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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.

Man oh man is this movie terrible. It's like watching a trainwreck, but in a totally endearing way. Playing like a Lord of the Flies with an anti-communist message, Summer Camp Nightmare has to be one of the worst movies ever made. The acting is the worst ever. Chuck "The Rifleman" Conners is so amazingly terrible as Mr. Warren, the camp director who's "lost touch with the youth." Charles Stratton plays Franklin Reilly, the "crazy anarchist" who starts the lamest revolution of all time. Tom Fridly (Cort a.k.a. the kid in tiny shorts in Friday the 13th Part IV) is Mason, the most homo-erotic rapist ever. Runk the Punk is by far the lowlight of the movie, serving both as Mason's obvious man-slave and Reilly's thug (albeit the least intimidating thug ever).

The storyline is pretty simple. Mr. Warren takes over as camp director, but is a real stickler for order. After blocking all but the "religious station" on the rec room's TV, he cancels the dance with the nearby girls' camp. Rebellion soon ensues, as Reilly falsely accuses Warren of molesting the younger boys. Soon, both the boys' and girls' camps are taken over by the regime. All order falls apart, etc. etc. etc. There really is no cohesive plot, just a lot of bad acting, some sort of moral, and the sluttiest teenage girls ever! They can't keep their hands off these weird, ugly, ambiguous guys. Kind of creeps you out.

However, with all the blatant homo-eroticism and crappy acting, it sets itself up as one of the greatest movies to mock with your friends ever. It's on a par with Plan 9 from Outer Space, but has more appeal for those who can remember torn jeans and teenage boys with feathered hair. If you do manage to snag it though, watch with friends and be prepared to laugh like hell, if Mystery Science Theater 3000 is your idea of a good time.

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 ****

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.