For much of the 1980s, a significant number of moviegoers were convinced that the bloody classic Cannibal Holocaustthere were real scenes. Moreover, Ruggero Deodato, the director of the film and obsessed with the theme of violence, did much more than just film the horrific scenes. The rumor became more and more persistent, encouraged by the director himself as a form of publicity, until it was accepted as truth. In particular, when environmental organizations condemned that in some of the controversial episodes there was clear cruelty to animals.
The scandal got worse when Deodato was charged with murder and sent to an Italian court, where he faced life imprisonment. Cause? That a campaign claiming that some of the film’s bloody scenes were so compelling that it caused a stir in the country. Particularly disturbing is the scene in which the corpse of a woman appears in the middle of the jungle, impaled. In conclusion, the director admitted that the rumors were untrue and explained the method for creating his practical effects. All the actors in the film even had to appear on a television program to prove that they were alive. Deodato was eventually acquitted. But despite this, there is a terrible legend around Cannibal Holocaustremains film history.
Of course, this is not the first time that cinema has tried to pass off untrue stories as certain stories. To prove this, we leave you with 7 films that insist they are based on true events, but are not. From horror classics to action and adventure in the search for the Grail. All to make it clear that sometimes the film world needs to pull out all its guns in order for its works to be recognized. As is the case with this particular list.
‘Strangers‘ Brian Bertino
In 2008, then-director Brian Bertino directed Strangersa twisted and twisted horror story that surprises in its apparent simplicity. In the story, three masked strangers subjected the couple to all kinds of torture. through a long night of horrors that ended in death.
When asked by one of the victims why they were chosen for such a tragedy, one of the attackers responded with a phrase that became iconic. “Because they were at home.” Even scarier is that at the beginning of the film it becomes clear that the plot is based on real events. This suggests that the random nature of the attack is part of the actual crime. But is this true?
What really happened
In fact, Bertino has noted in several interviews that it was essentially based on two different situations. One of them is the murders committed by the Manson Family in 1969. And also an event from his childhood, when a group of criminals broke into a neighboring house and terrorized the residents. However, there was not a single case on which the film is based. So the proposal based on real events is more than inaccurate.
‘Dormitory‘ Eli Roth
In 2005, Eli Roth directed one of the most shockingly gory films in cinema history. The plot tells how two American tourists in Eastern Europe are kidnapped by a network of human traffickers. To turn them into victims heartless clients who pay large sums of money for the privilege of killing them.
The darkest part was that the director insisted that the entire plot was based on a real event. According to what he said during a press tour, while at Quentin Tarantino’s home, he read a news article online that described a chain of torture and death being shared by a sophisticated and insidious Thai organization. In addition, he managed to find a way to contact the refrigeration service. The rest was an attempt to make a documentary – unsuccessfully – and, ultimately, a film.
What really happened
In fact, as Roth later admitted, although there was a website advertising a mysterious and violent creepy entertainment service, he was never able to verify that it was true. That didn’t stop the idea from haunting him. So he used a scary plot for his most famous and one of the least traditional films.recent horror film.
‘21 BlackjackRobert Luketic
In this 2008 film, a group of talented math students are recruited by a charismatic professor to carry out a slightly illegal mission. Namely: travel in a group from time to time to Las Vegas to achieve Guess the betting table results through hot probability calculations.
Gradually, what started as a successful experiment turned into a way to exploit casino security flaws to their advantage. Certainly, It went horribly wrong and everyone was harassed and threatened by various criminals.
The film, based on the book “Home Collapse” by Ben Mezrich, tells the story of a real-life event detailed in the original material. that’s all The path – from huge profits to danger – was a real story.
What really happened
In fact, as it turned out shortly after the film’s release, the book, which was advertised as non-fiction, did not actually describe any documented events. While this requires actual references from similar groups, it actually confuses them with an argument that does not come from any specific case.
‘Fourth stage» Olatunde Osunsanmi
Government manipulation, collective hysteria, cover-up of emergency events, hidden traumas. The film seemed to be the Holy Grail of conspiracy theories, and that’s how it was marketed. This led to the entire advertising campaign being directly tied to the fact that the numerous alien abduction stories it featured were real. Much more than a plot centered on a confession obtained through hypnosis, This was an incident that demonstrated contact with extraterrestrial life.
In fact, the film has a slightly documentary feel to it, which is also based on various news reports and websites about unexplained events in Alaska. Therefore, at the time of its release, the film was surprised and disturbed by the possibility that This may indicate a large-scale paranormal event.
What really happened
This is one of the cases where the deception comes directly from the production of the film. From creating a website to storing versions of recorded reviews, They even distort real events and crimes under investigation to support their version.
In fact, the whole thing was an orchestrated production designed to create intrigue around an independent film. What didn’t stop you from going through the information? increase data on conspiracy theories in pop culture.
‘Da Vinci Code» Ron Howards
In 2003, author Dan Brown became one of the most widely read in the world—and in history—with his book Da Vinci Code. The plot tells how a prestigious professor of symbolism stumbles upon a centuries-old conspiracy. One of them questioned the basic dogmas of Catholicism and pointed out that the Church had hidden a transcendental fact. That Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and that they both had a daughter. This gave rise to a sacred family destined to rule the world.
From a distance it may seem like nonsense, but at the time of publication the book, full of vague, poorly explained and poorly researched theories, was a success. Much more so when the inevitable adaptation was shown in the version’s lavish scenes. This prompted the characters to travel across Europe to solve a mystery that it was claimed could destroy the Catholic faith. Both the book and the tape ended at the same place. Finally, it was discovered that the remains of Mary Magdalene and documents proving the existence of the genealogy of Jesus,They were located under the inverted pyramid of the Louvre.
What really happened
Brown’s dissertation is taken from the book Holy Blood and Holy Grail Henry Lincoln, Michael Baigent and Richard Lee. The text, which explores the same topics, was based on apparent university research that turned out to be false. So the whole version about a secret organization that protected the descendants of Jesus Christ, It was a work of imagination and passion for the mysterious point of the Grail.
Dan Brown, who knew this, took a lot of data from various conspiracy theories and put together a general version of the topic. And, of course, under the inverted pyramid of the Louvre there is nothing but concrete.
‘Mothman: The Last Prophecy‘ Mark Pellington
And more mysterious events on the list. In 2002, Mark Pellington’s film tells the story of a series of sightings of an unexplained creature in West Virginia (USA). He did this through a film with a dense and uncomfortable atmosphere that depicts supposed real events. All of this led to a verifiable public event: the collapse of the Silver Bridge.
The scary part is that the above was based on a seemingly true story collected in John Keel’s 1975 book The Mothman Prophecies. According to this story, the terrifying figure of a winged monster with red eyes heralded disasters. And in fact, it was his presence that warned of the collapse of the aforementioned bridge in 1967. Always, according to the book – and later the film – many of the survivors They managed to save their lives thanks to the intervention of a mysterious figure.
What really happened
Of course, there is not the slightest verifiable hint of an anthropomorphic winged creature as the harbinger of the tragedy in West Virginia. And although there are many rumors, they relate more to local folklore than to a documented case. As for the bridge’s fall, it was due to poor maintenance and failure of the suspension plates. Something that alerted several local residents to the possibility of disaster.
‘Saving Private Ryan‘ Steven Spielberg
In 1998, Steven Spielberg brought what is considered a great epic of war cinema to the big screen. Moreover, as it turned out, the film was based on the tragic story of the Niland brothers. Two of them are believed to have died during the Normandy landings. The third never returned from his mission in the Pacific. So the last of the brothers, heading to France, became US Army Honorable Mission. But is such a tragic story true?
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What really happened
While the Niland family did have to mourn significant losses during World War II, the circumstances were not as tragic as the film portrays. In fact, the brother who returned to France did not have to endure a series of atrocities to return home. And the brother, supposedly killed in the Pacific Ocean, saved his life and was found in a prisoner of war camp in Burma. Finally, The grieving mother was not entirely alone: her two daughters still lived next to her.
Source: Hiper Textual
