Cannibal Girls

David Cronenberg said he was the first man to make a horror film in Canada, but I think this was made first. (unless it wasn't considered a horror film). SCTV's Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin star as couple who goes to a small town filled with strange people who turns out to be cannibals. The film is low on horror and dead on comedy. American International Pictures didn't know what to do with this film, so they tacked in a door bell sound to warn the viewers of all the shock scenes. (would be shock scenes is more like it). Siskel & Ebert gave this film "The Dog of the Week" back in 1980. Reitman second directional effort is a misfire to horror fans, but it's an intresting film looking back at it now.

This movie is pretty boring, but it DOES have a young Eugene Levy in a big messed-up afro, sideburns and sunglasses. That aside, it's either scary or funny and I woulden't recommended it. But it's watchable, most due to Eugene Levy (the genius from Waiting for Guffman and American Pie I & II).

There is an explanation to the disjointed and jumbled storyline. From what I read, the movie was originally made in 1971 as a cheap quickie by producers Reitman and Goldberg, largely depending on improvisation. On seeing the completed footage, they felt that they could get a good distribution deal if they made some alterations... which took about two years to complete!

So it's no wonder that with all this make-it-up-as-we-go-along for two years that the finished product makes little sense - and moves awfully slow as it tries to figure out what to do with itself. It seems to have been intended as a horror comedy, but it doesn't work as such. The comedy, apart from a couple of moments that induce small smirks, is not only bad in itself, it's delivered with almost no energy. Levy and Martin show nothing of the zaniness they brought out later in their careers.

The horror moments are marginally better; the crudeness of the production does give a few of these moments an effective grittiness. There are some other moments that could have also worked had they not been spoiled by some terrible acting (voice and posing) by the actors.

I suspect you might have guessed already that this is a bad movie, considering how the movie has never received a video release or is readily available on cable or TV (at least in the U.S.) despite its association with Levy, Martin, and Reitman. Don't expect a DVD release of it any time soon - even MGM (which now owns the A.I.P. catalog) isn't *that* desperate!

The film is about a couple, played by young Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin in their pre-SCTV days, that rent a room in a small town called Farnhamville. It is here in this rather desolated, out-of-the-way town that the two hear about an old legend about three cannibal girls and their atrocious murdering. It turns out, of course, that the legend is in fact reality and not so old as explained. The film has some bright spots including some humorous touches added by the performances of the two leads. Reitman, yes that is right...Reitman the director of such blockbusters as Ghostbusters, creates a pretty good atmosphere of bleakness especially in the town scenes.

Considering the budget used, this is a pretty good cheap thriller high on atmosphere and low on plot. The story is weird...to put it bluntly. There is a goodly amount of gore and red blood as well to contribute to the atmosphere. The sets are cheap, the film quality is cheap, the acting unknown even to this day aside from the two leads, and the story is inane. Nonetheless I can think of worse ways to waste 90 minutes, so if you get the chance...take a peek and see if your curiosity is peaked.

It's not big budget, it's goofy - but I liked it. A lot of great horror movies (and I use the term "horror" loosely with this film) were low budget, starred nobodies, and shot with a sort of your-hometown look.

Cannibal Girls holds a bit of a Manson feel, as it was the buzz of the time. It was shot in rural parts of Toronto, areas which no not exist as rural any more. And it holds two big Canadian actors, who were nobody at the time - but do a great job of what they would become known for a few years later, great character actors. This is what makes it an alright film, but you have got to drop your standards of horror movies a bit to see this.

The story has a bit of an urban legend idea to it I suppose. The movie also contains something I think any true horror movie buff would think about when entering upon an odd out-of-the-way situation - don't you sometimes wonder if that hamburger, with the funky taste, you are eating at the diner in Tuckedawaytown, pop. 35, is really cow? When the film was first shown, it supposedly had a warning bell to let the "squeamish" know of impending grossness. Seeing it the first time 16 years after its original release, I didn't see any reason for bells' and whistles. I'm sure some people would have wanted that bell more with films like Zombie. However, I still wonder if cannibal girl #2 was eating a man sausage, or a MAN sausage.

Hey man, loosen up, Cannibal Girls is a cheap pseudohorror mouthful any horror buff should sample once.