Sunday Matinee: The Cannibal Club [Film]

“Otavio and Gilda are a very wealthy couple of the Brazilian elite who have the habit of eating their employees. Otavio owns a private security company and is a notable member of The Cannibal Club. When Gilda accidentally discovers a secret from Borges, a powerful congressman and the Club’s leader, her and her husband’s lives are in grave danger.  ” – October Coast PR

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I have to kick this thing off by stating that this film was much more amazing than it really needed to be. And I say this as a major compliment. The premise is one that is usually dealt with as something be treated as dark, yet silly. But, The Cannibal Club is a film the dives into the world of elitism and self-indicted superiority by using very graphic material to elicit the idea that the rich and powerful are seemingly only around to destroy the poor. And in this case, they plan to eat them as well. Make no mistake about it, everything from the setting of the film being in more prominent areas of Brazil that are intermingled with the poverty stricken areas, to the brilliant performances from the likes of Tavinho Teixeira and Ana Luis Rios, this is an absolutely brilliant demonstration of what it means to be just too damn powerful. This idea is extremely exaggerated in a brilliant bit of dialogue regarding first and third world countries, in which we are witness to the “better to reign in hell” mentality that these characters seemed to have.

What struck me the most about this very powerful and insane film, was the idea of the conflict of the film being so very mild on the surface, yet was still stoked a reasonable fire when you considered the characters at hand. I’m not going to spoil the big “secret” that Gilda discovers in the plot, but it is suffice to say that it really shouldn’t be that big of a deal when you consider that this man is LITERALLY EATING HUMAN GODDAMN BEINGS!!!! And this, I feel, is what truly adds to the beautiful conflict that this film presents. Satirical is an obvious way to describe the film, but please don’t lead to believe that there is really anything zany and ridiculous within this film. This is a very serious take that speaks gruesome volumes about the disparity of wealth in this world. Maybe I am projecting my own thoughts into he plot of the film, but isn’t that what I am supposed to be doing here?

Overall, The Cannibal Club is a brilliantly made film and is an absolutely must see for anyone who can handle a good measure of insanity whilst understanding that sometimes the true terrors of the world are all around us. It is wonderful that we have filmmakers like Guto Parente out there in this world to describe such terrors to us in a visual manner. Watch this movie, Everyone! It’s a an absolute treasure, and one of my favorite films of 2019. Enjoy!

The Cannibal Club is available in select theaters and on VOD right NOW!