Deer Camp '86

Better than average for the budget. It has something it wanted to say and did it moderately well.

It is pseudo 80s. But doesn't really matter. It has some humor though most of the jokes are a bit bland. A nice change of pace with some enjoyable Northern Michigan fall foliage.

Suburban kids go to the country to hunt. Terrible use of and stereotypical depiction of local country folk. The suburban kids are barely given much better to work with. They eventually get to the cabin and start to go hunting. Then some stuff happens and things build to the finish.

A bit of a slow going. Eventually it gets moving along. With a rushed ending. It has decent practical effect, some moderate cgi and some not great cgi. A little heavy handed on being against hunting.

Overall I am not upset I watched it. Though I am not sure when or if I would ever watch it again. It does wrap up in a reasonable way. Which is too bad, because with some tweaks and changes this could have been really entertaining. Instead it an okay way to pass your time when you are in a mood for a horror flick.

A bit of gore and a bit of language. In a movie that could have been good and ended up just mediocre.

The "hunters" looked like they were outfitted by Todd Snyder. No actual hunter would wear clothing this nice. The actors seemed miscast. And the exaggerated stereo types of small town people was unnecessary (racist, homophobic, etc).

The movie took place in 1986. Besides the "Simon" game, nothing by way of set design or costume made you think "yeah this is the '80s." One highlight was the beautiful Michigan autumn scenery. I've never been to Michigan but I'm now interested.

The acting was decent. And again, the scenery is gorgeous. It was as though it was from the Michigan tourism department!!!!

On a hunting trip in Michigan, a group of friends celebrating the start of hunting season stumble upon a series of strange deaths triggered by the murder of a Native American woman in a long series of similar incidents unleashing an avenging Native American spirit now targeting them.

This was a fairly solid and likable genre effort. One of the main aspects found here is the strong build-up to the general storyline where everything here comes together quite nicely. The initial setup of the group coming to the area to enjoy the hunting afforded by the area only to come upon a series of attacks on Native American women in the city which pulls them into its sphere due to the involvement of the latest victim being a bartender they befriended who becomes the latest victim in a series of violent outbursts in the area. This idea of merging the two stories together by making the group become the new victims of the hunter once they arrive in the woods after being caught up in the rampage makes this a rather solid setup with a fantastic touch on the treatment of indigenous tribes with how that sets everything in motion here. The other enjoyable factor with this one is the series of antics on display with the use of the supernatural killer coming to life and taking out those responsible for taking out other Native American women. Given a fantastic motivation for the rampage, the whole thing taking place out in the woods where it can use its powers and manipulation of the environment to provide a slew of intriguing sequences of it appearing to take down the hunters one by one. Attacking the couple by the lake, the big ambush on the main cabin, and the traps laid out in the woods to stop it have a lot to like keeping the action frantic and furious with the series of attacks present her involving the great kills on display with the impressive look of the killer also coming together to all provide the film with a lot to like. There are some issues to be had with this one. Among the main drawbacks to be had with this one is the immensely disproportionate pacing present here where its rather bizarre tempo leaves this one quite uneasy and uneven. There's way too much time spent on the stereotypical racist town of backwoods rednecks with their treatment of the Native Americans in the town setting up the idea of what's going on but going way beyond the point of it being as useful as it should with how mow time is spent on it, while other scenes involving the team being stalked in the woods by the creature or it taunting the others with it which leaves this to make the encounters fun if immensely quick in comparison. It also leaves little time for explanations about everything as we get to know very little about the creature hunting them as a result so it's powers are cool if entirely unexplained as well as it's backstory, which along with a completely lacking sense of humor bring this down.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

This is a solid effort with strong character development and a semi-original story. The special effects, especially the practical ones, were outstanding-some of the best I've seen in a while. The CGI was good, though it could have been improved. The villain or monster was well-conceived, though the hunting sequences felt overly lucky. The film opens with a truck hitting a deer, so luck seems to play a big role in their game hunting. I didn't recognize any of the actors, but they all delivered excellent performances. There are some genuinely funny moments, including a scene involving a tick that was both hilarious and an effects masterpiece. The weakest aspect was the attempt to set the film in 1986; it didn't feel authentic to the era. The only 1980's thing was the pocket Simon. I would have believed it was 1996 instead, and if that had been the chosen setting, this would have been a perfect debut for director L. Van Dyke Siboutszen.

The overall story was good, although the pacing could have been tightened up a bit. The special effects were well done, especially considering the obvious budget constraints. However, the movie lost 5 stars due to a common issue in today's film industry...incredibly unlikeable characters. What I assume was intended to be what the writers imagined "guy talk" at deer camp would sound like was just awful. Basically just guys, who were supposed to be good friends, calling each other b***h and getting in actual fights nearly the entire run time. Trying to force this in is what killed the pacing of the film. Some interesting stuff happened, and then a long stretch of irritating bickering that made me root against nearly all of them, followed by a rushed but ultimately fun and interesting climax that wrapped the story up much better than most films in this budget range. I'm not mad that I watched it, but a little disappointed because it was so close to being much better.