Eli Roth’s signature torture and gore has reached new heights in “The Green Inferno.” A cult classic in the making, Roth’s latest film takes horror and cannibalism to the extreme. In the deep jungles of the Amazon, “The Green Inferno,” released Sept. 25, leads you through a bloody adventure.  

In “The Green Inferno,” a group of newly formed student activists travel to the Amazon to stop it from being torn down and save the indigenous people who live there. These college students, who are way over their head, embark on a mission to use social media and the power of the Internet to save the rainforest.

The protagonist in the group, Justine, played by Lorenza Izzo (“Aftershock,” “Knock Knock”), wants to do her part in saving the Amazon after a lecture in her humanities course. With a few meetings and gorilla style training sessions, Justine and the rest of her group have prepared themselves for nothing but major disaster. After an unexpected plane crash, they soon discover the indigenous people mistakenly identify them as the construction workers behind the demolition of their home. The indigenous people are so hidden from the outside world that the group of college activists is unaware that they are now faced with cannibals.

There’s a lot of over the top gore. Roth saves the meaty, bloody mess for the better second half of the film, leaving the first part to focus on the story while building the characters. Roth takes his time to build and develop the relationship between the audience and the main characters. He doesn’t go on a killing spree, meaning the kills that do happen are rightly timed and anticipated, which is rare in the most recent horror films being released today.

Regardless of its future success, Roth accomplished record-breaking distance in filming locations. Roth, with his film crew and actors, filmed in the jungles of Peru. The long trip was worth it, as you can see throughout the film the real jungles of the Amazon play the beautiful landscape of the bloody messy senses of cannibalistic rituals. It’s quite the contrast seeing a well-lit green film location in broad daylight being used in such a dark and gory way.

There were moments that took the attention away from the film just for the sake of bringing in a bit of comic relief. Cheap laughs aside, these jokes seemed like something from a spoof film about “The Green Inferno.” Roth has done them in the past with his cult classic “Hostel” and “Cabin Fever” but not to this extent.

[box]Interview: Eli Roth and Lorenza Izzo of “The Green Inferno”[/box]

With many nods to Ruggero Deodato’s classic “Cannibal Holocaust,” “The Green Inferno” paces itself into a horror cannibalism film that stands by itself. With Roth credited as both director and writer, “The Green Inferno” is being considered Roth’s best work yet.

“The Green Inferno” is a bloody mess with no surprises other than moments you have to look away from. You can try your best to not look away, but the gore will get the best of you.