Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1989)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

J.F. Lawton

Writer:

J.F. Lawton (written by)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

These women are serious about their taste in men!

Plot:

The government hires a feminist at the local university to track down the Piranha Women living in the...

Plot Keywords:

Piranha | Feminist | Avocado | Professor | Colonel

Cast

Shannon Tweed	...	Dr. Margo Hunt
Bill Maher	...	Jim
Karen M. Waldron	...	Bunny (as Karen Mistal)
Adrienne Barbeau	...	Dr. Kurtz
Brett Stimely	...	Jean-Pierre
Barry Primus	...	Ford Maddox
Jim McKrell	...	Dean Stockwell
Paul Ross	...	Col. Mattel
Vicky Varner	...	Barracuda Leader
Alan David Gelman	...	Donnahew Leader
Pat Crawford Brown	...	Secretary
Christopher Doyle	...	Fred
Lloyd Gordon	...	Sam
James Trenton	...	Unsavory
Steve Reid	...	Bushito

Also Known As:

Jungle Heat (USA) (alternative title)
Piranha Women (USA) (working title)
Piranha Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 | New Zealand:R18 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Hollyhock House, Barnsdall Art Park - 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Beyond Infinity

Trivia:

The film was shot primarily in the avocado groves maintained by the University of California at Riverside (UCR), which the university uses for horticultural experiments.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Fred and Sam are hacking their way through the Avocado Jungle with machetes, then pause to take stock of their situation]
Fred: We're lost.
Sam: No, we're not - look! Over there!
[the camera zooms in on an avocado hanging from a twig. The two guys approach it, and Sam pulls the avocado into his hand. Fred takes it and stashes away]
Fred: Sam.
Sam: Yeah?
Fred: I think we should head back. We're getting in too deep.
Sam: Oh, don't - Wait a second. What's that I hear? It sounds like... women! Laughing!
Fred: Let's get outta here.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Conversation with Quentin Tarantino & Scott Spiegel (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

2000 1/2

Sharp script and honest satire

I'm somewhat surprised at the low rating of this film.

Cannibal Women is a low-budget satire, and I thought a very funny and intelligent one. The script is absolutely fantastic. And the only reason I can imagine for the low reviews is that people either expected a (1) sexploitation flick with gratuitous nudity or (2) a polished adventure thriller in the Indiana Jones tradition. This is neither. It is a low-budget mix of "Heart of Darkness" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as transplanted to (of all things) feminist studies in southern California.

But it has genuine and unexpected laughs.