all in gruesome detail, is possibly the most graphic scene in the entire film besides the impalement scene, and possibly in all of film history as well. The turtle's writhing is very hard to watch.
- The scene in which the coatimundi gets stabbed in the throat may be the hardest part to watch. The animal shrieks and flails in agony, dying a slow, painful death.
- Hell, the actors for the film crew were actually horrified by the wild animal deaths scenes. Jack's actor, Perry Pirkanen, reportedly broke down in tears after the turtle scene. And Alan's actor straight up refused to shoot an innocent pig, even failing to do a monologue out of horror after hearing the pig's dying squeals.
