The cannibal boom is a period in the history of exploitation film

Exploitation film

Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...

, lasting roughly from 1977 to 1981, where cannibal film

Cannibal film

Cannibal films are a sub genre of exploitation film made mostly by Italian filmmakers through the 1970s and 1980s. This sub genre is a collection of graphically gory movies that usually depict cannibalism by primitive, Stone-age natives deep inside the Asian or South American rain forests...

s were at the peak of their popularity in Grindhouse

Grindhouse

A grindhouse is an American term for a theater that mainly shows exploitation films. It is named after the defunct burlesque theaters located on 42nd Street in New York City, where 'bump n' grind' dancing and striptease were featured.- History :...

 theaters and cinema. Though Umberto Lenzi

Umberto Lenzi

Umberto Lenzi , is an Italian film director who was very active in low budget crime films, peplums, spaghetti westerns, war movies, cannibal films and giallo murder mysteries ....

 started the cannibal genre with his film Man from Deep River in 1972, it was not until Ruggero Deodato

Ruggero Deodato

Ruggero Deodato is an Italian film director and screen writer, best known for directing violent and gory horror films. Deodato is infamous for his 1980 film Cannibal Holocaust.- Biography :...

 released his film Last Cannibal World in 1977 that the concept of cannibal films began to catch on. Although five cannibal films were made in 1977 and 1978, none were released in 1979 (though Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust

Cannibal Holocaust

Cannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...

was in the works). In February 1980, Deodato released Cannibal Holocaust, which was the start of a chain of seven similar films to be made and released in the same year. The following year, however, in 1981, only two cannibal films were made (one of them was Cannibal Ferox

Cannibal Ferox

Cannibal Ferox, also known as Make Them Die Slowly, is a 1981 Italian exploitation film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Upon its release, the film made claims to being "The most violent film ever made"...

, second in notoriety only to Cannibal Holocaust). Only four other cannibal films were made after 1981 until the fad's conclusion in 1988 with Antonio Climati's Natura Contro

Natura contro

Natura contro , also known in English as The Green Inferno and Cannibal Holocaust II, is a 1988 Italian cannibal film directed by mondo director Antonio Climati...

.

Films of the cannibal boom

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width="250"|Film !! width="150"|Director !! width="40"|Year !! width="250"|Also Known As
|-
| Ultimo mondo cannibale || Ruggero Deodato

Ruggero Deodato

Ruggero Deodato is an Italian film director and screen writer, best known for directing violent and gory horror films. Deodato is infamous for his 1980 film Cannibal Holocaust.- Biography :...

 || 1977 || Last Cannibal World
|-
| Emanuelle e gli ultimi cannibali || Joe D'Amato

Joe D'Amato

Joe D'Amato, was a prolific Italian filmmaker who directed roughly 200 films, usually at the same time acting as producer and cinematographer, and sometimes providing the script as well...

 || 1977 || Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals

Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals

Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals is a 1977 Italian sexploitation film by Joe D'Amato....

|-
| La montagna del dio cannibale || Sergio Martino

Sergio Martino

Sergio Martino is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre.Martino is the brother of producer Luciano Martino. They collaborated frequently in their respective professions...

 || 1978 || Mountain of the Cannibal God; Slave of the Cannibal God; Prisoner of the Cannibal God (UK release)
|-
| Papaya dei Caraibi || Joe D'Amato

Joe D'Amato

Joe D'Amato, was a prolific Italian filmmaker who directed roughly 200 films, usually at the same time acting as producer and cinematographer, and sometimes providing the script as well...

 || 1978 || Papaya, Love Goddess of the Cannibals
|-
| Primitif || Sisworo Gautama Putra || 1978 || Primitives
|-
| Cannibal Holocaust

Cannibal Holocaust

Cannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...

|| Ruggero Deodato

Ruggero Deodato

Ruggero Deodato is an Italian film director and screen writer, best known for directing violent and gory horror films. Deodato is infamous for his 1980 film Cannibal Holocaust.- Biography :...

 || 1980 || N/A
|-
| Mangiati vivi || Umberto Lenzi

Umberto Lenzi

Umberto Lenzi , is an Italian film director who was very active in low budget crime films, peplums, spaghetti westerns, war movies, cannibal films and giallo murder mysteries ....

 || 1980 || Eaten Alive!

Eaten Alive!

Mangiati vivi!, also known by its English title Eaten Alive!, is an Italian cannibal-rape film, directed by Umberto Lenzi, released in 1980. Alternative titles for the movie, include "The Emerald Jungle" and "Eaten Alive by Cannibals". It stars Robert Kerman, Janet Agren and Me Me Lai. In secondary...

|-
| Zombi Holocaust || Marino Girolami

Marino Girolami

Marino Girolami was an Italian film director who gained a cult following for his horror movies like Zombie Holocaust. He was the father of the Italian film maker Enzo G...

 || 1980 || Zombie Holocaust

Zombie Holocaust

Zombie Holocaust, also known as Zombie 3 and Doctor Butcher, M.D., is a 1979 Italian zombie movie, directed by Marino Girolami.-Plot:...

|-
| Mondo cannibale || Jesus Franco

Jesús Franco

Jesús "Jess" Franco is a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic The Awful Dr. Orloff, which received wide distribution in the United States and England...

 || 1980 || Cannibals
|-
| Il cacciatore di uomini || Jesus Franco

Jesús Franco

Jesús "Jess" Franco is a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic The Awful Dr. Orloff, which received wide distribution in the United States and England...

 || 1980 || The Devil Hunter
|-
| Diyu wu Men || Hark Tsui || 1980 || We're Going to Eat You
|-
| Orgasmo nero || Joe D'Amato

Joe D'Amato

Joe D'Amato, was a prolific Italian filmmaker who directed roughly 200 films, usually at the same time acting as producer and cinematographer, and sometimes providing the script as well...

 || 1980 || Black Orgasm
|-
| Cannibal Ferox

Cannibal Ferox

Cannibal Ferox, also known as Make Them Die Slowly, is a 1981 Italian exploitation film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Upon its release, the film made claims to being "The most violent film ever made"...

|| Umberto Lenzi

Umberto Lenzi

Umberto Lenzi , is an Italian film director who was very active in low budget crime films, peplums, spaghetti westerns, war movies, cannibal films and giallo murder mysteries ....

 || 1981 || Make Them Die Slowly!
|-
| Terror Caníbal || Alain Deruelle || 1981 || Cannibal Terror

Cannibal Terror

Cannibal Terror is a 1981 Cannibal film. It was directed by Alain Deruelle and written by Julio Pérez Tabernero and H.L. Rostaine...

|-
| Amazonia || Mario Gariazzo || 1984 || Amazonia: The Catherine Miles Story; White Slave
|-
| Nudo e Selvaggio || Michele Massimo Tarantini || 1985 || Massacre in Dinosaur Valley; Stranded in Dinosaur Valley; Cannibal Ferox 2