Various campers are on a holiday camping out which is resided by snobs, punks, bikers and partying teens but are also terrorised by a caveman who kills anything or anyone he finds is suspicious.
Okay the start of the film looked lame with some traffic lined up to come in for camping as one of the owners was stalling etc. as I knew I was looking for trouble here.
Also we spot a situation with a dead dog dug up from a well as this was supposed to shock you leading to mysterious horror moments but this looked rather stupid.
Also we have some sort of caveman hiding in some shack which is supposed to draw your attention on him being the psychotic killer and a doverman coming in and barking at him as this doesn't leave a nice impression on what will come of this dog for nearly attacking him.
Then there's alot of pointless dry humor with the residents staying at the campgrounds and the character David Sangster checking up on things in which we have dull discussions with bikers or troublemaking teenage kids listening to heavy metal as we've all seen this before in other flicks except this looked so amateurishly done.
Then later on we have a chubby kid speeding along in a quad motorbike and this caveman running along which leaves you the impression that he's going to kill his first victim at the campsite and it's a bit of a disappointment when we find out on what goes on here. There's also a crash of thunder and lightning when the terror strikes here which looked awfully phony since we can see sunlight in the background. Oh well what's new with these cheapo 80's horror films.
There's a mildly amusing moment when people go for shelter from the rainstorm at night and one of the elderly character's named Deke tells a ghost story to everyone which seems to leave a clue on the killer at the campsite since we've seen this before in other camp slasher flicks like Friday the 13th Part 2 and The Burning. Plus some cheesy one liners with sarcasm from one of the bikers too. Oh but wait we have a stupid teenage girl going out to get her shirt wet and showing off to try and spice this awful film up which doesn't cut it at all.
Yet there's a nice romantic discussion between David and a beautiful girl next door named Cheryl in their tent and making out which seemed a bit strong but that was one of the only scene's worth watching here.
We also spot a moment when a bear trespasses in one of the teens tent as this leaves some mild suspense but barely enough to keep the film going.
Another moment is when two bikers discover the cave and spot creepy things inside which one of them decides to still stick around and spot what's in there as this is a typical stupid move like in most slasher films. Also the killer caveman goes chasing after the second one after he kills the first one as this looked pointless to watch but when he catches up to him the suspense gets going just a little bit and it does look deadly for what happens to this dude.
Also we have amateurish discussions with the teenagers and the girl saying she's scared and wanting to leave which doesn't look convicning at all. Plus we have a moment with the caveman killer attacking her and she tries to beg for mercy which doesn't look intense enough at all.
There's also a biker girl walking to a cabin at night and stopping to spot it which looked too obvious that this killer would get her before she reaches towards the place.
There's a concentrated confrontation between the killer caveman and the onwer of the campground which is the character George Webster but yet things looked a bit too obvious by what we spot going on here.
Bottom line is that as if Cheerleader Camp wasn't bad enough. Tons of leaky holes and pointless situations and a confusing storyline too which was just a lame excuse to make yet another camp slasher flick done in no style or taste at all. Years later there were worst one's made like Camp Blood and so fourth. Some people call this the Son of Sleepaway Camp but it has nothing in common with that one whatsoever except for a small scene with the teenage brats listening to heavy metal music which was used in the sequels by Double Helix films. Don't let that scene fool you though thinking it's entertaining as it isn't even close. This film is almost unheard of and a ripoff to Madman. Watch that one instead and avoid this one at all costs.
We have a big cast here but it's very mediocre and only a few worth mentioning here. Lead actor John Kerry (George Webster) has a gruff and stubborn attitude as the campground owner which really shows here but yet when he has a dark secret he seems a little too over the top as well as quite rusty while behaving like all of that. Also there's a moment when he confronts someone near the end of his performance which seemed hard to be taken seriously at all and was trying way too hard here.
Mark Mears (David Sangster) was one of the better performers as he has that guy next door type of appeal and seemed to bring up the energy to an okay type of pace here with his charming behavior as well as being convincing as one of the wise and decent types. Plus acts fairly natural when he acts romantic. Also seemed to pick up the pace with his anxious behavior when the terror starts to occur around him. He's just passable by showing some okay characteristics.
John Caso (Hermit) was not a convincing enough killer as he doesn't seem intimidating at all. He tries his best to spring into action and show wild expressions but doesn't cut the cake at all and can't see him acting in future projects at all.
Lisa Lee (Cheryl) seemed passable as a girl next door type of attitude playing hard to get as well as showing off a nice outgoing attitude as well. Seems to get into it with her interactions which she tried hard to do as well as doing fairly okay with her scared or upsetting expressions as well. Was okay having the nice girl looks too.
Jimmy Justice (Deke) does his part fairly okay and can grab your attention as a wise older fellow along with showing a good assertive type of attitude and getting serious on stuff. Really got into his part when he tells a ghost story. However when he acts shocked or freaked by what he spots he is a bit low on energy which is the downfall for him.
Karen Russell (Emily) seemed to do okay having a tough girl attitude as a biker trying to play it cool which shows off in her supporting role fairly well here. Shows good snotty expressions while behaving like this and really got into her role for what she had to do with all of this. She was often cast in bad movies like this though but seems to work hard with her acting skills.
Christina Sullivan (Flo) was so over the top terrible but grabs your attention as the teenage bimbo idiot who likes to cause problems for others. She tries too hard with her energetic behavior especially when she nearly does a striptease in the rain. Also doesn't show scared emotions when she expresses her fear which she desperately needed lessons while acting like this. Worst of all when she is attacked doesn't drive out her intense energy like she was supposed to have been and not making it look convincing at all. No gold star for her.
William Smith (Gen. Mintz) has a nice gruffness to his speaking and seems to get into his role in an okay type of fashion but I've seen him do better work than this clunker. His supporting role does grab your attention for a little bit even if it wasn't a huge role. However he tried to seem witty but it came across as stale here but that's due to terrible writing for the film itself
People are stabbed or impaled by sharp stick type objects
A person's chest is whacked by an axe
A fellow falls into a pit and imapled by some wooden spikes
The synthesizer playing by Jed Feuer was totally amateurshly done having it trying so hard to sound classical suspense like but really this doesn't grab your attention all too much except for the odd chiming sounds and clangings too. That's about it. He made no effort whatsoever for this clunker. However I've heard worst composing for cheaper types of indie flicks. |
