The US is experiencing an avocado shortage. The only way to survive this catastrophe is to send a team into the deadly avocado jungle of Southern California which is inhabited by the man-eating Piranha Women tribe. Plenty of people have entered this jungle, but none have returned so the US needs to deploy the best of the best. That’s where feminist anthropology professor Margo Hunt (Shannon Tweed) comes into action! Being a feminist Hunt is expected to be able to connect with the Piranha Women. To help her on her journey, Hunt enlists the help of one of her students, Bunny (Karen Mistal), and Jim (Bill Maher), a tracker who Hunt previously had a one night stand with.
Hunt, Bunny and Jim make their way through the jungle in an attempt to sneak up on the Piranha Woman but eventually get caught. The leader of the Piranha Women is Dr. Kurtz (Andrienne Barbeau), a radical feminist and arch nemesis to Hunt. Kurtz attempts to convince Hunt to join forces with her while sacrificing Jim. Hunt refuses and a battle to the death ensues.
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death is just as bizarre as the title suggests. It’s really silly and over-the-top and very much tongue-in-cheek, but at the same time it manages to be very smart. The film was written and directed by J.F. Lawton, who has written the likes of Pretty Woman and Under Siege. As his resume suggests, Lawton is very diverse in his work and it’s all on full display here.
The film deals with feminism in a mostly jokey way but with what I would say is an overall positive message. Maher’s role of Jim is what you would normally expect to be the hero type, sort of like the Han Solo of the story. He’s obviously inspired by at least one other Harrison Ford character as he dresses very similar to Indiana Jones. He and Hunt have various squabbles back and forth bexcuse to him feminism is just a bunch of crock. In the end it turns out he’s not really the hero and needs Hunt and Bunny to save him. He basically serves as the butt to most of the jokes.
The film is loosely inspired by Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s a parody, but it walks a fine line. I think it would be best described as a humorous take on the story which I think is pretty clever for something that seems so completely silly and ridiculous.
The bestt part of Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death is that it’s just a really funny, enjoyable movie. Not all of the jokes land, but most of it works really well. There is a really fantastic scene where Hunt, Jim and Bunny get in a boat and are going down river as they first enter the jungle. Jim begins talking like he’s a tour guide on the Disneyland Jungle Boat ride, quoting word for word some of what you hear on those rides. The fun and games quickly end however as they are attacked by a Palm Springs hippo. That’s right, a Palm Springs hippo. Maybe that won’t be amusing to everyone, but I thought it was a hilarious bit.
The cast all does a splendid job. They very much get the material and know how to pull it off. Bill Maher hasn’t really acted a ton in his career, but this is the perfect role him. He definitely has a charm but he can so easily play an asshole. Mistal, who had previously played the female lead in Return of the Killer Tomatoes, is very funny as the ditzy, carefree college student hoping to someday be like Hunt, even though she doesn’t fully understand the concept of feminism. And then you have Tweet and Barbeau who are no strangers to this type of material.
My one complaint is that I think the film had a real good opportunity to spoof and parody some of the Italian cannibal films and totally neglected to do so. Perhaps that was never Lawton’s intent, which is totally fine, but I was really hoping to see the film tackle that a bit. The movie starts with a man being shot with an arrow. There isn’t a lot of gore here, but I thought it was going to be a hint of things to come, but nope. That was it as far as blood and such goes. Obviously that isn’t a deal breaker or anything, but I think there was an opportunity present that Lawton failed to take advantage of.
Cannibal Woman in the Avocado Jungle of Death is now out on region B Blu-ray from 88 Films in the UK (there’s also a US version from Fullmoon Pictures) and it’s a very good release. The picture quality looks great and the audio is very nice as well. The special features are lacking, only having a trailer of the film and the 88 Films trailer reel (which is actually really good), so that is a bit of a bummer. But otherwise it’s a very good release and if you happen to snag one of the first 1,000 copies you’ll get a slipcover. The slipcover does score some extra points for me because there is something special about the slipcovers from 88 Films. They have this texture that is unlike your average slipcover. They’re glossy, but there is just something different to it that I can’t quite explain. I really dig it though.
I don’t know if this is a film for everybody. Personally I don’t know anyone else who has seen it. I think it’s a bit of gem though and would love to know what others think. It’s a fun movie with a ton of nice little references that I would absolutely recommend checking out.
