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Camp Slaughter (2005)

DVD Cover (Lightning Home Entertainment)
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Overall Rating 36%
Overall Rating
Ranked #9,874
...out of 20,325 movies
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A group of kids break down while driving down a remote forest road. After a disturbing night alone in the woods, they stumble upon Camp Hiawatha in full swing and packed with seemingly happy teenagers. However, the teens and the camp itself are strangely trapped back in 1981. The clothes, the music, the hair, and the attitudes are 24 years back in time. The campers are forced to relive the same day and night over and over again. The night when a silent killer stalked the camp silencing campers and counselors one by one. The kids from the present struggle to understand and help the teens from 1981 break free of the curse. Working together both time-periods begin to learn about the different worlds from which they come and what it will take for all of them to survive. --IMDb
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Review by Chad
Added: May 12, 2006
Remember the good old days, otherwise known as the eighties, when there was a new slasher coming out every weekend and there was actually a decent selection of films to choose from when you hit up the local movie theater? Of course, you also had tube-socks, short shorts, and obscenely bad music, but at least the movies were good. That's the time period and genre that tonights film is going for, and whether it was due to the obvious budget concerns or the good eye of the director, it worked out nicely.

It all begins as four people - Vade (Eric McIntire), his sister Angela (Joanna Suhl), Mario (Matt Dallas), and Jen (Anika C. McFall) - are heading to an abortion clinic thanks to Angela getting knocked up at a boozefest of a party. Vade decides to take a shortcut, and we all know that shortcuts never work out for the best in a horror film. It doesn't work here, either, as the foursome find themselves lost on a deserted road in the middle of the woods... and then, the car dies on them. Someone soon makes their presence known outside their car, and just when things are looking pretty bad for our heroes, they pass out. The next morning, they awaken to find a group of eighties-era campers outside their SUV attempting to wake them up and find out what's going on. The campers eventually offer their help along with some food and entertainment, but what this foursome doesn't know is that this camp and everyone in attendance is cursed to repeat the same Friday The 13th'esque night for eternity... and tonight is no exception.

It's an interesting storyline, interesting enough that I ignored the incredible amount of bad reviews for it and decided to give it a watching. It's not quite as bad as the reviews make it out to be, but it's not a perfect film either. What I enjoyed about this film the most is that it attempts to emulate those old eighties slashers in both the tone and style of the film, as well as the characters and clothing... and it actually works out as the director intended. Watching the eighties side of this film really feels like you're watching a lost slasher from the intended time period, and although there were a few minor goofs concerning what was and wasn't around back then, I was impressed.

Fans of those eighties slashers such as myself know that you don't watch these movies for the storyline or acting abilities. The selling point of these films is the gore and seeing just how the teens will meet their ultimate end, and in that regard, the movie was average enough. It wasn't a gore-soaked extravaganza and there wasn't any one death that will stick out after the credits have rolled (although the updated "arrow through the throat" gag from Friday The 13th was nice), but there was nothing to complain about either. Speaking of Friday, there were a couple of other scenes that were obvious nods to the films from that series, not the least of which was Jen constantly talking about "Jason coming out of those woods and hacking us to death".

The thing that I disliked the most about this movie were the two minor subplots that went nowhere. As mentioned, the group was on their way to an abortion clinic to dispose of Angela's unborn child, and the whole topic of abortion is repeatedly brought up and discussed. You'd think that this would somehow tie into the storyline, but no sir... it's eventually forgotten about and dropped. There's also a huge amount of homo-erotic tension between two characters that was extremely out of place. Now then, before you label me a homophobe or some such, realize that I have seen more than my fair share of "Queer Horror" thanks to a friend pointing them out to me. I've seen movies take that part of the storyline and actually make it mean something in the grand scheme of things and add to the movie, but here, it's just... there. It wouldn't even have been so bad if it had actually went somewhere, but it builds for a few scenes, disappears for a while, returns for another scene, and finally drops from the film entirely. Why build towards something or spend time developing an angle when neither aspect is fully explored? It's a waste of time for both the camera-man and the viewer, and that's my biggest gripe about this film.

Admittedly, those two concerns of mine were minor in the face of the movie at large, but they did bug me enough to write an entire paragraph about them, so your mileage may or may not vary. I honestly couldn't tell you how experienced director Alex Pucci was behind the camera during the shooting, but it seems as though he was just getting started in the movie business. The man definitely has potential if this movie was any indication, and with a bit more practice under his belt, I'd say that he'll be cranking out some damned fine films. The direction found here, however, is amateurish... and it shows.

Overall, the movie will be hit or miss for viewers. On the one hand, it has an interesting storyline that turns out even better than you'd think. By the middle of the film, I thought I had the final twist all worked out, but I was quite shocked to find that I was entirely off the mark. The eighties nostalgia is also there in full force, something that fans of the slasher genre will definitely appreciate. On the other hand, the direction could have used some more work, some scenes could have been tightened up or dropped entirely, and the low budget will definitely put off the mall-going teenagers who think that anything under eight digits is crap. I liked the film to an extent, but it's definitely not for everyone. 5/10.
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