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Yes, Cheerleader Camp is a bit cheesy, but I feel it's one of the better slashers I've seen. In the tradition of Sleepaway Camp type movies, it really delivers comically as well as the suspense and horror. Laden with mid 80's sex and shenanigans, snobby cheerleaders, creepy care-takers and the lovable, overweight video voyeur Timmy. How could anyone refuse?

Although I feared that Leif Garret would destroy the authenticity of the movie, after the first five minutes I realized it could not be done. He really captured the sleazy boyfriend persona quite well. And I was really happy to see Lucinda Dickey (from Breakin' & Breakin' 2) as 'Cory' the team mascot.

So if you ever see this in a video store, be sure to rent it. But don't hold out on trying to locate the sequel. There's a rumor that it doesn't even exist. Maybe Uma Thurman knows.. She supposedly starred in it.

High school students in SoCal go to cheerleading camp in the remote Sequoia National Forest where they tragically start dying one by one. Who's the killer? Will any make it back alive?

"Cheerleader Camp" (1988) is a whodunnit slasher that mixes cheerleading antics with elements of the "Friday the 13th" flicks and "The Burning" (1981), not to mention "Sleepaway Camp" (1983). "Body Count" (1986) also comes to mind.

I had a bad attitude at first because there was some campy humor along the lines of "Friday the 13th Part III" (1982) and "Friday the 13th Part V" (1985), mostly revolving around the overweight character and the female camp director, not to mention the Englund-like Handyman, albeit less so. In other words, I thought the movie was going to be a full-on joke, but the comedic bits only revolve around those characters and the flick takes a dark turn in the second half.

Also, it actually deals with some pretty heavy themes despite being an 80's slasher with a dash of sex humor. For instance, there are reflections on anxiety, competition/rivalry, relationship abuse, alcoholism, deception, manipulation and false testimony.

I was halfway through when it occurred to me that one of the male characters was Leif Garrett, the former teenage heartthrob of the late 70s. Here he is at 26 (during shooting) playing a high school student and he's effective enough.

Lorie Griffin stands out on the female front as Bonnie. You might remember her from her memorable role in "Teen Wolf" (1985). The female cast is decent - also including Rebecca Ferratti (Theresa), Betsy Russell (Alison) and Vickie Benson (Miss Tipton) - but the director evidently didn't know how to shoot women (no pun intended).

So, this is worthwhile enough to check out if you like 80's slashers, but you have to roll with its hackneyed shortcomings.

The film runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and was shot in Bakersfield and Sequoia National Forest, California, which is about an hour's drive northeast of there.

GRADE: C+

Cheerleader Camp (1988)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

All of the best and brightest cheerleaders in the country attend a special camp where they can extend their talents. The only problem is that some sort of madman has also shown up and soon the cheerleaders are dropping dead.

CHEERLEADER CAMP obviously wasn't meant to be taken too serious and it's clear that it was making fun of the slasher genre. This here is basically PORKY'S with an added slice of murder and for the most part the film is entertaining enough to make it worth watching.

What makes the film so entertaining is the cast who manage to be fun and keep you interested in everything that's going on. Of course, all of them are way too old for their parts but this is just something most viewers will be accustom to. The cast really manages to be fun and that's the most important thing.

The filmmakers clearly knew who their target audience was because this works as both a horror film as well as a "teen" comedy. The teen comedy aspect basically has a bunch of beautiful women getting naked and a bunch of horny guys wanting them. The summer camp setting works just fine. As far as the horror elements go, there are actually some rather gory and violent death scenes so gore hounds will be happy as well.

CHEERLEADER CAMP certainly isn't a masterpiece or even a good picture but at the same time it's entertaining enough for what it is.

If there had been a bigger budget, this would have been THE slasher flick of the 1980's. It was much better then another camp series, sleepaway camp, and the acting was much better then other b-movies. One thing that worked against it, however,was the rather generic title, and it's alternate title, bloody pom poms, wasn't any better. Had more attention been paid to this movie, Leif Garrett would have been on a major comeback, and Besty Russell, perhaps the least known, and most eye pleasing of any 80's starlet, would have been a a list star. Alas, in 1987, this good movie came and went, while much attention was paid to big studio stinkers like ishtar, The Golden Child, among others. How Besty Russell was never an a list star, is a loss.

Give me a F, give me a U, give me a N. Yes… FUN. Nothing more. Nothing less. Senseless, over-the-top, but fun. Probably too much fun? In its investment for energy, it really did play up the textbook gags and fooling around for the majority of the time. Teenagers will always be teenagers --- well what else would you do at Camp Hurrah. Anyhow the straight-to-video "Cheerleader Camp" is a low-budget b-grade late 80s slasher / sex comedy item opting for numerous semi-nude shots (especially when you got the likes of Teri Weigel and Krista Pflanzer in the cast), tacky blood splatter and a very tongue-cheek-approach to its traditional material. In which case much needed, because some of the cheesy dialogues can be eye-rolling and it stars a former teen idol Leif Garrett. The style is similar to other such campy slashers within the same period; "Return to Horror High" (1987) and "Cutting Class" (1989). The plot enters in a protagonist with a traumatically stressful mind, throws around typical red herrings (memorably enjoyable character turns by George 'Buck' Flowers and Vickie Benson), suspiciously telegraphed activities, absurd occurrences (like those odd dream sequences) and a silly revelation going on to a twisted ending. Everything feels purposely blatant. Director John Quinn's execution might be lumpy, but it's breezily paced and enthusiastically captured. Also the camera-work achieves some inventive angles, especially early on. The always enviable Besty Russell heads the cult cast with Lucinda Dickey (spending a bit time in a costume), Rebecca Ferratti, Travis McKenna and a delightful Lorie Griffin.