Camp Slaughter (2005)

An honest to goodness homage to the stalk and slash days of old, the little-seen indie pic Camp Daze manages to throw its own unique spin on the familiar bloody proceedings while still delivering the tried and true beats of the genre. While indie horror has been known to invigorate the industry from time to time (The Blair Witch Project and Open Water, respectively), the majority of low-budget shockers are usually putrid affairs full of poor scripts and weak filmmaking. It's refreshing, then, to see a picture that takes pleasure in playing with horror clichés while at least trying to do something different. Camp Daze lovingly recreates the feel of '80s slasher cinema by recreating everything from the costumes to the Harry Manfredini-esque score, but it's the juxtaposition of the modern teens that makes this premise really stand out. Sadly, the flick suffers from an almost two-hour running time -- ungodly long for any horror flick, never mind an independent one. With things like an extraneous abortion plot derailing the action, it would have been wiser to streamline the pic to have it fit into the usual 90-minute slasher running time and leave the needless "3 Years Later" epilogue at the door. When it comes down to it, the movie hinges on its brilliant concept, first and foremost, ending with an ingenious twist on the killer's identity that will throw many audience members for a loop. So while you can't expect the world out of Camp Blood, you'll be sure to get a kick out of what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish, which is far more than you can say about 99 percent of the rest of the indie horror world. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide