Summer camp movies became a subgenre onto themselves in the late 70s, continued vigorously throughout the 80s, and stretched into the early 90s before the genre waned. After Ivan Reitmans Meatballs (1979) and Ron Maxwells Little Darlings (1980) struck box office gold, genre filmmakers set their suspicious eyes on sprawling campgrounds quiet lakes, and sinister tree lines, transforming bastions of youthful serenity into the sites of countless killing sprees and angst-y rebellions.
Sean Cunninghams Friday the 13th (1980) is the first slasher to wear a woodsy summer camp setting, but that franchise casts a long shadow and can easily be the subject of its own list. Because everyone knows the saga of Camp Crystal Lake, Shock decided to focus this list on a mixture of lesser known films and one-off summer camp horror. And to avoid future duplication, weve excluded any films covered this month in our previous 10 Camping Nightmares article.
After all, theres plenty of carnage around the campfire.
—
Matt Serafini writes horror fiction and spends much of his free time tracking down obscure slasher movies, ranting about them to whoever will listen. He also likes scotch, and, as such, hopes to find himself embroiled in a real-life giallo one day. Find him on Twitter @MattFini.
summer camp horror
-
summer camp horror #1
Monster of Camp Sunshine [1964] (d. & w. Ferenc Leroget)
With its miniscule budget, Monster of Camp Sunshine may be more of a curiosity and less of an essential recommendation, but it’s hard to ignore this exploitation oddity. This mixture of then-prominent genres (nudie-cutie and science runs amok) combines with early proto slasher sensibilities to forge the story of a nudist camp caretaker who drinks from a contaminated stream and transforms into an axe-wielding maniac.
Two roommates, a model and a nurse, arrive at Camp Sunshine and traipse around the campground in the buff while the mutated psycho has them in his sights.
Writer/director Leroget doesn’t take it seriously. That’s apparent from the wonderfully bizarre opening credits (crudely shaped and animated), and the funkier touches along the way. The dialogue is culled from ADR sessions, and the climactic battle with the titular monster is supplemented by tons of World War II stock footage (seriously).
It’s a curious piece of early camp horror that deserves a look for those who might be tired of celebrating the summer months with the same three DVDs.
-
summer camp horror #2
Piranha [1978] (d. Joe Dante, w. John Sayles)
This one’s inclusion is a bit more questionable, as the summer camp component is limited. The piranha do set their sights on a camp, but it’s really just one stop on director Joe Dante’s carnage train, putting plenty of children in peril while ravenous killer fish swarm the waters beneath them.
Some folks label Piranha as a Jaws spoof, an almost certain result of frequent humor found throughout. That takes away from some of the hair-raising moments, though, none of which are better than the grim fate of Belinda Balaski—a reminder to audiences that, yes, this is a horror movie that happens to be very funny.
After 30+ years, Piranha has lost none of its charms. The cast is a delight, Dante manages some rousing suspense and, yes, the script continues to be hilarious.
“What about the goddamn piranha?”
“They’re eating the guests, sir.”
-
summer camp horror #3
Madman [1982] (d & w. Joe Giannone)
Madman feels like a campfire story brought to life. The colorful opening credits create a strangely ethereal quality as it segues into a smoky ghost story that brings the titular murderer calling. And Madman’s orator isn’t content to spin just another yarn. He does the whole thing in song for extra effect!
Bizarre touches like that are present throughout Madman. Clunky performances feel oddly at home here, any diminishing quality they might’ve had dissipates alongside moments like the infamous hot tub scene, or refrigerator bit. The movie can be goofy, sure, but it’s also one of the creepiest slashers ever made.
Those shots of Madman Marz stalking the night in fleeting glimpses give the movie a sustained dread, and the downer ending only adds to the title character’s mysterious and enduring lure. Try getting the Song of Madman Marz out of your head.
-
summer camp horror #4
Sleepaway Camp [1983] (d. & w. Robert Hiltzik) / Sleepaway Camp II [1988] (d. Michael Simpson, w. Fritz Gordon)
Which do you prefer? Sleepaway Camp or Sleepaway Camp II? It’s a hotly contested topic in slasher circles. Probably because both movies succeed quite well in incredibly different ways.
Most importantly, both capture the essence of 1980s summer camp horror. The actual campgrounds add heaps of atmosphere, giving each their own unmistakable stamp of authenticity.
The original is notable for its casting of actual kids as the denizens of Camp Arawak, and this decision makes the film’s adolescent cruelty and murder far more shocking. But it’s the odder flourishes of repressed sexuality, not to mention that ending, that have helped this endure for decades.
Sleepaway Camp II is a rock ‘n roll slasher where the teens are in their twenties, the body count piles high, and the shenanigans fly fast and furious! It gets a lot of its mileage from Pam Springsteen, whose fantastic performance as the crazed Angela embodies the slasher film as morality play argument. She just can’t understand why people have to be so darn immoral all the time.
-
summer camp horror #5
Summer Camp Nightmare [1987] (d. Bert L. Dragin, w. Bert L. Dragin & Penelope Spheeris)
Adapted from the novel The Butterfly Revolution by William Butler, this isn’t the summer camp slasher it was often touted as, more accurately emerging as Lord of the Flies at camp.
The camp in question is Camp North Pines. It falls into upheaval when the overbearing owner (Chuck Conners) is overthrown and imprisoned along with the rest of the counselors. What begins as an anti-authority teen fantasy, consisting of sated hormones and nonstop hijinks, becomes something worse as tensions mount and the youthful factions clash.
Sadly denied the dignity of a genuine DVD or Blu-ray release, this one has gone without fanfare since its release. It honestly deserves much better.
-
summer camp horror #6
Twisted Nightmare [1987] (d. Paul Hunt, w. Paul Hunt & Charles Phillip Moore)
An underlooked and mostly forgotten slasher that’s built around a group of friends who’re returning to Camp Paradise, the sight of some incredibly nasty business years earlier. Much like the original Friday the 13th, a mentally handicapped boy went to his demise (burned in the camp barn), and a series of vicious killings have sprung up seemingly in his name.
In many ways this feels like the summer camp version of Slaughter High: an ill-fated classmate may or may not be the killer, and the fodder is responsible for tormenting him years earlier. Friday the 13th Part III fans will undoubtedly recognize the location right off, as this was filmed at the same location that was used to bring Higgins’ Haven to life.
-
summer camp horror #7
Cheerleader Camp [1988] (d. John Quinn, w. David Lee Fein & R.L. O’Keefe)
One of the most successful blends of hormonal teen comedy and straight up slasher, Cheerleader Camp is most notable in the pop culture echelon for its use of former idol Leif Garrett as the world’s most lecherous boyfriend (and world’s worst rapper).
If that’s not all the incentive in the world needed to seek this out, rest assured that it also delivers everything that slasher fans could want. A killer takes up arms at Camp Hurrah (you were expecting subtlety?) during fierce cheerleading competition training.
Among those caught amidst these bloody pom poms: Future Ms. Jigsaw, Betsy Russell, who’s got the eye of the tiger when it comes to winning; onetime possessed ninja Lucinda Dickey as the team mascot/red herring; and an overweight party animal sidekick, who is so 80s he probably ceased existing at the stroke of midnight in 1990.
With plenty of T&A and an honest attempt to manage a surprising finish, this is the very definition of a beer and pizza movie, and it succeeds with precision at what it’s trying to achieve.
-
summer camp horror #8
Addams Family Values [1993] (d. Barry Sonnenfield, w. Paul Rudnick)
When Wednesday and Pugsley Adams are shipped off to Camp Chippewa at the behest of Uncle Fester’s scheming suitor, this 1993 sequel comes springing to life.
The satire in Paul Rudnick’s script is perhaps more biting than most modern day family fare, but it’s that discomfort that renders its messages of tolerance and acceptance effective (the Thanksgiving Day pageant is a highlight, if confusing since the film is set during the summer).
As the camp’s smug directors, Christine Baranski and Peter McNicol know exactly how to play the material, but it’s Christina Ricci who steals every scene she’s in and helps elevate this to a sequel that’s head and shoulders above the original.
