PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Slasher 15 is back, and this time, they’re out for blood in the new slasher throwback, Bloody Summer Camp! For the third film in his directorial filmography, David Kerr (Curse of the Slasher Nurse 2017) and his production team takes us camping in true ’80s horror fashion: No phone, no social media, no internet. Just you, nature, and murder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSG77HA9JZE
Showcasing extra crispy practical effects in the opening scene, Slasher 15 FX artist Amber Fulcher (Curse of the Slasher Nurse) demonstrates exactly what’s to come: pure, unadulterated, murderous mayhem. However, before the bodies really begin to pile up, we’re introduced to our final girl, Tiffany, perfectly portrayed by Kay Leahy (Reader, Absconding Life). With a hot, innocent ’80s vibe, Tiffany drags her friend along to her childhood camp to work as first time counselors.
Setting the stage with a plethora of camp counselors to kill including a douche jock named Zach (Matthew Sharpe: Bad Witch), a wheelchair bound guy named Donnie (newcomer Brendan Lynch), Todd (Cody Faulk: Smack) and his good buddy, Michael (Wayne Townsend: Return of the Slasher Nurse – read our review here), there isn’t a shortage of soon-to-be victims. After acquaintances are made, the counselors gather around a campfire where Tiffany tells a spine-chilling legend she remembers hearing as a camper years ago. However, story time is cut short when Bob Lahey (newcomer Bobby Langford) breaks up the party with delegations and regulations. However, as traditional slashers have taught us, such rules never last for long.
As the counselors sneak off to continue their unsupervised debauchery, a masked murderer stalking in the shadows begins to drop bodies one by one. And so begins one of my favorite slasher games: guess who’s under the freaky devil-face mask! Could it be the temperamental jock? Maybe it’s Todd, who puts off some Billy from Scream vibes. Another suspect could be camp director Michelle Crowell… she is portrayed by Sleepaway Camp icon Felissa Rose, after all. Or, perhaps, Kerr is throwing away all horror blueprints and our final girl isn’t a final girl at all. The possibilities are endless.
Fun “guess who” predictions aside, production value for this Slasher 15 increases ten-fold with fitting ’80s synthwave music and cinematography that’s immensely improved from Kerr’s previous films. Complimenting this raised bar, Fulcher also ups her game with gory special effects in kill scenes that include decapitation, a messy castration, and full jugular penetration with one specific, gruesome scene serving as an additional nod to Rose’s aforementioned cult classic feature.
Breaking up the tension just enough are well-placed gags that hit better than previous Slasher 15 films. This ranges from a lifejacket through a window, a Patrick Bateman pose, a coked out cook named Larry (Christian Jensen: Return of the Slasher Nurse), and a kitchen worker named Cornelius (Spartacus Jones: Return of the Slasher Nurse) who humorously peaces out when his buddy meets the wrong end of a machete.
Although the runtime for Bloody Summer Camp is just over two hours—which is a little longer than most slashers—I didn’t really mind. There could have been some very minor trimming, but nothing seemed to drag other than the freshly made corpses. With subtle nods to horror classics, brutal kills and gratuitous nudity wrapped in a nicely done twist, Bloody Summer Camp is the biggest indie horror surprise of the year! David Kerr and his production team are proving their commitment to their craft and the genre we love with every new Slasher 15 addition. And that has me looking forward that much more to their next upcoming feature, Go Away.
