Camp Dread

source: Camp Dread

Ok...clever plot twist ending. virtually no Danielle Harris (5 minutes tops). next to no blood. eh.

This one came into the library where I catalog items, and I snatched it up, since one of my favorite B actors, Eric Roberts, was on the cover. I didn't even read what it was about before popping it into the DVD player. It was an amusing throwback to the 80's slasher films, with today's technology. The opening where Eric Robert's character, Julian, and the sheriff were eating breakfast, instantly made me think of the small town I grew up in. And then when they showed the cabins it looked almost exactly like Edgewater Inn and Cabins where the yearly IndieHorror.TV Cabin Weekend takes place. I felt a kinship with the movie right away. It was very enjoyable, and the kill scenes were pretty decent. Towards the end I was lost for a second when one of the characters was attacked, but then a second later the killer was outside the door. But after I thought about it, it made sense. There was a twist at the end that I did not predict, which was nice. I would recommend this movie, especially if you enjoy 80's slashers.

Eric Roberts plays a washed up director from the 1980's who directed a series of slasher films set at camp. He gets a group of twenty somethings to come to an actual camp under the guise that it's for rehab. These young adults have messed up big time in the eyes of their parents so they are told it's this camp or jail or actual rehab which none of them want to do. When they arrive Eric Roberts tells them they might enjoy themselves because they are actually going to be on a reality show competing for one million dollars if they end up being the "last man standing". They are told some unknown will "kill" them randomly with fake weapons and then they will be escorted off the show. It's kind of like Survivor and Gladiator mixed into one. What they don't know is Eric Roberts was actually paid $2 million dollars by the parents of these kids to kill them for real because they are sick of them messing up. He gets help from one of the actual cops in town (there are only two cops in the town-and they are brother and sister) to kill them one by one. Then at the end after the female cop kills her cop brother since he can't be trusted to keep quiet-Eric Roberts then kills her and then walks off-therefore getting all the money for himself. For a bunch of no names (besides Eric Roberts) this actually wasn't bad. I watch a lot of horror films and I saw all the low reviews on here BUT they must not watch a lot of horror movies because if they had they would think this is an Oscar contender compared to most. The acting was actually pretty good. The scenes were pretty "realistic", the pacing was good, the music was appropriate, the plot was somewhat original and it tied up not completely stupid. I usually find myself laughing out loud or rolling my eyes the entire time or yelling out stuff like "That would never happen!" OR "That is so stupid!" when I watch horror films BUT I did none of that while watching this. I am also a very harsh critic (I've done close to 200 reviews so you can see those to verify I am not someone involved with the film giving a fake review) so I could not believe when the film ended that I really had nothing negative to say about this. Just to clarify this movie is not gonna get any rewards BUT it's actually not bad for being low budget acted with no names. Go ahead and give it a try if you love horror films.

After finding The Final Girls to be a surprisingly strong Slasher Comedy,I started keeping a look out for similar films. Picking up an old issue of UK film mag Empire,I read Kim Newman's Video Dungun page,and noticed a review for a similar-sounding flick,which led to me packing my bags for Camp Dread. The plot: After making his name writing/directing and producing the Summer Camp Slasher trilogy in the 80's.washed-up film maker Julian Barrett decides to revive the franchise.Wanting to keep the budget low,Barrett uses a reality TV show cover to get real troubled teens to sign up to "act" in the show/movie. Returning to the original where the films were made,Barrett covers the camp with CCTV . Revealing to his "cast" that they could get rich if they follow his directions,the group start playing around being in a Slasher,but soon find themselves giving "method" performances. View on the film: Slithering around the camp,Eric Roberts gives a marvellous slime ball performance as Barrett,whose Hollywood grin Roberts grips to keep Barrett mischievously ruthless nature just hidden under the sunglasses. Finding herself returning to the Slasher,the pretty Felissa Rose,gives a good performance as Rachel,with Rose giving the flick a comedic kick via knocking the fourth wall down in Rachel's attempt to escape the genre. Filming on a real summer camp,writer/director B. Harrison Smith & cinematographer Charlie Anderson cut a chunk of 80's Slasher atmosphere,with the fading colours of the camp giving the killings a day-glo shine. Limiting the murder set-pieces to side views,Smith cuts into the bright red Slasher gore,but stops it from covering the screen by oddly only showing the murders take place in side angles. Starting production on "Summer Camp 4" the screenplay by Smith gives the first half a wry, satirical bite slashing into washed-up Hollywood glee and reality TV desperation. Chopping up the jokes as the bodies pile up, Smith snaps the playful elements to present a straight Slasher,which whilst hitting some gory deaths,runs dry due to the sudden serious shift,as the group start to dread Camp Dread.

The "staring actress"? She has about 5 minutes of total screen time. The movie gets 2 stars for a solid production value, and 1 for OKAY acting...the rest? It's all bad. I usually know anything with Eric Roberts is going to be trash ...but due to Harris name attached I watched it...kudos to them, they fooled me. Good job? The plot doesn't make a lot of sense, and by the time you understand why they're doing all this, you've already lost interest. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say the ending makes no sense...like...what was the motivations for ..the last one alive...? There was no motivation and it wasn't apart of their character at all, were they just faking it? I don't get it...this was a classic case of a film trying to be smarter than it is, which ends up confusing everyone (not cuz we can't grasp it but cuz it makes no sense) and being stupid. None of the kills were anything special.

I liked the sound of the premise, really anything to do with camp gets me excited to watch, but Camp Dread is so bad, and it never even comes close to the so-bad-it's-good pile. What I really hate in this genre I love so much is when endings make the whole film seem pointless and in my opinion thats what this film does. It's misleading, and im not just talking about Danielle Harris getting a star billing. The death scenes weren't too bad, but when the movie finished I was extremely disappointed. If you like low-budget trashy camp flicks try Bloody Murder 2. It's so bad its good. This is so bad it's not even worth wasting your time on.

This movie was boring, there was almost no gore and the story was just so bad, it had more holes in it than a piece of swiss cheese. This movie is a pure waste of money that could have been used to make a proper movie. I have nothing more to say about this

What an awful film not even scary it's basically about a reality show based on a camp where the last one standing wins a million dollars. Eric Roberts is the show creator who set it all up and so the 20 something's arrive at camp and they all have some problem that they should have gone to rehab for but have been sent here. The first 40 minutes is dull the killings are awful you basically don't care about any of them as the acting sucks. In the end one of them is doing the killings to win and then is bumped off by another of the gang who then thinks she's won only for Eric Roberts to kill her off too. Apparently their parents sent them there to get killed off and reap insurance money? Don't bother with this movie it's not a patch on Friday the 13th it's dull dull!!!!!!!!

I am so angry at myself for paying for this DVD without reading more reviews. It is an Inept, dull, lifeless, low-budget, boring, rip-off of a movie. I threw it in the trash half way through. Avoid this dreck . You have been warned!