Diary of a Cannibal (film)
Encyclopedia
Diary of a Cannibal is a 2006 United States
production horror film
directed by Ulli Lommel
. It is based on the true-crime story of Armin Meiwes
, the "Rotenburg Cannibal" who posted an online ad searching for someone to volunteer to be mutilated and eaten. Unlikely as it may seem, someone actually replied. The cannibal met his intended victim and seduced, murdered, and consumed him.
Lommel's film changes the account from a "Rotenburg Cannibal" to a young Los Angeleno girl who is corrupted by her new lover, a narcissistic man who talks her into killing and eating him.
In 2004, one of director Ulli Lommel's collaborators, the German actor-producer Marian Dora, accepted Lommel's assignment to make a feature film in Germany that documented the Meiwes case. Dora's finished film was rejected by Lommel as being too gory, and Dora subsequently released the movie -- Cannibal – Aus dem Tagebuch des Kannibalen
-- on his own in Germany within months. Lommel set about producing his own version of the Miewes case.
Lions Gate Entertainment, the distributor in North America, had already used the title Cannibal when they retitled a French-Canadian production called White Skin, so they were forced to change the title of Lommel's film to Diary of a Cannibal.
. The Venice pier location used in some scenes have been featured in several Lommel movies. The interior of the desert warehouse was filmed in Marina Del Rey, California
at a furniture store.
The dead boy's heart and other organs were taken from a pig's carcass.
Dread Central published a negative review that stated, in part, "...the film jumps around almost at random (flashbacks and flash forwards) and even repeats scenes that already added nothing to the story to begin with (i.e. they really loved to frolic on the beach - a lot). It's all done very abstract, using minimalist dialogue, buffering scenes with every Bible quote Lommel could find about eating or sacrifice, over directed with a masturbatory amount of fancy edits, fades, black & white footage, fake scratches to the digital image to make it look like an old 8mm reel, and montages out the wazoos. Oh, god, the montages...! The film should have been called Montage of a Cannibal since I'd reckon 85% of this movie is presented in montage form."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
production horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Ulli Lommel
Ulli Lommel
Ulli Lommel , is a German actor and director, noted for his many horror films, and for his career as an actor on Rainer Werner Fassbinder's films.-Career:...
. It is based on the true-crime story of Armin Meiwes
Armin Meiwes
Armin Meiwes is a German man who achieved international notoriety for killing and eating a voluntary victim whom he had found via the Internet. After Meiwes and the victim jointly attempted to eat the victim's severed penis, Meiwes killed his victim and proceeded to eat a large amount of his flesh...
, the "Rotenburg Cannibal" who posted an online ad searching for someone to volunteer to be mutilated and eaten. Unlikely as it may seem, someone actually replied. The cannibal met his intended victim and seduced, murdered, and consumed him.
Lommel's film changes the account from a "Rotenburg Cannibal" to a young Los Angeleno girl who is corrupted by her new lover, a narcissistic man who talks her into killing and eating him.
Plot
A young woman named Noelle (Jillian Swanson) lies dying in a prison hospital bed after being severely beaten by female inmates. Police detectives interview her, pressing her for her account of the events that lead to her incarceration. In a flashback, she thought she found her soul mate online when she met Adam (Trevor Parsons). Eventually, they fall madly in love. Something about Adam isn't quite right, though, when he insists that Noelle eat him in order for them to be "truly one." Knowing his request is insane, she refuses and even stops taking his calls. However, Noelle finally gives in to his request. They drive out to the desert and bunk down in a warehouse. Noelle does the deed, cooks his innards, eats him, and then steps out for a smoke. A man shows up at the warehouse looking for old furniture, wanders into the grisly scene, and calls the police.Trivia
Diary of a Cannibal was shot under the title Cannibal.In 2004, one of director Ulli Lommel's collaborators, the German actor-producer Marian Dora, accepted Lommel's assignment to make a feature film in Germany that documented the Meiwes case. Dora's finished film was rejected by Lommel as being too gory, and Dora subsequently released the movie -- Cannibal – Aus dem Tagebuch des Kannibalen
Cannibal (film)
- Plot :In a small rural town, a man roams the streets, his apparent search for a suitable partner runs without success.On the internet, he continues to search, he's looking for meat, and he finds a willing victim. The man meets the young man in the open field and entertains him on his farm...
-- on his own in Germany within months. Lommel set about producing his own version of the Miewes case.
Lions Gate Entertainment, the distributor in North America, had already used the title Cannibal when they retitled a French-Canadian production called White Skin, so they were forced to change the title of Lommel's film to Diary of a Cannibal.
The Filming
Diary of a Cannibal was filmed in late 2005 in Venice, California along the canals and in Pearblossom, CaliforniaPearblossom, California
Pearblossom is an unincorporated town located in Los Angeles County, California. The town has a population of 2,435. The ZIP Code is 93553 and the community is inside area code 661.-Geography:...
. The Venice pier location used in some scenes have been featured in several Lommel movies. The interior of the desert warehouse was filmed in Marina Del Rey, California
Marina del Rey, California
-Demographics:-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Marina del Rey had a population of 8,866. The population density was 6,094.6 people per square mile...
at a furniture store.
The dead boy's heart and other organs were taken from a pig's carcass.
Critical reception
The movie has received uniformly negative reviews and has bounced around the bottom-100 list on IMDB. On Yahoo Movies, 24 readers give Diary of a Cannibal an "F" rating.Dread Central published a negative review that stated, in part, "...the film jumps around almost at random (flashbacks and flash forwards) and even repeats scenes that already added nothing to the story to begin with (i.e. they really loved to frolic on the beach - a lot). It's all done very abstract, using minimalist dialogue, buffering scenes with every Bible quote Lommel could find about eating or sacrifice, over directed with a masturbatory amount of fancy edits, fades, black & white footage, fake scratches to the digital image to make it look like an old 8mm reel, and montages out the wazoos. Oh, god, the montages...! The film should have been called Montage of a Cannibal since I'd reckon 85% of this movie is presented in montage form."