Die unbeugsamen Wilden

SUMMER CAMP NIGHTMARE (1987) **1/2 (out of 4*'s) DIRECTOR: Bert L. Dragin. Chuck Connors, Charles Stratton, Adam Carl, Melissa Brennan.

Good story, about wild punks overthrowing the Summer Camp staff and taking over and starting their own revolution.

More of a violent drama. Despite the misleading title, this is not a horror movie. Well acted, good character development, and does have some exciting moments.

AKA: THE BUTTERFLY REVOLUTION.

Summer Camp Nightmare is a pretty good camp movie. Like

the guy before me said its not a horror movie. Its more

like a drama/thriller. The movie is about a bunch of kids

who are fed up with the rules at the camp and decide to

lock up the adults and take over the camp. The leader calls the takeover a revolution. But even the revolution

has rules and a couple of people break those rules and are punished. The movie isn't great, but it delivers enough goods to entertain for 90 minutes. All in all a pretty

good camp movie. I give Summer Camp Nightmare **1/2 out of ****

My review was written in April 1987 after watching the movie at a Columbus Circle screening room.

Beneath the intentionally misleading release title "Summer Camp Nightmare" rests an uneasy mixture of teen hijinks pic and cautionary lecture for youngsters. In adapting William Butler's novel "The Butterfly Revolution" (film's original titled during its 1985 lensing), filmmaker Bert L. Dragin and co-writer Penelope Spheeris have created an all-too-obvious anti-fascist parable which is simply not entertaining in the manner of the S. E. Hinton ic or even the John Hughes comedies.

First few reels play like "Meatballs" without the laughs (nor for lack of tring, but the gags here fall flat), with the young boys at Camp North Pines dreaming of the slightly older girls at nearlby Camp South Pines. Fly in the ointment is new camp director Chuck Connors, styled as a strict disciplinarian who only allows an all-religious channel to play on the camp tv and locks misbehaving boys or counselors up in a detention cabin.

Pic takes a dark turn after 15 minutes when a counselor, played by Charles Stratton, organizes an instant revolution, lockng up Connors and his adult staff and having the kids and student counselors run the camp in military fashion. He quickly extends his control to the girls' camp, locking up all the adults there, too.

With teens and kids running the show, film gradually tries for "Lord of the Flies" commentary, as Stratton's fascist behavior leads to several deaths and the kids descend into barbarism. Unfortunately, Dragin's direction is very soft, denying the film the tough-minded points and power of such forerunners as Harold Becker's "Taps". Instead, we get an alternation of comedy and seriousness which represents a candy-coated lecture few kids will swallow.

Acting is passable, with Stratton very good indeed at suggesting a likable (on the surface yet megalomaniacal character.

Going by the title, one might reasonably assume Summer Camp Nightmare to be another late '80s slasher movie, but there are no masked machete-wielding maniacs on this occasion. Instead, we have a Lord of the Flies-inspired storyline in which the teenagers at Camp North Pines rebel against authority, taking the counselors prisoner. Led by the charismatic but psychotic Franklin (Charlie Stratton), the kids party and go wild, but the revolution ultimately leads to rape, revenge and murder.

Summer Camp Nightmare isn't a terrible movie, but it is terribly dated, suffering from a big dose of '80s cheeze: the music and fashion is hilarious, particularly during the camp talent show, with the only black character performing a rap (more John Barnes than Ice-T), three teen bimbos giving Bananarama a run for their money in the lack of talent stakes, and a couple of rebellious types performing an atrocious hair metal song. There's also the obligatory nerd, Donald Poultry (Adam Carl), who is a computer whizz, carrying around a box of high-tech tricks that save the day. With less of the tacky high jinx, and more grittiness and hard-edged realism, Summer Camp Nightmare could have been something special; as it stands, it is a rather inconsequential and forgettable flick.

5/10. A missed opportunity.

This movie is like a mix of "Meatballs" and "Taps". The title is misleading. This isn't a "Friday the 13th"-type horror film. It's a pretty good little film about a teenage counselor who organizes all of the kids to take over the camp and lock up the adults. They do it because the new camp director (Chuck Connors) runs the place like a dictator and doesn't let the kids do anything fun. I wish we had done this when I was kid at bible camp! The teen counselor isn't exactly playing with a full deck either, but the kids don't mind as long as they get what they want, which is rock n' roll, parties, and sex. The supporting characters are well-drawn, especially Runk the Punk. Check this movie out if you come across it in the video store. It's a good time-killer.