Spirit Camp (2009)
8/10
Spirit Camp is a fun time
30 May 2012
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.
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