The Campus (2018)

   

Written & Directed by: Damien Leone

Starring:

.... Morgan
Brit Sheridan .... Natalie
.... Robert Wainwright
.... Young Morgan
.... Young Natalie


Special Appearances:


Scott Menville .... Jeffrey
Aaron Groben .... Juan Rico

Release Date: Video-On-Demand: February 1, 2018

 

 

Rating:

 

Robert Wainwright (Robert C. Pullan) dies after breaking his deal with the Devil, passing that debt onto his estranged daughter Morgan (Rachel Amanda Bryant) . She soon finds herself in a never-ending cycle of terror as she is brutally murdered then resurrected over and over again, each time losing a piece of her soul. Now she must discover why this is happening and break the deadly cycle in order to escape.

 

A well done beginning of the story with architects walking along a sandy hill of a desert and t hen going into some sort of an egyptian cave spotting codes which was well shot along with an awakening of some sort of a beast with some cheesy gruesomeness as I will tip my hat off to the makers by doing their best with a small budget to make this first bit entertaining in a horror fashion.
Then after the opening credits there's a bizarre moment at first when Morgan enters a memorial and meets up with his pregnant sister Natalie who smacks her and then gives her a welcoming hug which boggled me as to what this was all about. The smack in the face didn't look as intense as I may have thought. Still this remaned mysterious as to why she did that in the first place.
After the ceremony the two of them have a sharp discussion on a situation that they don't agree with which looked well focused by what they were talking about. It was almost like watching a soap opera but was well done and not boring at all which leaves some clues as to what will unravel later on.
Then when I watched further into the story we have Morgan in the campus area as things are too silent and still when she looks for stuff as well as walking through the hallways as this was sharply shot giving you the chills by having a feeling that something not good is about to happen anytime. Suddenly she's terrorised by maniacs wearing masks trying to chase after her and then she tries to lock a door with one coming after her which leaves you in suspense if she will succeed in time as well as others creeping up on her. Plus there's a close up shot on one who looks like a ghoul or a demon but the make up effects seemed mildly cheesy and unconvincing by what happens here. Yet it brings in the fun for low budget campy horror.
Yet a mysterious and suspenseful moment when she charges her vehicle and what seems to be a blackout with a flashback sequence on her father Robert having a discussion with her when she was a child as this was an attention grabber.
Plus when she awakens things do look intense for her with how her face is starting to decay which is a perfect horror moment and very psychological when she tries to walk into another campus struggling in which watching this moment isn't a pretty site making you wonder as to what's going to happen to her at all.
Great still moment when she goes into a room full of displayed dummies and a nicely focused one on Marilyn Monroe as well as a well focused flashback with her as a child and her Dad telling her about the dollhouse he made for her which draws in more nicely mysterious moments. Plus a nice jumping moment when the Marilyn Monroe dummy tries to grab her but later on it looked less intimidating.
Then there's a fun touch with a cheesy special effects shot on some flames and an image of Natalie cackling and looking demonic which was another perfect pointer for a supernatural b-horror flick like this one. I was getting a kick out of this scene big time.
However, there's a situation later on where Morgan is attacked by a dog done by a texidermist which seemed lame to watch especially since this animal was one of those small dogs. I honestly think that the makers should've cut this scene out as it looked way too corny.
A nice versatile moment adding not just the supernatural horror but we get to see zombies trying to terrorise Morgan near her vehicle as well as her trying to run away from them at the campus with them on her tail adding action packed suspense wondering if she will get away as well as seeing her sister as one of them which looked well done by what everyone was doing. Seemed to almost pay a tribute to Dawn of the Dead. However when she traps herself in and then thinking they've all left then suddenly BAM they aren't looked a little too obvious and not scary at all.
The fun and action really gets going quarter way through when there's what looks like a dance floor with a crystal ball and red lighting which fits the moments unravelling as well as a good brief shot on the Beast towards Morgan as this looked cheesy but creepy at the same time along with her trying to find other ways out of the campus. Plus a good struggling confrontation between her and this demon as this was well put into the story as the moments looked quite bloody in which the make up effects people seemed to do a decent job with their battles.
Bottom line is the story had a similar element as Happy Death Day doing the same situation over a few times before she dies and although this one isn't mainstream or made on a bigger budget this flick was several times better. There were the odd scene's that needed improvement but yet this was an enjoyable low budgeter and the makers deserve good credit for taking the bull by it's horns.

The acting is in decent shape but only a few were worth mentioning since it mainly focused on one character through the whole story so I will try my best to take a whack at it as I can.... (Morgan) seemed to do her part pretty well in which she shows a good timid and calmness to what is going on around her in which she knew on how to speak softly to situations at the funeral. Does a nice job acting cautious or scared when she is being stalked or terrorised. Also shows great adrenaline and intensity when she is attacked. Also has a nice emotional feel to the terrors too. She seemed to be a decent character actress.
Brit Sheridan (Natalie) does a splendid job as her prickly mysterious sister and shows off a nice sharpness to her attitude as well as speaking smoothly and coldly too. She certainly was a force of nature within everything that she did in her role. Does a nice job with her cackling in a scene acting demonic. Also shows off nice horror characteristics in other spots too. Yet in her first appearance w hen she smacks someone in the face needed a bit more convincing.
(Robert Wainwright) shows off a nice charm and warmness as a family man in the flick. Brings it out fairly believeable but yet has a mysterious moment too which he seemed to show off pretty good too. Reacts well to stuff as well as showing good energy within whatever he did in his role. A well remembered supporting role if I say so myself.

Arm is torn off in a tomb
Face is decaying and an eyeball dangling
Bloodsheds are revealed
Insides are torn out by zombies

The composing put together by Darryl Blood sounded fair and I do mean that. It's not high quality type music but low budget independent type sounding. We have a cheesy piano type of theme which seemed to pay a tribute to John Carpenter's classic The Fog as you will see what I mean when you watch the certain scene's that this plays. Also there's some mild effective wavy synthesizer music and hissing sounds for alot of the terrorising moments. Plus there's a bit of a strong type of short song when the closing credits starts to roll up as I will give good credit for that. In other spots there's some old fashioned horror oran type music which seemed fun to listen to as well.