Before They Were Stars (3-for-1 Special): Eugene Levy & Andrea Martin in Ivan Reitman’s “Cannibal Girls”

Getting its first-ever release on DVD today is the 1973 low-budget Canuxploitation film, Cannibal Girls.  This is the debut film of renowned comedy director Ivan Reitman and it also happens to feature the acting debuts of future SCTV stars Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin. This horror-comedy spoof was released in theatres with a unique gimmick: a bell that would ring to warn audiences when a gory part was coming up, so they’d have time to cover their eyes. Quite frankly, the bell probably should have rang at the start of the film, so they could cover their eyes through the whole thing! You’d think that the presence of all these future comedy legends would make Cannibal Girls worth a look for curiosity value, but unfortunately, the film is borderline unwatchable. I hope that Jason Reitman is incredibly grateful that he got to launch his directorial career with Thank You for Smoking and didn’t have to start at the bottom, like his father. However, I’d recommend watching these clips just to see Eugene Levy’s gigantic seventies afro and moustache, which are unparalleled!