Et mourir... de plaisir

It must be said that, alongside Jess Franco, Joe D'Amato is one of the undisputed kings of exploitation. His films such as Anthropophagous, Beyond the Darkness, Images in a Convent, Caligula: The Untold Story and his sleaze-filled Black Emanuelle sagas are bona fide classicks of the "genre". Papaya: Love Goddess of the Cannibals is one of his lesser known titles which has now been made available fully uncensored for the first time on DVD by the fine folks at Severin Films.

Maurice Poli (Rabid Dogs, Five Dolls for an August Moon) is part of a team of Geologists who, for reasons unexplained, are installing a nuclear reactor on a remote Caribbean island paradise. Before long Maurice unexpectedly bumps into his old reporter friend Sirpa Lane (La Bete) who just happens to be vacationing on the island. (Cue plenty of softcore sex as the old chums get reacquainted). When the couple picks up a hitchhiking native named Papaya, she tells them of an ancient annual ritual happening nearby and they decide to go along and check it out… and end up getting much more than they bargained for.

Papaya opens with probably one of the best scenes in the film; island sexpot Papaya seduces a bearded Geologist in his hut by rubbing fruit on his body then castrates him with her teeth. This is the first of two scenes of cannibalism in the film. The rest of it is pretty much held together with an abundance of sex set against a picturesque tropical backdrop and a vague plot which involves the natives protesting against having a nuclear reactor built on their island by having Papaya seduce and kill all the Geologists involved.

The title of the film is very misleading and the name on the actual print is Caribbean Papaya which makes much more sense because as mentioned above there are only two very brief scenes of cannibalism, the aforementioned one and another which is during the cannibal ritual and involves the eating of a sacrificial victims heart and some dead pigs being graphically gutted.

One thing there is no lack of though is sex & nudity - Nordic sleaze princess Sirpa Lane gets her kit off plenty and so does Melissa Chimenti who plays local temptress Papaya and looks a little like transvestite actor/tress Ajita Wilson which can be either a good or bad thing I guess depending on your orientation. The sex can sometimes be pretty graphic for softcore and there's plenty of variety from interracial couplings to threesomes and even a full-blown "cannibal" orgy underscored with some irresistibly funky disco beats.

Ultimately I cant say this is a must-have D'Amato film; it's basically a mediocre softcore fare with some vague cannibalism themes thrown in for added shock value. For Sirpa Lane fan-boys and/or D'Amato completists only.

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.

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 ***.

Papaya dei Caraibi simmers with a heavy tropical atmosphere and erotic undertones but never quite delivers on its potential, ultimately leaving the viewer adrift in a haze of slow-motion sensuality and half-formed ideas. Shot on location in the Caribbean, the film does benefit from a lush, sun-drenched visual palette that gives the impression of a fever dream caught between a travel brochure and a pulp novel. The cinematography leans into the exoticized terrain, favoring golden light, soft focus, and lingering close-ups that sometimes feel more voyeuristic than artistic. There are moments when the atmosphere clicks, briefly conjuring an almost hypnotic spell, but too often it's undercut by lazy editing and repetitive imagery that drains the energy from the screen.

The performances range from serviceable to wooden. Melissa Chimenti, who plays the enigmatic Papaya, certainly has the screen presence to anchor the film's erotic edge, and her portrayal does hint at deeper complexity. However, the script gives her little to work with beyond seductive stares and ritualistic gestures. The supporting cast appears more functional than inspired, drifting through their roles with a kind of disaffected detachment that mirrors the film's own lack of urgency. Dialogue scenes are flatly delivered and often poorly dubbed, stripping any emotional nuance from interactions that are already thin on substance.

What undermines Papaya dei Caraibi most is its confused tone. It flirts with horror, exploitation, and socio-political commentary, but never commits fully to any of them. The result is a muddled narrative wrapped in titillating imagery, where the sexual content is more prominent than the story itself. D'Amato, no stranger to mixing genre and eroticism, seems less interested in telling a coherent tale than in stringing together provocative scenes under a veil of island mysticism.

Just watched this sleazefest from notorious director Joe D'Amato for the second time and found it an improvement over my first viewing. The English title "Love Goddess of the Cannibals" is misleading, the only two acts of cannibalism throughout the whole movie consists of a woman Papaya (Melissa) biting off a man's penis (ouch!) and a Voodoo priest bite into the heart of a human sacrifice. In fact I would struggle to even call this a horror movie, instead it is more of an eco thriller with lots of sleaze, sex and nudity. Expect much full frontal nudity of both sexes, right from the off. Much of the running time is made up of softcore sex scenes, maybe it's my age but I felt that they started to become a bit too repetitive, plus being the 1970's the women sport the natural look downstairs! As well as Melissa spending much of her screen time naked the lovely Sirpa Lane does too, though Papya is also a fountain of knowledge, "I'll tell you something you didn't know, everybody's brain is the same colour!" There are a couple of scenes featuring animal cruelty, firstly we see some cock fighting, then later two pigs are gutted at a Voodoo ceremony. This ceremony scene goes on for some time and is probably the best chapter of the movie. Shot in the Dominican Republic it is vibrant in colour and sound, if Eurosleaze is your thing then Papya is well worth a look - just don't expect much cannibalism!