The 2013 horror film The Green Inferno , directed by Eli Roth, follows a group of idealistic but naive college student activists who travel to the Amazon rainforest to save a dying tribe. The Protest
Justine, a freshman at Columbia University, is lured into a radical activism group by its charismatic leader, Alejandro. The group flies to Peru to stop a petrochemical company from destroying the jungle and displacing a native tribe. Their plan involves chaining themselves to bulldozers and livestreaming the protest to the world to raise awareness and force the company to retreat.
The protest is initially a success, and the group celebrates as they board a small plane to return home. However, the plane suffers a catastrophic engine failure and crashes deep into the jungle. Several students die in the impact, leaving the survivors stranded in a territory where no GPS or cell signals reach. The Captivity
The survivors are soon discovered by a local tribe—the same people they were trying to "save". The tribe, however, views them as invaders. The activists are captured and taken to a remote village, where they are placed in a bamboo cage. They quickly realize with horror that the tribe practices ritualistic cannibalism. The Survival
The film then shifts into a brutal survival story as the students are systematically butchered and eaten one by one. As the horror unfolds, the group's internal politics crumble, revealing Alejandro's duplicitous and self-serving nature. Justine must find a way to escape before she is subjected to a tribal ritual.
The Green Inferno (2013) - A Comprehensive Guide
Introduction
The Green Inferno is a 2013 American horror film directed by Arthur Harari. The movie follows a group of student activists who travel to the Amazonian jungle to document the deforestation caused by a proposed highway. However, their plane crashes, and they are forced to trek through the jungle, only to find themselves being stalked and hunted by a cannibal tribe.
Plot Summary
The movie begins with a prologue that showcases the brutal and inhumane treatment of indigenous peoples in the Amazonian jungle. The story then shifts to a group of student activists, led by Harold, who embark on a journey to document the deforestation caused by a proposed highway in the Amazon. The group consists of Harold, his girlfriend Olivia, and their friends, including Lætitia, a French photographer.
As they fly over the jungle, their plane crashes, and they are forced to trek through the dense forest. Initially, they are excited to explore the jungle and document the destruction caused by the proposed highway. However, their excitement is short-lived, as they soon realize they are not alone in the jungle.
The group stumbles upon a cannibal tribe, who have been living in the jungle for centuries. The tribe, fueled by a desire to protect their land and way of life, begins to hunt the group. The students soon find themselves fighting for survival, as they try to navigate through the treacherous jungle and evade the tribe. The Green Inferno -2013-
Characters and Cast
Themes and Symbolism
Reception and Reviews
The Green Inferno received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its intense and suspenseful moments, while others criticized its graphic violence and perceived colonialist undertones. The movie holds a 5.8/10 rating on IMDB and a 23% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Trivia and Behind-the-Scenes
Conclusion
The Green Inferno is a tense and suspenseful horror movie that explores themes of environmentalism, colonialism, and survival. While it received mixed reviews from critics, it has gained a cult following among horror fans. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the movie, including its plot, characters, themes, and reception. If you're a fan of horror movies or are simply interested in learning more about The Green Inferno, this guide is for you.
Plot
The film follows a group of student activists who travel to the Amazon rainforest to document the destruction of the environment. However, their plane crashes in a remote area, and they are forced to trek through the jungle to find help. As they journey deeper into the forest, they stumble upon a cannibal tribe that has been living in the jungle for centuries.
Cast
Reception
The Green Inferno received generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising its intense and graphic violence, as well as its commentary on environmentalism and the clash of cultures. The film holds a 74% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.5/10.
Themes
Trivia
Watching the movie
If you're planning to watch The Green Inferno, be prepared for:
Overall, The Green Inferno is a disturbing and thought-provoking horror film that explores themes of environmentalism, cannibalism, and cultural clash. If you're a fan of extreme horror or are interested in exploring the genre, this film may be worth checking out.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Revisiting Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno (2013)
If there is one thing Eli Roth knows how to do, it is making an audience squirm. Released in 2013 (though delayed for wide release until 2015), The Green Inferno is Roth's blood-soaked love letter to the "cannibal boom" of the late ’70s and early ’80s. It’s a film that doesn't just want to scare you; it wants to turn your stomach. The Plot: Activism Meets the Abattoir
The story follows Justine (Lorenza Izzo), a naive college freshman who joins a group of student activists. Their mission? To travel from New York to the Amazon rainforest to protest a logging company threatening an indigenous tribe.
In a cruel twist of irony, their plane crash-lands in the jungle, and the survivors are captured by the very tribe they were trying to save. What follows is a brutal game of survival where the "civilized" world meets a society with very different culinary habits. A Homage to Horror History The Green Inferno EN – FEFFS
If you have never seen a "Cannibal Film," you need to be prepared for the specific sub-genre rules. The 2013 horror film The Green Inferno ,
The Green Inferno did not start a new cannibal revival (a proposed sequel, The Green Inferno 2, was produced without Roth’s direct involvement and released in 2015 to poor reviews). However, it cemented Eli Roth’s reputation as a preservationist of extreme cinema. By remixing the tropes of Deodato and Umberto Lenzi for a post-9/11, social-media-obsessed audience, Roth forced a new generation to confront the ethical questions of the original cannibal films: Are we any more civilized than the "savages" on screen?
For fans of unrated, uncompromising horror, The Green Inferno is a must-watch—a fever dream of blood, bamboo, and bad decisions. For everyone else, it’s a reminder that some movies are designed not to entertain, but to scar.
Final Verdict: A savage, problematic, and undeniably effective piece of grindhouse horror. Not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.
Rating: R (for aberrant violence, disturbing gore, language, sexual content, and drug use)
Run Time: 100 minutes
Streaming Availability: Often rotates on Shudder, AMC+, and for digital rental.
The Plot: Justine, a freshman college student, joins a student activist group led by the charismatic Alejandro. The group travels to the Amazon rainforest to protest a petrochemical company that is destroying indigenous land. Their mission is to chain themselves to trees and livestream the destruction to stop the bulldozers. The mission succeeds, but on the flight home, their small plane crashes in the jungle. The survivors are captured by a tribe that has never made contact with the modern world—a tribe with a taste for human flesh.
The Context: This film is a love letter to the Italian Cannibal Boom of the late 1970s and early 80s, specifically Ruggero Deodato’s controversial classic Cannibal Holocaust (1980). Roth aimed to recreate the visceral, gritty style of those films but with a modern production value and a satirical edge regarding "slacktivism."
Whether loved or loathed, “The Green Inferno” reintroduced shock-horror to mainstream conversation in the 2010s and demonstrated that extreme genre films can still provoke meaningful debate. It revitalized interest in practical-effects-driven horror and encouraged filmmakers to confront the moral stakes of representation. For some viewers, it’s a cult favorite for its audacity; for others, it remains a cautionary example of how critique and complicity can sit side by side.
The ensemble cast delivers committed performances, with standout work from the film’s lead, whose gradual unraveling anchors the story emotionally. The supporting cast conveys a believable mix of arrogance, fear, and denial, making the group dynamics ring true as their situation deteriorates. The cast’s earnestness heightens the film’s horror: when characters feel real, the violence against them feels harder to shrug off.
In the pantheon of modern horror, few films have sparked as much visceral revulsion, walkouts, and heated debate as Eli Roth’s brutal love letter to classic Italian cannibal cinema: The Green Inferno -2013-. Released initially at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2013 (with a wider theatrical rollout in 2015 due to distribution delays), the film positioned itself as a return to the unrated, grindhouse-style terror that defined the video nasty era.
For the uninitiated, The Green Inferno -2013- is not merely a movie; it is an endurance test. It is a cautionary tale about activism gone wrong, wrapped in the graphic, unsimulated-looking violence of Cannibal Holocaust and Cannibal Ferox. But why, over a decade later, does this specific entry in Roth’s filmography continue to generate curiosity and controversy? Let’s dissect the plot, the production, the themes, and the enduring shock value of The Green Inferno.