Cannibal Girls review (DVD) ★★

Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
Stars Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Ronald Ulrich, Randall Carpenter, Bonnie Neilson, Mira Pawluk, Bob McHeady, Alan Gordon, Allan Price, Earl Pomerantz, May Jarvis, Gina Marrocco, Rick Maguire | Written by Robert Sandler
UK Certification 15 | UK RRP £14.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 80 minutes | Directed by Ivan Reitman

In a less glamorous time before his name was etched into the hearts of cineastes everywhere for his work directing the timeless Ghostbusters, Ivan Reitman's film-making career was spent nurturing a schlocky horror-comedy by the name of Cannibal Girls.

With humour so dry you'll feel obligated to lubricate the DVD before popping it into your player, 1973's Cannibal Girls is a largely nonsensical exercise in blood and guts mixed with irregular laughs. Reitman's feature debut, the film is a low-budget Canadian production that was mostly shot without a script, with the cast improvising a lot of their dialogue. Shooting so on the fly isn't the smartest idea as you'll end up with actors interrupting each other and stumbling over their words, which is exactly what happens in this very movie.

Set in a small and secluded town, new couple Clifford and Gloria (Levy and Martin) arrive in the fictional Farnhamville after their car breaks down. Deciding to stay in a motel while their transportation is fixed at the local garage, the love birds are told a harrowing urban legend by the owner about three cannibalistic young women who lured men to their house to kill, maim and dine on them. Taking the tale to the next level, the proprietor whisks the couple over to the house where the horrific events supposedly took place, and it soon becomes clear that the legend is in fact a reality. Needless to say, Clifford and Gloria's stay in Farnhamville takes a sudden turn for the worst and they find themselves fighting for their lives against a bizarre and overbearingly camp Reverend who controls the literal maneaters he lives with.

Partly a spoof on the serious horror films of the time, Cannibal Girls isn't nearly as funny as you may hope it would be coming from a then future Hollywood heavyweight, but its self-referential and deliberately ham-fisted approach to telling such a goofily gory story is at times amusing, especially with the “warning bell” gimmick that rings out an alarm just before a gruesome shot for the benefit of particularly squeamish audiences. It's a nice touch in a somewhat fun and forgotten film.

EXTRAS ??? Cannibal Guys: Ivan Reitman & Daniel Goldberg in Conversation; Meat Eugene: Eugene Levy Talks; French Credits: the opening titles from the rare French print of the film; a gallery of poster art, video art and lobby cards; three trailers; two radio spots; two PDF files: the original American International Press book and The Making of Cannibal Girls interview from Take One Magazine; and a selection of trailers for other releases from Nucleus Films.

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