Papaya - Die Liebesgöttin der Kannibalen

Papaya: Love Goddess of the Cannibals (1978)

** (out of 4)

Director D'Amato takes his sleaze to the Caribbean for the first time but this in turn would lead to a long line of films shot there including the infamous Porno Holocaust and Erotic Nights of the Living Dead. Unlike those two films this one here remains softcore throughout but, as with many of the director's films, the subject matter bounces all around. A reporter and a nuclear power scientist are on the island having some fun when they meet the strange but beautiful Papaya (Melissa Chimenti). What the two don't know is that Papaya might be a voodoo goddess ready to use her sexuality to have things do her own way and lets just say she doesn't want any nuclear power plant on her island. Whether or not you're going to like a film like this solely depends on what you feel about the genre at hand. D'Amato not only mixes the voodoo and horror genres with the sex and nudity but he also throws in some action, drama and even a silly ritual dance. Those expecting to see a cannibal film are going to be disappointed because that title was pretty much thrown on with the exception of one guy who takes a bite out of a human heart. The only other way this is connected to other cannibal movies is the fact that many animals here are slaughtered on camera. Two dead pigs are gutted and a chicken dies during a cockfight so animals lovers might want to stay away. As is also usual, the director throws in all sorts of sex and nudity but none of it is overly erotic and after a while it gets rather tiresome. The director also lets scenes roll on and on for way too long and this includes one where our couple is walking around with nothing happening for at least ten minutes. With that said, the women are attractive here and the story is mildly entertaining if you know what to expect. The opening sex scene/murder is ultra violent with a big splash of gore so these reasons might make people want to see the movie.

The titular character of Joe D'amato's Papaya, Love Goddess of the Cannibals is an exotic dark-skinned beauty played by Melissa Chimenti; I'm guessing that Laura Gemser wasn't available. Papaya belongs to a tribe who are fighting back against industrialists planning to build a nuclear reactor on their tropical island. Using sex as bait, Papaya lures her victims into deadly traps, her latest target being geologist Vincent (Maurice Poli). Vincent is drawn to a remote village where he and his companion, reporter Sara (Sirpa Lane - average face, great body), are forced to participate in a voodoo ritual, and are subsequently held captive, both falling under the erotic spell of Papaya.

Kicking off things with an oral castration, Papaya, Love Goddess of the Cannibals looks set to be one hell of a trashy treat for fans of Italian sleaze, but the film turns out to be far less brutal than expected, the bulk of the film focussing on the main characters sexual liaisons: Papaya, Vincent and Sara play 'pass the partner', with the leader of the island rebels joining in the fun later on. Anyone watching for splattery cannibalistic action will be sorely disappointed: apart from the opening emasculation, the only other gory moment comes during the the islander's 'round stone' ritual, where two dead pigs are eviscerated and a man has his heart cut out and eaten. Other than that, it's just an endless succession of soft-core coupling (albeit with full frontal from both sexes), and very little in the way of plot; while this might still appeal to many D'amato fans, I found it all rather dull and repetitive.

4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for the twist ending, the only original thing about the whole film, and for the funky disco music that gets the islanders naked and gyrating during the round stone ritual.

I saw this for the first time recently after reading a review of BA_Harrison in which he praised the end twist which kinda made me see this one otherwise i aint no fan of such movies. Honestly, apart from the good boobs, the only saving grace is the twist. This movie doesnt even come close to the cannibal genre. Its very misleading. On a Caribbean island, a nuclear power plant is to be erected against the will of the natives. The natives use a tropical beauty in seducing n killing off the engineers of the project. A journalist gets involved into the act of murder, cannibalism (minor castration), drugs, rituals n sex after meeting an engineer.

If you're looking for gore in this film, you'll probably be disappointed. Apart from two brief moments of cannibalism and the slaughtering of two dead pigs, there is nothing else worth mentioning. I believe that this time D'Amato's heart was more in the erotic aspect. And he either got lucky or he got smart with the casting here, because it is spot-on: the actress who plays Papaya has a face that looks a little like Pam Grier's and a body to die for (and some men do!), and the blonde female lead is even more gorgeous, and a fairly capable actress as well. The true climax of the film is a 3-minute lesbian scene between them that is very well-done - one for the anthology books, as these things go. To sum up, as a horror film this gets a ** but as an erotic film it gets a ***.

Preceding the apocalyptic 'Zombie' outbreak in Matul, and a decade before the fiendish mini-mammalian mayhem of 'Ratman', Joe D'Amato's eye-popping expose of Voodoo-bugaboo Eco terrorism is, sadly, all too infrequently praised. A perverse, generously pulchritudinous, picture perfect peepshow, D'Amato's enticing admixture of exotic travelogue vista's, sizzling carnality, and tasteful, then-voguish usage of juicy Cannibal tropes prove irresistible! The buxom, blithely bi-curious blonde Journalist's (Shirpa Lane) lustful investigations of the deadly dusky demonologist Melissa (Melissa Chimenti) reveals the increasingly malign mystique of this vengeful Voodoo priestess. The deliciously overripe Papaya, Love Goddess of The Cannibals potently flesh-some cocktail of sun, sea and sultry sedition remains an intoxicatingly intimate exploitation classic, wherein only the largest portions of forbidden fruit will satisfy!