Viewer discretion most definitely advised!

The movie that launched the Italian cannibal exploitation film boom. I watched Cannibal Ferox first, perhaps the most notable release inspired by Cannibal Holocaust, and it's interesting to compare and contrast the two. Both movies have cannibalistic Amazonian tribes and numerous gut-wrenching scenes of unsimulated cruelty to animals (it basically feels like "We need to fill some runtime, go stab that jungle animal!"), but there are some important differences between the two films. Overall, Cannibal Holocaust feels like a much meaner movie.

Where in Cannibal Ferox centers on an anthropology graduate student hoping to prove that stories of cannibalism are racist, colonial myths, the white film crew that go to the Amazon in Cannibal Holocaust have dubious motivations from the beginning. Arrogant and fame-seeking, they're determined to get provocative footage even if they have to stage it themselves, and they're brutal and callous in their interactions with the locals. Inevitably the indigenous folks grow sick of the abuse and they turn on the film crew in gory fashion.

In terms of gore and animal abuse both films are fairly equivalent, but Cannibal Holocaust leans much harder on sexual violence. Cannibal Holocaust criticizes media sensationalism, but simultaneously undermines itself by offering up sensationalism of its own. This isn't an easy watch--and I know many horror fans who avoid it based on its reputation--but it IS an interesting one. (It's also a very early showcase of the found footage technique.) My recommendation would be to watch Cannibal Ferox first, and if you're OK with that, only then give Cannibal Holocaust a shot.