Friday the 13th meets Bring it On.
Written and Directed by Kerry Beyer
Featuring Kerry Beyer, Jon Paul Burkhart, Alyssia Dujmovich, Brandon Hearnsberger, Julin, John Lansch, Brandon Smith, Roxy Vandiver, Denise Williamson, Katy Rowe, Megan Moser, Amy Morris
www.spiritcampmovie.com
The new millenium has initiated the terribly tragic demise of some of the most influential deranged deviants in the history of horror films. A plethora of wimpy Jason Voorhees and Michael Meyers wannabes has submerged the slasher sub-genre in a swampy, leech-infested lake leaving me with no other choice but to accept the inevitable: my once immortal horror heroes have sadly been plagued with mortality by much tamer modern day manifestations of the macabre. Independent writer/director and owner & founder of production company Kerosene Films, Kerry Beyer takes a playful stab at re-inventing and ultimately redefining some of the greatest monumental machete-wielding maniacs ever to slash their ways through horror history...while adding his own special blend of sugar & spice. Spirit Camp soars above & beyond the B-grade perimeters of your typical campground carnage. Beyer’s flawless efforts in his first feature-length film have officially set the bar to the highest possible level on the low-budget film scale.
The premise is vaguely reminiscent of the 1988 slasher flick Cheerleader Camp–with a ton of references to other 80s slasher favorites like Friday the 13th, The Burning, and Halloween (just to name a few). A peppy pack of spirit sisters venture off to Loomis Lake for a week of rigorous cheer training–equipped with hairspray, pom-poms and a vibrator that would put John Holmes to shame. Accompanied by the mysterious Miss Juvenile Delinquent Diva, Nikki–the blonde that you most definitely don’t want to be calling ‘a bimbo’–they soon find themselves swooning over a sexy townie (played by Beyer himself) and avoiding encounters with a greasy groundskeeper who happens to have ‘KILLER’ written all over his blubbery body in much too obvious permanent pen. By day, the girls are stalked by a creepy panty sniffing sheriff and by night–a butcher knife wielding, coverall clad psycho who resembles something along the lines of Conductor Kenny (Terror Train) and a Next Generation cross dressing Leatherface.
The cinematography, editing and overall production of Spirit Camp looks as though it is the masterwork of a group of seasoned professionals–so it goes without saying that Kerry Beyer is an extraordinarily talented filmmaker, managing all of the above mentioned (with production assistance from John Lansch), as well as the casting, score, and acting in his own film. Pretty much the only thing that Beyer isn’t responsible for in this horrifically hilarious homage to some of the greatest horror films of all time are the special FX, done by Darcy Teasley (although there isn’t a doubt in my mind that Beyer would have taken on this task had it not meant losing what little bit of sleep he was getting during the making of Spirit Camp). To tackle such a hefty load of responsibility takes a tremendous amount of conviction and Beyer has definitely proven himself capable of accomplishing great things.
Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku got nothin’ on the bodacious brunettes that are bringing it on in this fun-filled frenzy of blood, boobs, and masked mad-men; taking place in a horny teenager’s too-good-to-be-true wet dream world where the fat slob gets to bag the smokin’ hot cheerleader skank and the wholesome small town stud develops a MAD crush on the weird white-trash Cinderella. Your stereotypical over-sexed male campers are now a group of prudish heterophobic-homosexual cheerleaders. Beyer has basically taken all of those campy conventions that we see much too often and flipped them inside out & upside down...for our viewing pleasure. Unlike most slasher films that are bubbling over with bone-head bimbos who you just can’t wait to watch get killed off, Beyer’s pack of sassy spirit sisters will have you cheering as they inflict some seriously catty carnage upon the sick psychopath that stalks them–and more importantly–threatens to ruin their high spirits. The gags, gore, and gorgeous girls are gratuitious in Spirit Camp, with none stop action and feisty femininity right until a dynamite ending of epic proportions. These ladies may not be alive long enough to win first place at the regional competition–but they sure as hell are going out with a BANG.
Rating: (4 out of 5):
