Ever wondered what the first ventures into the movie making industry of the director of "Ghostbusters" and "Evolution" look like? Well, here's your chance but don't be too startled. Like so many other acclaimed directors (Brian DePalma, Oliver Stone, Francis Ford Coppola…), Ivan Reitman began his career as the young and enthusiast creator of grainy, amateurish and zero-budgeted horror movies that he presumably doesn't like to get remembered of nowadays. However, the name of the director (and possibly that of lead star Eugene Levy) is likely to be the sole reason why "Cannibal Girls" still enjoys some sort of modest cult reputation even to this day, as the film itself is unimaginably bad. Somewhat entertaining, maybe, but bad nevertheless. A young couple – Levy posing as a nearly unrecognizable hippie – pass through a remote and snowy Canadian region and naturally their car breaks down. They decide to spend the weekend and listen to the locals' stories about the old town restaurant that used to be run by a trio of cannibalistic girls. But that was a long time ago and now the restaurant allegedly became a fancy tourist attraction where all visitors simply must pay a visit. Needless to say the owners still cherish their appetite for human flesh and seemingly the rest of the town developed the taste as well. "Cannibal Girls" truly is a horribly inept movie from every viewpoint. The screenplay is as incoherent as can be, the stupid dialogs quickly begin to work on your nerves, the intentional funny parts are embarrassingly NOT funny, the acting (particularly Andrea Martin as this whiny girl Gloria) is infuriating and the few gory massacres are so damn tacky they wouldn't even upset a squeamish granny. There are some really bizarre and confusing plot twists near the end that'll make you lose interest entirely. At barely 80 minutes of running time, "Cannibal Girls" is a short and insignificant film but I must admit I was glad it was over.

I watched this film because of some SCTV skits featuring Bruno the Hunchback that were based on Eugene Levy's experience with this film. The Bruno character is called Bunker for some reason here.The acting through this film is horrible, including Andrea Martin and Eugene Levy, but it's their early work so it's understandable. The film-making is often inept, such as when the three victims are playing Monopoly and the microphone is visible at the top of the screen for about three minutes. The males in the film, including Levy, are some of the dorkiest guys I have ever seen in my life. That Levy is the leading man indicates how bad some of the others must be. One guy even has fur on his arms, I swear.Anyway, it's a laughable film that gets very tedious after the first 45 minutes or so once you realize it's going nowhere.

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!

I finally saw CANNIBAL GIRLS and was surprised by how tame it was and how little of it made sense. The producers probably didn't have a script when they started shooting the movie because the story is incoherent. It starts with a couple, played by Eugene Levy (sporting a huge Afro and mustache) and Andrea Martin (who talks like Marilyn Monroe), who meet this woman who relates a story from the town's past. We see a flashback of these three cannibal women and how they kill their male guests. Back to the future, Eugene and Andrea visit a museum of sorts where some of the cannibal women are still living there (and looking the same) and who are controlled by this man (sorta like Charles Manson). Eugene and Andrea stay at the man's house, something happens during their sleep. Andrea has a nightmare with this ugly, burly man running after her. Next day, Eugene and Andrea go on main street. Eugene wants to stay but Andrea wants to leave. There's a huge pointless scene spent on main street. Eventually, the two end up back at the weird man's house, and more things happen during the ending that don't make much sense whatsoever. The movie ends up looking like a weird blend of Twilight Zone and Charles Manson and SCTV. The film is unfunny, dark, boring and very confused. But it IS an interesting time capsule of 1970s Canadian cinema. Just don't expect to be laughing, or be grossed out or to make any sense of it.