The film was intended to be released theatrically on September 5, 2014 by Open Road Films.[4] However, financial difficulties with the production company Worldview Entertainment have caused Open Road to pull the film from its original release.[5][6] The film will be released on September 25, 2015 by Blumhouse Tilt, Universal Pictures, and High Top Releasing.[7]
Plot
An idealistic group of student activists travel from New York City to the Amazon to save a vanishing native tribe, but their small plane crashes in the jungle. They are then taken hostage by the very natives they want to protect.
On May 17, 2012 at 2012 Cannes Film Festival, Eli Roth announced that he is planning to direct a horror thriller The Green Inferno; Worldview Entertainment also announced that it would finance and produce the film.[3] Roth will be co-writing the script with Guillermo Amoedo.[9] The production was set to begin in Autumn 2012 in Peru and Chile.[10]
In October 2012, it was announced that filming was set to begin in November in Peru.[11] On October 25, Roth announced the full cast for his upcoming horror thriller film.[12]
The first still image from the film was released on February 11, 2013.[13] Roth has said in an interview in February 2013 that he wanted the film to look like a Werner Herzog or Terrence Malick film. He has also said that he was inspired by such Italian cannibal films as Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox.[14]
Release
On July 30, 2013, it was announced that film would premiere at 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[15] The film was originally scheduled to be released in the United States on September 5, 2014 by Open Road Films,[4] but was pulled from distribution less than a month before its intended release due to financial difficulties with the production company Worldview Entertainment.[5] The film had a secret screening on 25 April 2014 at the Stanley Film Festival.[16] The film will now be released by Blumhouse Productions' multi-platform arm Blumhouse Tilt, Universal Pictures, and High Top Releasing in the United States in theaters on September 25, 2015.[7]
Critical reception
The Green Inferno has received positive reviews from critics. Based on 16 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 63%, with an average rating of 6.1/10.[17]
The film was criticized by Survival International, which campaigns for indigenous peoples and indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation, as reinforcing colonialism and respectively neocolonialism, as well as their stigmas against indigenous peoples portraying them as uncivilized.[18] Eli Roth dismissed this argument as unimportant for stopping exploitation: "The idea that a fictional movie about a fictional tribe could somehow hurt indigenous people when gas companies are tearing these villages apart on a daily basis is simply absurd. These companies don't need an excuse — they have one — the natural resources in the ground. They can window dress things however they like, but nobody will destroy a village because they didn't like a character in a movie, they'll do it because they want to get rich by draining what's under the village. The fear that somehow a movie would give them ammunition to destroy a tribe all sounds like misdirected anger and frustration that the corporations are the ones controlling the fates of these uncontacted tribes."[18]
Sequel
On September 7, 2013, it was confirmed that a sequel would be produced, titled Beyond the Green Inferno and directed by Nicolás López.[19] Development of the project was later put on hold by Worldview Entertainment.
