How, oh how, does one write about Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death?

Let’s give it a whirl.

So this is a film that’s been sitting on my watch list for a long, long time. With a title like that, I don’t think it’s entirely a shock if I admit, I had some, let’s say, preconceived notions. A title like that makes promises. And it leaves you with questions… can the film keep them? Friends, do with that what you will.

Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death follows a feminist professor (Shannon Tweed) recruited by the U.S. government to investigate a mysterious tribe of cannibalistic women in the avocado rich jungles of California. I chuckled too! Bill Maher (yes, that one!), Karen M. Waldron, Adrienne Barbeau and Brett Stimely co-star in the movie. J.F. Lawton directs Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death from his own script.

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So, full disclosure… I watched the Elvira print of this one. Specifically, the 13 Nights of Elvira print. I’ve made it a hobby to make sure to watch a film separate from a horror host. I want to give the movie a chance to stand on its own two feet.

Believe it or not, there have been “bad” movies that I’ve had completely different viewing experiences with, depending on the series with it aired on. There have even been times when the movie, when watched on its own, has even been more watchable. Someday I’ll talk more in depth about my experience with Village of the Giants.

As mentioned earlier, a title line Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death is a title that conjures images of a certain “type” of movie. One that will never, let’s say, win Oscars.

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Kids, this movie stands again the works that have been my biggest joys of 2025. The Phantom Empire and Hell Comes to Frogtown are films I watched early this year and they gave me so much joy that I still think about them.

The older I get, the more I’ve decided, I would rather watch a movie that gives me joy. I’ll take a movie that makes me feel over one that’s technically flawless, but leaves me cold.

Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death felt, to me, like it should have come from the Fred Olen Ray stable of exploitation film. There’s a winking sense of fun to this film. There’s a knowledge of what this film is and what it brings.

They know the budget isn’t amazing. They’re aware certain lines in the script read a little funny and honestly, they’re perfectly willing to lean into the fun. They’re laughing with you.

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I was intrigued to watch this movie come together, particularly its narrative arc examining feminism. I’ve watched a lot of these silly, pseudo-sexploitation films from this era… it always makes me just a little nervous.

Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death is toying with feminism from all sides. Margo (Tweed) is a university professor and a feminist. Her student, Bunny (because of course, that’s her name!) has decided after years of studying home economics, she just might want to change to women’s studies. They’re venturing into the jungle to study a matriarchal culture rebelling against men. They’re eating them.

In truth, I never felt this movie was mocking, or even anti-feminist. Sure, Bunny (Waldron) wears fluffy pink costumes and carries a curling iron with her into the jungle. There’s at the same time though, a clear-eyed presence to her performance while still managing to steal comedic scenes. She’s watching the adults around her. She’s taking everything in. As her arc shifts at the end of act two, I was having a lot of fun with all the strangeness in Waldron’s performance.

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In fact, there’s an exhaustion present in these women. Margo and Dr. Kurtz (Barbeau) in particular, are done with men… and frankly, comically inept and insecure men like Jim (Maher) make it clear why. Then there’s the question of what David Letterman did to Dr. Kurtz. Barbeau slays in that scene…. pun very much intended.

I’ve been taking about bigger, more abstract questions in this film because it very much had me watching and trying to figure out where it was going to go. Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death though is exactly what it should be. It’s silly. At times, it’s big, dumb and fun. I haven’t laughed this much in a long time.

Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death is a scene stealing title. It jumps off the page! Frankly, everything you’re probably assuming about this film is probably a bit true. It’s silly, wacky and hardly grounded in reality. When all things are considered though, I had a heck of a lot of fun. One of my favorite things is a movie that isn’t afraid to play and Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death has a definite sense of fun.

Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death is now streaming on Tubi.