Few topics prevalent in horror movies are as consistently squirm-inducing as cannibalism. Over decades of horror films, one constant is that the mere idea of people eating other people is unsettling across demographics. It's truly a timeless concept when it comes to on-screen terror.
That being said, it's not only horror movies that cover the topic of cannibalism. As the following eight movies will hopefully demonstrate, the topic has also been explored in crime movies, musicals, thrillers, dark comedies, and science-fiction films. Sometimes, the plots of these movies focus on cannibalism, while others may only mention it for a brief (but memorable) scene. The following eight films may not, therefore, be for the faint of heart but do at least demonstrate the versatility (and surprising pervasiveness) of the concept of cannibalism.
Some entries in this list contain spoilers.
'Raw' (2016)
Filmmaker Julia Ducournau won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for her provocative and compelling horror film, Titane. Five years before, she made the equally high-quality (and equally extreme) horror film Raw, which didn't get the same level of exposure as Titane, though it deserved to. Raw follows a young vegetarian student, Justine, who begins studying at a veterinary college, only to find she mysteriously gains a desire to eat meat that eventually overpowers her want to continue a vegetarian diet.
Things get darker and more twisted as the desire for raw meat gets stronger, eventually leading to Justine wanting to consume human flesh. That's where things get even more twisted and anxiety-inducing. For seasoned horror fans, it's a must-watch, thanks to how well it executes its simple premise and the strength of its performances.
'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991)
No cannibal character in the world of film (or maybe even in all fiction) is more well-known than Hannibal Lecter. While there might not be a clear consensus on which actor played Lecter the best, Anthony Hopkins' role is probably the best-known. And of the three films he played the character in, the best and most highly acclaimed is The Silence of the Lambs.
It definitely has its horror elements but is probably more of a crime thriller/police procedural than an out-and-out horror movie. Still, it's rare for anything horror-related to be as successful as The Silence of the Lambs was at the Academy Awards, as it won five Oscars, including Best Picture. Lecter himself might not do much human-eating in this one, but his legendary last line about "having an old friend for dinner" certainly hints at it, not to mention another line about fava beans and a nice Chianti...
'Cannibal Holocaust' (1980)
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Cannibal Holocaust is one of many cannibal-themed horror films and perhaps the best-known of its subgenre. It's also notorious for being one of the goriest and most disturbing films of all time, with graphic effects that were so realistic that upon release, some people believed certain deaths depicted in the film happened for real.
The good news is that no people died, but the bad news is that many animals did. For as brutal as the human-on-human violence is, it's probably the actual violence committed against real animals that make up the film's most disturbing scenes. It's reasonable to expect many viewers to be put off by this; even beyond that, the film is incredibly confronting. But it's hard to deny that it's a truly impactful film, and beyond the gruesome imagery, it has a good deal of social commentary about the media's (and humanity's) apparent love of violence.
'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' (2002)
Sure, this second film in one of the best trilogies of all time isn't about cannibalism, strictly speaking. But The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers does feature it in one notable, memorable scene and does have implications for the trilogy's primary villainous force: the orcs.
One gets killed by an Uruk-hai for trying to eat the hobbits Merry and Pippin, upon which another orc seizes the opportunity for a free meal, loudly declaring that "meat's back on the menu." Then that orc, plus several others, dig in. It's mostly off-screen but still quite disturbing, making for one of the film's scariest and most frightening scenes. It also emphasizes how terrifying the orcs are; if they're willing to do that to one of their own, it makes us even more fearful of what they'd do to any of the film's heroes.
'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' (1975)
The wild, cult classic musical that is The Rocky Horror Picture Show features a rather surprising scene of cannibalism around the film's halfway point. Meat Loaf makes an appearance as Eddie, a biker, who gets to sing one song before being killed by Tim Curry's Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
Shortly after, the characters have a fairly normal (by this film's standards) meal. Things naturally fall apart when Frank reveals they'd been eating Eddie the whole time, kicking off a second half that plunges the characters - and viewers - into stranger and stranger territory. For as horrifying as the idea of not realizing you're eating a person might be, the fact they're eating a character played by someone known as "Meat Loaf" is darkly funny.
'The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover' (1989)
The titular thief in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover is a nasty villain who terrorizes the staff and patrons of an otherwise nice restaurant, night after night, while also subjecting his wife to constant abuse. Upon finding out she's having an affair behind his back with another restaurant regular, he declares he's going to "kill him and eat him."
Eventually, he does the former, while in a twisted, cathartic ending, his wife forces him to do the latter before finishing him off for good. It's an incredibly tense and nauseating finale, but after all the horrible things he's done throughout the film, such a twisted demise is earned. He's held to his word and ends up dying in incredible discomfort and disgust. It's quite a strange and confronting movie, in case you couldn't tell.
'Soylent Green' (1973)
Soylent Green is a dark and discomforting science-fiction film. Funnily enough, it takes place in 2022 and presents an even more horrifying vision of the world, where overpopulation and pollution have led to increased crime and corruption and a crippling reduction in resources essential for living, like food.
In the film's closing scenes, Charlton Heston's character makes the horrific discovery that Soylent Green - a mysteriously manufactured food that many people rely on to survive - is made from people, seemingly because it reduces the population while feeding those who aren't turned into food. It's a great twist for the end of the film, and one of the film's most memorable moments, largely because of how shocking it is, even by dystopian science-fiction standards.
'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' (2007)
Among the best films that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp made together, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is an enjoyable mash-up of musical and horror. Effectively, it's about a barber who, with the help of his neighbor, murdered his customers and had them baked into pies, which people would then purchase, unaware of what the exact type of meat found within was.
Burton's visual style perfectly suits this dark, shadow-filled, gothic depiction of 1800s London. It's also done almost entirely in song, and it's remarkable how well it combines a remarkably "un-musical" story (featuring plenty of death and blood) with a musical presentation. It's not for the squeamish, but otherwise, it ranks among the best cannibal-themed movies of the 21st century.