Cannibal Girls

Last updated
Cannibal Girls
CannibalGirls.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ivan Reitman
Screenplay by Daniel Goldberg
Story by Robert Sandler
Daniel Goldberg
Ivan Reitman
Produced byDaniel Goldberg
Starring Eugene Levy
Andrea Martin
Ronald Ulrich
Cinematography Robert Saad
Edited byDaniel Goldberg
Music by Doug Riley
Distributed by Cinépix Film Properties Inc. (Canada)
American International Pictures (US)
Release date
June 8, 1973
Running time
84 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
BudgetCAD $15,000 [1]

Cannibal Girls is a 1973 Canadian independent grindhouse comedy horror film, co-written and directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, and Ronald Ulrich. [2]

Contents

Whether by coincidence or not, the name of the film's setting, Farnhamville, is reminiscent of Robert A. Heinlein's novel Farnham's Freehold , in which cannibalism is a major theme.

Plot

A couple are relaxing in a snowy forest near a small town in Ontario called Farnhamville. Suddenly, an axe wielding female assailant kills the boyfriend, rips the girlfriend's shirt open, and puts a dab of blood between her female victim's breasts.

Clifford Sturges and Gloria Wellaby are having trouble with their car. Their car manages to last until they reach the small and secluded town called Farnhamville, where it breaks down. At the same time, they come across another traveler who is looking for his missing sister (the female victim in the beginning sequence). Stranded, Clifford and Gloria check into a small motel owned by an old lady named Mrs. Wainwright. While inside, the old lady tells the couple about an urban legend, the 'Cannibal Girls'. It is about three beautiful but psychotic women named Anthea, Clarissa, and Leona, who lured men with their seductive charm to their home only to feast on them while alive. By eating their victims and drinking their blood, the girls maintained their youthfulness and immortality. They have a freakish little servant called 'Bunker'.

Clarissa kills the first victim in a secluded room, with both of them naked. She stabs him in the gut with a pair of scissors. For the second victim, Leona slowly stalks him with a knife, providing a diversion for Anthea to hack the man with an axe. The third victim wakes up the next day, wondering where all the other guys have gone. Later on, he makes love to Anthea. When he wakes up, he finds himself tied to a bed, surrounded by all three girls. At first they lick his belly, then they eat him alive right on the spot. Meanwhile, the traveler who was looking for his sister gets murdered by the local police as a special request from the Reverend himself.

Mrs. Wainwright takes Clifford and Gloria to a small bed and breakfast where the Cannibal Girls supposedly lived years before. They meet the host only known as the Reverend Alex St. John. The couple does not realize it, but their dinner is being served by the three Cannibal Girls themselves. The Reverend is the force behind the women's activities and possesses a charismatic hold on the entire town as well. The town residents hold a gathering dedicated to the Reverend Alex St. John. Anthea, Clarissa, and Leona are fully naked, standing around a small table offering their blood in a chalice to the Reverend, while chanting: "Within me and without me I honor the blood which gives me life."

Clifford and Gloria try to leave, but a thunderstorm and a warning of an escaped lunatic from the Reverend prompts the couple to stay overnight. Gloria has a scary nightmare of Clifford tied to the bed. The Reverend and the three girls force her to sacrifice Clifford. She wakes up from the nightmare, and Clifford tells her it was all a dream.

Clifford becomes distant to Gloria and speaks to her in a demanding way. Gloria cannot place a call to her parents since the phone lines are not working, and cannot leave town because the buses will not leave until the next morning. Clifford develops a craving for the food that is served in the town's small diners (which is actually human meat).

They are picked up by the sheriff and are taken back to the bed and breakfast occupied by the Cannibal Girls. When they walk inside, it is revealed that Clifford will offer Gloria as a sacrifice to the Reverend in exchange for his life. However, the Reverend has a change of heart, as he offers Gloria a mace. Fueled by the anger of her boyfriend's betrayal, Gloria mercilessly swings the mace into Clifford's stomach, killing him instantly.

During the final scene, the Reverend, Anthea, Clarissa, Leona, Bunker, and Gloria are seated at the table, with Clifford as the meal. At first Gloria is hesitant to eat her former boyfriend, but after a sign of encouragement from the Reverend, she happily digs in.

In the epilogue, it turns out that this entire event is actually being told by Mrs. Wainwright, this time about four Cannibal Girls to another couple stranded in their town.

Cast

Production

Cannibal Girls was filmed between 1971 and 1972, in rural areas surrounding Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The town scenes were all shot in Beaverton, Ontario. The home was owned by May Jarvis in Aurora, Ontario. Other scenes were shot in Oak Ridges, Ontario. The film was made with a very low budget and much of the dialogue was improvised. [3] The movie trailers and posters gave warnings to audiences who are squeamish to close their eyes whenever the bell rings during certain scenes of the film.

Awards

In November 1973, Ivan Reitman took the film to Spain for the Sitges Film Festival, where Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin won the awards for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively. [4]

Release

The film premiered on June 8, 1973, and was re-released as part of the South by Southwest Film Conference, on March 13, 2010. [5]

The film was released on DVD through Shout! Factory on October 26, 2010

During a montage of New York City being overrun by ghosts in Ghostbusters II (also directed by Reitman), Cannibal Girls is the film showing at a cinema where movie-goers are chased out by a winged ghost. It appears again in Ghostbusters: Afterlife once again at a local cinema. In 2024's Ghostbusters Frozen Empire it appears as a VHS cassette that Gary Grooberson picks up to watch for movie night.

Related Research Articles

<i>Ghostbusters</i> 1984 film directed by Ivan Reitman

Ghostbusters is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric parapsychologists who start a ghost-catching business in New York City. It also stars Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis, and features Annie Potts, Ernie Hudson, and William Atherton in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaverton, Ontario</span> Unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada

Beaverton is a community in Brock Township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josie Ho</span> Hong Kong singer and actress

Josephine "Josie" Ho Chiu-yi is a singer and actress from Hong Kong. She is the daughter of the Macao casino magnate Stanley Ho.

<i>Ghostbusters II</i> 1989 film by Ivan Reitman

Ghostbusters II is a 1989 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts. It is the sequel to the 1984 film Ghostbusters and the second film in the Ghostbusters franchise. Set five years after the events of the first film, the Ghostbusters have been sued and put out of business after the destruction caused during their battle with the deity Gozer the Gozerian. When a new paranormal threat emerges, the Ghostbusters reunite to combat it and save the world.

<i>Shivers</i> (1975 film) 1975 body horror film by David Cronenberg

Shivers, also known as The Parasite Murders and They Came from Within, and, for Canadian distribution in French, Frissons, is a 1975 Canadian science fiction body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Paul Hampton, Lynn Lowry, and Barbara Steele.

<i>Keeping Mum</i> 2005 British comedy film by Niall Johnson

Keeping Mum is a 2005 British black comedy film co written and directed by Niall Johnson and starring Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze. It was produced by Isle of Man Film, Azure Films and Tusk Productions, and was released in the United Kingdom on 2 December 2005, by Summit Entertainment.

<i>Cannibal Ferox</i> 1981 Italian horror film directed by Umberto Lenzi

Cannibal Ferox, also known as Make Them Die Slowly in the US and as Woman from Deep River in Australia, is a 1981 Italian cannibal exploitation horror film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi. Upon its release, the film's US distributor claimed it was "the most violent film ever made". Cannibal Ferox was also claimed to be "banned in 31 countries", although this claim is dubious. The title derives from the Latin ferox, meaning cruel, wild or ferocious.

The Women of Brewster Place is an American television miniseries that was broadcast on March 19 and 20, 1989 on ABC. The miniseries is based upon the critically acclaimed 1982 novel of the same name by Gloria Naylor. It was produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions with a teleplay by Karen Hall. The show's theme song was performed by American R&B singer Vesta Williams, who performed both the opening and closing credits.

<i>Sólo con tu pareja</i> 1991 Mexican film

Sólo con tu pareja is a 1991 Mexican romantic comedy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón. This was the first full-feature film for Cuarón who had previously worked at Televisa, a Mexican television company. The stars of this film are Daniel Giménez Cacho and telenovela star Claudia Ramírez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Reitman</span> Canadian–-American filmmaker (born 1977)

Jason R. Reitman is a Canadian–American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the films Thank You for Smoking (2005), Juno (2007), Up in the Air (2009), Young Adult (2011) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021). He has received one Grammy Award, one Golden Globe and four Academy Award nominations, two of which are for Best Director. Reitman is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States. He is the son of director Ivan Reitman, and known for frequently collaborating with screenwriter Diablo Cody.

Kate Lynch is a Canadian film, television and stage actress, drama teacher, theatre director and playwright.

The Ghostbusters franchise consists of American supernatural comedies, based on an original concept created by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis in 1984. The plot ostensibly centers around a group of eccentric New York City parapsychologists who investigate, encounter, and capture ghosts, paranormal manifestations, demigods and demons. The franchise expanded with licensed action figures, books, comic books, video games, television series, theme park attractions, and other original Ghostbusters-themed products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Clifford</span> American actress (1900–1998)

Ruth Clifford was an American actress of leading roles in silent films whose career lasted from that era into the television era.

<i>Loyalties</i> (1986 film) 1986 Canadian film

Loyalties is a 1986 British/Canadian drama film written and directed by Anne Wheeler. It was shot from July 8 to August 9, 1985 in Lac La Biche, Alberta and cost $2.5 million.

<i>All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane</i> 2007 Australian film

All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane is a 2007 Australian romantic comedy film directed by Louise Alston and written by Stephen Vagg. It follows Anthea, a 25-year-old girl who hates her job and has to sit back and watch as all her friends move away from her hometown, Brisbane, to make a better life. In 2013, The Guardian referred to it as a "cult film" inspired by "a typically Brisbane lament... the departure of people in their late 20s to Sydney, Melbourne, London or New York."

<i>ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction</i> (film) 2010 American film

ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction is a 2010 zombie comedy film directed by Kevin Hamedani and starring Janette Armand, Doug Fahl, and Cooper Hopkins.

<i>Deep in the Woods</i> 2000 French film

Deep in the Woods is a 2000 French slasher film directed by Lionel Delplanque. The film is about a troupe of five young actors who are hired to perform at a remote chateau for Baron Axel De Ferson when they find out that a madman is on the loose murdering people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Lily Amirpour</span> American filmmaker

Ana Lily Amirpour is an Iranian-American film-maker, screenwriter and actress. She is best known for her feature film debut A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, self-described as "the first Iranian vampire spaghetti western" that made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014, and which was based on a previous short film that she wrote and directed, which won Best Short Film at the 2012 Noor Iranian Film Festival.

<i>Ghostbusters: Afterlife</i> 2021 film by Jason Reitman

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a 2021 American supernatural comedy film directed by Jason Reitman from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gil Kenan. It is the sequel to Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989), and the fourth film in the Ghostbusters franchise. The film stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Paul Rudd, alongside Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver reprising their characters from the earlier films. Set 32 years after the events of Ghostbusters II, it follows a single mother and her children who move to an Oklahoma farm they inherited from her estranged father Egon Spengler, a member of the original Ghostbusters.

<i>Books of Blood</i> (film) 2020 anthology horror film

Books of Blood is a 2020 American anthology horror film directed by Brannon Braga and co-written by Braga and Adam Simon. It is based on Books of Blood by Clive Barker and is the second film adaptation after Book of Blood (2009). The film premiered at the 2020 Screamfest Horror Film Festival on October 6, 2020, and was released on Hulu the following day. This was the final production by Touchstone Television before being folded into 20th Television.

References

  1. Vatnsdal 2004, p. 73.
  2. SXSW '10: Incredible Festival Line-Up Revealed!
  3. Woman, The (2010-07-01). "Motion Picture Purgatory: Cannibal Girls". Dreadcentral.com. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  4. "Festival Archives (1973)". Sitges Film Festival - Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya. Archived from the original on 2009-10-17. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
  5. Creepy, Uncle (2010-02-04). "SXSW '10: Horror Line-Up Revealed". Dread Central. Retrieved 2013-05-20.

Bibliography