Cannibal Girls

1973's CANNIBAL GIRLS is a surprisingly engaging and competently made shocker from the Great White North.  A "Canuxploitation" distinguished as the first directorial effort by Ivan Reitman, who would later produce a few horror films for fellow Canadian David Cronenberg and then find great success in the States.  Once he made comedies with Bill Murray, there was no looking back.  Never again would Reitman explore the kind of darkness on tap here, in which a trio of cannibal women and their tuxedoed, Charles Mansonesque leader lurk, spellbinding an entire town to constantly scout for fresh meat.  You gotta start somewhere, I guess.

Does CANNIBAL GIRLS feature any of the sort comedy found in movies like STRIPES, GHOSTBUSTERS, and TWINS?  There is a droll sensibility to the narrative, written by Robert Sandler and based on an original story by Sandler, Reitman, and Daniel Goldberg.  Flashes of black humor that do work as individual throwaways.  Maybe that detached, sardonic point of view in Reitman's later work is present here, but I must say it is overshadowed considerably by a taste (so to speak) for terror.  This movie succeeds mainly for its creepy, uncomfortable atmosphere.  Its slow build towards the Inevitable.  All of this is nicely augmented by DP Robert Saad's capture of wintry Ontario locations..

Clifford (Eugene Levy, boasting an hysterical afro and mustache) and Gloria (Andrea Martin, rocking some '70s go-go boots) are a nice young couple from Toronto who fancy a remote getaway.  Farnhamville, a dull backwater, is hardly their first choice but car trouble strands them there.  They notice that everyone is strange.  People at the gas station, the sheriff, even the telephone operator are ominous in their behavior.   But there is that nice lady who runs the motel.  She helpfully suggests a restaurant for them to try.

I won't say more.  There are plenty of spoilers elsewhere.  I think you can figure it out with the information provided.  There are tricks, perhaps one too many, with dreams and flashbacks.  A surprising amount of eroticism and gore.  The women are gorgeous.  The Karo syrup spurts a plenty.  There are repulsive scenes of flesh chewing, a few of which might inspire you to turn vegetarian.

Reitman doesn't dwell too long on the exploitation elements, but their presence is potent enough to make the entire enterprise work as good ol'  non-think drive-in sleaze.  That is the level on which to best enjoy this film.  Any intended deep subtext was lost on me, though we always unavoidably create our own.  This film is not subtle.  If you need assistance with the scene in which a cannibal girl lovingly wraps her tongue around the tip of a carrot and then slices it off, I can't help you.

Additionally, I have to single out Martin's (who later starred with Levy on SCTV) sweet performance as the innocent Gloria.  She was effectively good hearted and naive, making her final scenes that much more disturbing.  This is a horror.  Though perhaps in more than one sense.

P.S. - Some versions of CANNIBAL GIRLS feature a warning buzzer type sound to alert sensitive viewers when a scene is about to get too violent or too sexy.  Why such viewers would bother with this thing is something I can't answer.  Maybe it was designed for reluctant tag-a-long dates?