Papaya dei Caraibi

Joe D'Amato seems to be Italy's answer to Jess Franco. As most of you no doubt know, this means he made a ridiculous number of exploitation films and pornos. Like Franco too, his output usually has the feeling of a man with a little bit of talent making a film with great speed and little concern for the end result. In fairness, Franco did at the very least direct some interesting and stylish erotic horror films but in the case of D'Amato it's simply trash all the way.

Love Goddess of the Cannibals is a sexploitation movie in the guise of a cannibal flick. Presumably it was retitled to this moniker to cash in on the brief cannibal craze in Italian cinema circa 1978-81. I say that it must've been repositioned to exploit this craze after the event because the movie has extremely little flesh-eating action. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure if there was any at all. What it does have though is lots and lots of sex and nudity. There are several endless soft-core fumbles that are surprisingly dull, all things considered. The best part in the film I thought was the native ceremony where some naked people get down and dance to some hilariously inappropriate 70's Euro funk. Sadly, there aren't too any other highlights for anyone who is not a D'Amato disciple. The pacing is pretty terrible and not a whole lot really seems to happen although the Caribbean location is admittedly quite diverting and does give the film a certain exotic flavour. It stars Maurice Poli of Rabid Dogs fame. It's a bit of an artistic fall for Maurice working under the great Mario Bava, only to then be prancing around with his John Thomas flapping about in a Joe D'Amato flick four years later.