Love Goddess of the Cannibals (3½ Stars)

A group of engineers from America are in the Dominican Republic to supervise the building of a nuclear power plant. The residents of a village have been evacuated and resettled to make room for the plant. An American reporter called Sara is on the island. It's uncertain whether she is there on vacation or to report on the power plant, but she begins an affair with Vincent, one of the engineers. They meet a mysterious native woman called Papaya who invites them to a religious ceremony. Sara uncovers a plot by the displaced villagers to kill all the American engineers, using Papaya as bait. Sara has to look on in horror as Vincent falls more and more under Papaya's spell.

This is a case in which the original title is changed to make the film sound more spectacular than it really is, leading to false advertising. The original Italian title is "Papaya dei Caraibi", "Papaya of the Caribbean". The only cannibalism is performed by the voodoo priest, not by the villagers themselves. Papaya is far from a Goddess, she is being used by the villagers, in particular by her lover Raymond. And that head on the tree on the DVD cover has nothing to do with the film.

In many ways this is typical for the low budget films made in Italy in the late 70's and early 80's. Gore and nudity in varying proportions. In this film the emphasis is on the nudity, we see very little violence. The film is average in itself, but I'll give it an extra half star for Papaya's naked body. I would have fallen under her spell as well, there's no doubt about it.