Cannibal Girls (1973)

This is an awful movie. It not funny. It is not scary. It just gross. The ending is awful. The story line is awful. If you to want see a good movie see The Texas Chainsaw massacre. Do not see this movie it is awful. And not scary. I did not even know this was comedy when I watched. Seriously were is the hummer. This is sick garbage. Do not see it. It is one of the worst horror movies ever. And it not a comedy. If is meat to funny it is not. It no funnier then The Texas chainsaw massacre. The Texas chainsaw massacre is scary. This not scary at all.

Where to start...Well, this film had a very profound effect on me as a young teenager when I first saw it late at night around 1985. The effect is still the same to this day. I was so overwhelmed by the feel of this movie that I became obsessed with finding all the filming locations after I saw it again in 1988. I am also astonished at how under-rated this gem is.I'm a big fan of classic 1970's Canadian cult films and this tops my list. Yes it even beats out other Canadian 1970's horrors gems like: Deranged, Black Christmas, Death Weekend and Rituals. There is just so much going on here: including the complex and eerie soundtrack which adds to the overall feel. This piece of music is an unknown masterpiece, that goes through minor and major chord sequences and changes key with each round. The camera used brings out that 1970's feel to its extreme. There is comedy interchanged within the dialogue and the horror, and the actor choices were spot on.Eugene Levy (Clifford) and Andrea Martin (Gloria) of SCTV fame were cast well as the main characters. They start out driving in the snowy wilds of Ontario looking for a place to stay. The two come to Farnhamville (Beaverton) and are mystically controlled into staying there by the townsfolk. They end up staying at the old Oak Inn (Oak Ridges) and the hotel owner, May Jarvis, takes them back in time when she tells them a story of a legend involving three girls who methodically lure unsuspecting men to their century farm house (Aurora), in which each is systematically murdered and chopped up for feasting on. These feasts give the girls everlasting life. The scene involving one of the men being tied seductively to the bed by the girls is very effective (he is eaten alive after all). We soon learn who is really in control, however.Enter Ronald Ulrich-- one must experience the work done by this consummate stage professional, who plays the Reverend Alex St. John. This was his second foray into the movie business (and sadly his last). This guy nails the character to a T. His look and his voice bring this character to life. He still terrifies me. Not only was he naturally mesmerizing, but also had a very comedic sense which he brought to the table (literally). His lines delivered to Clifford are priceless--humour done with a slight smirk. His power over the 3 girls is also intoxicating. They will do anything for him, including singing an eerie song in unison when he recites lines from Shakespeare. Had any other actor played this part it just would not have worked.Eventually things become more and more confusing and horrific for the couple. Much has been said on the dream sequence and I personally don't buy it. Other films offer more confusing dream sequences (Nightmare on Elm Street for example) but no one seemed to ever complain about those. For me, the dream sequence adds to the overall mind game the Reverend is able to play. In fact, the Reverend has one more thing up his sleeve. He is going to make Gloria the 4th Cannibal Girl and he is going to get her to murder her own partner in the process. How does the Rev get her to do this and how does Gloria finish Clifford off? Watch the movie to find out. The girls will live forever on human flesh and its implied that the townsfolk of Farnhamville will too. Soon Gloria will be dining with her new family. The family table is covered in Clifford's flesh and organs- her initial moral judgment against such acts are overcome as she partakes at the feast.Lastly, May Jarvis is seen back at her hotel where she welcomes a new couple with the same story she told Clifford and Gloria, confirming the assumption that the whole town is in on the Reverend's scheme.Ps- I was quite upset at the cover art on the DVD. The Reverend and all three girls looked nothing like those pictured. The Reverend on the cover doesn't even suit the part.Ivan Reitman would go on do another classic called Meatballs, the best and earliest of the camp genre. His most famed production was one I find unbearable, Ghostbusters.

Loved this film: a campy modern fairytale and quirky melodrama with dark undertones. There is some mostly awful acting, a lot of it clearly improvised, but interspersed with moments of sheer brilliance. Eugene Levy is awesome, with little glints of the talent evident in his later more memorable roles. The Reverend Alex St. John has a Jim Jones aura about him and holds the town in thrall, although Jonestown was still 5 years in the future. (I guess this movie was way ahead of its time in several ways?). The wintry Ontario scenes and stark minimalistic directing deliver a sustained sense of foreboding and unease that something is very, very wrong in the town of Farnhamville. The degree of gratuitous violence and gore is quite surprising for its time. The femme fatales are deliciously sensual and alluring, and their victims appropriately chauvinistic (and hairy!). Yet there are also some delightful subtle touches, like when the mechanic at the local gas station places a for sale sign on Clifford's car that is in for repair: the message is simple- once you arrive, you can never leave. The atmosphere is relentless and for me, genuinely scary.Twilight, eat your heart out!

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.