Spirit Camp

After reading the reviews of this abortion it is hard to understand why ANYONE would give it a favorable review. It is a "camp rendering" of the slasher flicks of the 80's with plenty of boobs to keep the viewer tuned in. The acting is barely possible, campy, and poor at best. It is a Michael Meyers knock off with a bad mask to boot. The murderer is previewed early on and most of it is just a trashy waste of time. You would be better off getting your hemorrhoids sandpapered than to waste the time watching this bloody abortion. The first chick killed reminds me of one of the K-people... the people are parodied that would anger most people. This movie couldn't decide if it was a satire or a serious flick. Avoid if at all possible.

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.

This movie is listed as a Horror/Comedy and it is a perfect blend of both. The comedic parts are actually really funny and the horror side of the film is a perfect slasher flick. The ads for the film describe it as "Friday THE 13th meets BRING IT ON" which is a pretty good comparison. Although there were actually more similarities and nods to the film HALLOWEEN than there was to Friday THE 13th (the action takes place at Loomis Lake and the camp director is named Mrs. Haddenfield). You will also see some more subtle nods to HALLOWEEN if you watch close enough...I won't ruin them all for you here.

The acting is the movie is superb. There is not one bad performance in the group. A few performances that really stuck out as really great were the part of Sheriff Todd played by veteran actor Brandon Smith, the part of Rachel played by Julin, and the character of Missy played by Megan Moser. These were great performances, but really all the actors did a great job.

The gore scenes is the film are great too. One thing this Horror/Comedy didn't do was skimp on the blood. There are plenty of great kills to satisfy even the most die hard slasher fans. This film is definitely one to watch again and is going on my list of favorite slasher flicks!

Be sure to watch the behind the scenes documentary on the special features. Beyer talks about making this movie with such passion, you can tell he really loves the genre and film making in general, and it shows in his final product. Also, during this behind the scenes look, we get a very personal glimpse of a tragedy that struck his family, as during shooting his mother had to undergo brain surgery to remove a brain tumor. Mrs. Beyer was did all the catering for the film and was very involved and supportive of her son and this project. There is a very touching interview with Beyer's mother and even footage of her right after having been through the surgery. This was a very interesting behind the scene featurette with a lot more substance than most of the making of documentaries we are used to on every other Horror DVD. I hope Beyer sticks with the Horror genre and I look forward to seeing future projects from this amazing filmmaker.

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.

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.