Camp Dread directed and written by Harrison Smith was released to VOD and DVD April 15th 2014. Camp Dread stars Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp) , Danielle Harris (Halloween franchise) and Eric Roberts (Ed Note: Every Film Ever).
This fun homage to 80s summer camp slashers is OF COURSE set at a summer camp, bt with a twist. Ten troubled twentysomethings are sent to this camp as an alternative to jail or rehab. The camp is rigged with cameras and a reality murder mystery is set up. The kids are told the last one standing wins $1 million dollars.
Julian (Eric Roberts),who is running the camp, is trying to revive his career as a horror director whose last hit movies were in the 80s. Eventually, the kids realize someone is actually killing them off and the prize may now be getting out ALIVE. (Ed Note: That’s actually a goal at every summer camp)
I enjoyed this film. It definitely had all the elements of a summer camp slasher. It had boobs, murder (15), sex, humor and best of all, Felissa Rose and Danielle Harris. There was quite a bit of murder (Ed Note: We know how you love murder),though a few of the deaths were a bit weak. Choking and drowning as methods of murder in a slasher movie are no-nos! A favorite was a camper beaten to death with his prosthetic leg.There was a murder that seemed to be a homage to TCM 1974 and a garroting that was a reference to Friday the 13th Part II.
This film doesn’t take itself too seriously and you shouldn’t either — it is just 90 minutes of fun and games and murder. I was very pleased that Rose had such a substantial part in the film and I wish she had been included in the artwork. On the flip side, I was disappointed Harris had such a small role. The identity of the murderer was meant to be a mystery but unfortunately most horror movies aren’t too good at the Agatha Christie thing and the killer is easily decipherable.
Overall, I liked this movie. It held my attention and was a fun foray into 80s style slashers. IfAnd if you are honest with yourself, this is on the same level as the original Friday the 13th and could in some ways even be a sort of updated Sleepaway Camp albeit without the penis. I am looking forward to Harrison Smith’s upcoming horror film Zombie Killers : Elephant’s Graveyard starring Dee Wallace Stone and Billy Zane.
LITTLE MISS HORROR NERD’S RATING: 3 out of 5
Trivia :
– There was no CGI used. All effects were practical.
– The film was shot at a real summer camp in the Poconos of Pennsylvania.
– Harrison Smith grew up close to where the original Friday the 13th was shot and used to sneak over there as a teenager.
– The distributor changed the title from Dead T.V. to Camp Dread
