Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
AKA "Camp Daze"

2005 R / Horror Mystery Directed by: Alex Pucci Starring: Kyle Lupo, Anika C. McFall, Matt Dallas

Tagline

Summer 1981, Welcome to Camp Hiawatha

Summary Capsule

Kids from the present get stuck in a serial killer-infested summer camp from 1981

Mutant Meter

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Amazon.com: DVD

Justin's Rating: Bye, bye Miss American Pie. Drove my smoothie to the movie, and I can't help but cry.
Justin's Review: If you're a bad indie film director, chances are you'll either do gritty urban life or schlock horror, for both downtown slums and ketchup are easy to come by. If you're a bad indie film director, you'll pick your "cast" from your "friends", who will act on the same level as "ferrets" and swear far more than is necessary. If you're a bad indie film director, your product will look like it was shot with a camcorder (it probably was), it'll reek of self-importance, and won't be of much entertainment value except for the director him or herself, who most likely will wear a copy of it around their neck to show how famous they are. "Lookit! Me movie director!"

"Words spill out of these people's mouths so unconvincingly that you can't help but notice that you'd be far better off playing all of the roles, yourself, in a sort of one-person play."

Alex Pucci is just one of a thousand such directors. The real shame is that the boy had a spark of an idea behind Camp Slaughter (formerly titled Camp Daze), but trips, stumbles, loses his balance, and crashes into the same pits in which his amateur peers lurk.

The sole reason I gave this film a shot is that the concept — Friday the 13th mixed with Groundhog Day — got my attention. Intrigued? A group of four highly unsavory teenagers are taking a trip through Maine, only to find themselves stalled out in the middle of a summer camp that's been stuck for 24 years in the middle of 1981. Each day, this camp relives the same experience; namely a lot of happy time followed by a mysterious killer slaughtering half the residents. Then, the day resets, people are back alive again, and it goes on. The counselors and new arrivals have to work together, through confusing scene transitions, to break the curse.

I like that. Given a proper budget and talent, it could be a nice niche hit. Unfortunately, an idea is all Camp Slaughter has. Well, an idea and a bag full of F-bombs to sprinkle here, there and everywhere.

The acting is uniformly awful. Dreadful. Words spill out of these people's mouths so unconvincingly that you can't help but notice that you'd be far better off playing all of the roles, yourself, in a sort of one-person play. The characters are just cardboard stereotypes, but even these aren't played well. You will find yourself cringing at the 80's Valley Girl trying to recall what 80's lingo was (I don't think this actress was born before 1994, anyway), and you will outright loathe the shrill black girl who embodies the "attitude" that the stereotype demands, but then cranks it up to "fingernails scraping chalkboard 24/7".

It doesn't help, either, that the director feels the need to push the camera up into the face of everyone talking. Not only is that unnatural and off-putting, but it instantly repels you about forty feet away from your television screen.

While the idea of the time warp day is good — in theory — this movie spends far, far too much time building up to it, and then wastes the concept with only one repeat day shown. It's seriously about an hour of the kids going around camp one day, tension slowly building, one girl making a nonstop string of Jason Vorhees references, kids being slaughtered with no sound effects (which lessens the effect more than you'd think), arts and crafts, and even a stage production of Shakespeare. Really. Finally, after an hour or so, the day repeats and we get into the meat of the plot, which turns out to be a stew of confusing elements that never quite gel before the final credits.

It's far from scary or tense, and let's be honest: the only laughs this film is going to get is from Pucci's former associates as they leave his house, doubled over in hysterics, after seeing the first twenty minutes or so.

Even Jason fears that finger. "Dude! You got chest arrows! Gnarly!" The name's Ash. Housewares.

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• Formerly titled "Camp Daze" according to the publicity materials.
• Girls aren't happy when you stop sex to go pee
• These people are so unlikable from minute one. Sheesh, could you make them swear any more?
• The driver's dialogue is obviously looped in — it doesn't match his mouth at all, and many times his lips aren't even moving.
• Well, they make their Friday the 13th reference pretty early on, there.
• Camp Hiawatha has its own ghetto hand gesture. Word.
• STOP MAKING JASON REFERENCES!
• This movie is overly in love with close-up facial shots
• If you're being strangled, maybe you want to drop the candy bar? Just saying.
• This killer really likes coming up from behind a tree and strangling people, so stay away from the trees.
• If you're hurting for a random conversational topic, why not ask a practical stranger what their stance is on abortion?
• So why doesn't anyone really react to the director killing the actors?
• Eesh, it takes over and hour until they get to the time traveling thing
• Hell would be better than that camp? Really? Okay.
• There are 37 on screen deaths.

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

You're asking the wrong question. You should be asking, "Is it worth staying through the movie?" That answer is, No.

Groovy Quotes

Jen: Oh, no. Trason? I bet you that's Jason's cousin.
Daniel: Who is this Jason you keep talking about?

Nichole: So, who are you guys, like, boinking?

Mario: Do you guys have any computers with Internet?
Daniel: We have a fishing net!

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Friday the 13th
• Groundhog Day
• Returner