Back in the early nineties, Trey Parker and Matt Stone were trying to release their first feature film.  Now keep in mind, this was way before the days of South Park, so the pair were still pretty much unknown in the industry. Eventually, they ended up at Troma, where Lloyd Kaufman was willing to pick the film up for distribution.

Cannibal! The Musical is a delight to watch. First of all, the music is genuinely catchy and stays in your head. It’s interesting to see how they utilized the small budget they had to their advantage. Sometimes, when it’s someone’s first film, they may still be working out the type of vision and overall tone that they want their work to have. That’s not the case here as Parker and Stone knew exactly what their style would be. As the title would suggest, there is a bit of gore in the film, but it’s the type of over the top violence that comes off more comedic than scary. The set design is also surprisingly impressive, complete with small towns and rural Western settings. You can tell where they had to cut costs here and there, but it only adds to the charm of the movie and makes it ever more memorable. Without the low budget charm, this movie loses one of the things that makes it most enjoyable. Trey Parker has said that they were trying to make an old timey musical with their own spin, and they pulled it off. As someone whose parents who brought them to Broadway musicals as a child, I am not ashamed to admit that I like to sing show tunes and I find myself singing the music from this film all the time. 

Cannibal! The Musical is currently available on DVD from Troma and you can even watch it for free on Troma’s YouTube channel.