Spirit Camp

I have been a fan of low budget horror my whole life and as a longtime fan of the genre, you really don't expect much when you hear "low budget horror film." Things are different now. If you weren't aware that Spirit Camp was a low budget horror film, you'd never know it when viewing the movie. It easily looks like a multimillion dollar effort.

Technically, the film looked perfect. The cinematography, sound, shot composition, direction all first rate. And when I learned the history of this project, that not only did Kerry Beyer write, produce, direct and perform in Spirit Camp, but he was also the cinematographer, editor, sound editor and did the digital effects himself, it almost redefines "indie" -- he almost did everything himself.

The acting is a lot better than it needed to be as well. The leads and co-stars are great, and there are some great actors in bit parts.

If you are a horror fan, especially fan of classic slasher films, you should catch Spirit Camp if it comes to your city.

Pretty girls being slaughtered at a lakeside cheer-leading camp—hardly the most original idea for a horror film. Clearly believing that the only way they could possibly get any mileage from this already well-worn plot, the makers of Spirit Camp opt to play much of their film for laughs, only attempting anything remotely resembling real scares in the closing moments.

Ironically, it is the tongue-in-cheek humour that comes across as the most tired aspect of the whole film, slasher films having been subject to mockery for many years now, whilst the scary bits in the finale actually work the best. I suspect that if director Kerry Beyer had had a bit more conviction in his abilities as a film-maker he could have made a genuinely good slasher, instead of a cheesy, trashy and laugh-free spoof with not nearly enough blood and guts. Maybe next time, eh?

Still, I suppose it could be worse: the women in the film are attractive, buxom, and aren't shy about taking off their cheer-leading outfits for a spot of much appreciated nudity; the acting isn't all that bad considering that most of the cast seem to be new to the job; the film has a polished look to it, belying its low budget independent roots; and with such delights as a camp counsellor being killed while breaking in a sex toy, several sneaky up-skirt shots, the campest male cheerleaders imaginable, and a fat guy going down on his total babe of a girlfriend (the lovely Katy Rowe), at least Spirit Camp can never be accused of being boring.

Beautiful glossy sweet movie of cheerleaders, blood and gore. This film is everything that you can expect and more. It's cool, sleek, witty, neat and enjoyable to watch in a teen slasher kinda way.

Basic plot involves a group of teens heading off for summer camp. Once arrived, they soon discover that a crazy madman has escaped from a local secure (or un-secure) prison and the body-count begins to mount up. Yes, this is the original obvious plot, but its produced as a pure homage to all that has come before, looks great and really is a fun film to watch.

When I say obvious, I really mean it. Basically, every time someone steps out of one of the chalets or into the woods, into a shower, they are sliced up. 'So, if it's so obvious, why is it good?' I hear you cry. This film is produced with such love an attention, fine detail and witty perfect script, it's impossible not to watch. I'm presuming it was filmed on HD Camera, it's gloriously lit and colourful to the eye. The cast are all great too. Great to see Julin again (after another fav of the 365Horror project, the Final) real screen presence and great comic timing. Roxy Vandiver is good, kinda in the lead here, but totally overshadowed by Julin. Brandon Smith and Amy Morris both offer sterling performances. Credence to Kerry Beyer, as writer, director, DP and actor for getting a great performance out of such a young cast whilst shooting a great lookin' film.

One of the best of the year so far.

Plot-Think Friday the 13th meets The Breakfast Club with cheerleaders. Roxy Vandiver and Julin, among others in cheer leading outfit trying to not be killed by a slasher in the woods at Spirit Camp. This film really just sells itself.

Review-Kerry Beyer is truly a fan of horror. With references in this film to genre classics such as Halloween,( camp director's name is Miss Haddonfield)and kills very much like Friday the 13th. Spirit Camp is a prime example of what an indie film can do right, and a Hollywood film will always screw up. Kerry is another example of the talent that is coming out of Texas right now. Texas has become a hotbed for horror in the last few years, pretty much like when Nirvana put Seattle on the map. Where people will look at the cover art of this film and have their minds made up before even attempting to give this film a shot. I can tell you that this film delivers a very solid story, very well written characters, a decent amount of kills, and a huge amount of nudity. Make no mistake about it, this film was created for a certain demographic, and that is male between the ages of birth and death. You have Julin, Roxy Vandiver and etc running around in cheer leading outfits while being chased by a killer. Who else could you market this film to? Churches? What it lacks on kills, it makes up for with the ladies. And the shock, what it lacked on ladies and kills, it made up for with a well written script. Kerry actually made a smart script from a type of genre comic film that a smart script should not work on, and it worked. Look at Roxy playing Nikki, where most directors would be content letting Nikki be the bad ass misunderstood rebel. Kerry, as the film went on made her character a "don't judge a book by the cover" character. This is another example of the brilliance of this film. He lets the actors own their characters, instead of playing against the tongue and cheek feel of the film. He made them seem serious, funny but yet sympathetic that you would not want to watch anything bad happen to them.

This film has such a dark humor and very fan written script, that you cannot hate this film. It was made by a fan for the fans. You almost feel as though, Kerry had a proverbial check list as to what to include in this film. We have to have the male characters that have the appeal of someone from Porky's. We have to make a death scene even worst, why not get a snake to crawl on the girl while she is in fear. This film is such a fresh breath of air to the horror genre. Spirit Camp is a great example of how far indie films have progressed in the last few years. How are Julin and Roxy Vandiver not more famous by now? This film shows what these ladies are capable of, and shows you what Texas is becoming very well known for releasing. Spirit Camp is a fun time. This film is an example of do not judge the film by the box art. It is so much more than fun and exciting than the cover art shows you. This is definitely a must watch.

Thanks to fangoria I came beware of this flick, I watched the trailer and agreed, I want it, but that wasn't that simple. Again the production let me know that they weren't allowed to export their feature. But I kept emailing and after a while they send over the DVD. Included in my package was a pair of knickers from Julin. That was already a fun part, but was the movie as good as her panties? Lucky it was. First I would like to say that the movie is indeed a mixture between 70's slashers and comedy. But the comedy doesn't take the lead. This independent takes off already with gore and nudity, always a good teaser to start. Then we go 2 years further and the movie really starts, and as in a slasher all kind of girls are in it, the fat one, the nerdy one, the sexy one. All facing into the face of death. The killings are mostly off screen only showing the results or even just hearing the knife going into the flesh or a scream. But still it works. And the best thing is that the editing is okay, you will never notice that it is a low budget flick, and the acting is good too. So if you are into some old school fun, be sure to take the road to spirit camp.