Last Updated on July 27, 2021
As the summer starts to wind down it occurs to me that we haven’t given any love yet to the fun of camp slashers. Hell, it basically became a cottage industry for low budget horror starting in the late 70’s and throughout the 80’s. Thankfully a few still trickle out now and then, and likely always will.
Much like porn these suckers are often enjoyable because of how bad they are – the dialogue, acting, effects and plot are often best when served up plain awful. Of course there are standouts as well that deliver plenty of scares and even an iconic villain or two. And let’s not forget the posters which generally rock!
So let’s take a look at the camps that any young mind should memorize, knowing that if your parents send you there they do not expect you to come back. Grab some bug spray, condoms and a machete. It’s time to get sweaty!
Did your favorite camp horror memory miss the list? Spit bullets below and exercise your power of oversight.
Even in a derivative sub-genre this flick is tragically unoriginal, but what is most surprising about this slasher is the skill of the cinematography. Let’s be honest, low-budget horror is not well known for cinematic dexterity. Here though, the overall vibe behind the lens feels downright professional. Plus lots of peeps get axed so it’s all good.
The second bill of a double feature including The Beast Who Killed Women, TMCS is an outstanding example of a movie that makes its bones in the last act. The long stretches of nothing happening are irritating early on, even though the fat “monster” man is an amusingly ridiculous villain. Plus there’s plenty of nudity to get you through since it’s set at a nudist colony. And if you push through, in the last block you’ll be treated to a movie ending that is as bizarre and over the top as Dr. Strangelove. Seriously.
For some of you all I have to do here is mention that Teri Weigel’s in this sucker and you’re already adding it to your Netflix queue. But be warned, there’s nudity, but not nearly as much as you’d expect from a flick called Cheerleader Camp. That’s OK, though, because this trippy, dippy look at bloodshed in the midst of bikinis, competition, and lots o’short skirts is just plain MST3K brand fun.
Emerging from the ashes of the horrendous Bloody Murder, this by the numbers slasher still manages to entertain despite featuring some outright larceny of well-known horror images and set-ups. It’s got some fun kills and gives us a healthy dose of Tiffany Shepis who seems downright allergic to clothes. Yay!
I’ll admit I could be wrong about the name of the kids summer camp in this, so if I got it wrong then correct me with bullets. But even though Piranha isn’t set primarily at the camp, it’s hard to find a more aggressively dark mass attack on children. John Sayles was one twisted f*cker when he wrote this, and you gotta love him for it.
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