Weekly Theme

Weekly Theme for May 11: Camping

A genre that probably hit it's peak in the 1980's, camping films still manage to pop up every so often at our local cinemas, usually rehashing jokes and sight gags that were already cliched when Ernest Goes To Camp was released.

As a child of the 80's, these films hold a special place in my heart. White Water Summer gave me hope that even the dorkiest of dorks can hold his own and survive in the wild when left with an unbalanced survivalist. Friday the 13th taught me that exhibitionism can be fun, but the resulting disembowelment from a psychotic overbearing mother isn't worth the orgasm. Harry and the Hendersons proved that all my fears of crytozoological monstrosities were completely unwarranted. And of course Stand By Me showed me the proper methods of removing blood sucking invertebrates from my manhood and that one should always have a good campfire tale on hand to lighten the mood.

Whether you maintain the traditional notion of camping where you pack the bare essentials and let your animal instincts takeover like in Deliverance or the less rugged home away from home, holding up in a cabin with a good assortment of the amenities one has in their actual home like in Troop Beverly Hills, we want know!

So channel your inner Eagle Scout and lets talk about camping movies!

Re:Weekly Theme for May 11: Camping

I remember loving books when I was younger like My Side of the Mountain, The Hatchet, and Lord of the Flies. I've always been completely fascinated with the idea of being Lost and stranded in the wilderness and I'm not sure why.

I also really liked Herzog's documentary Grizzly Man. I thought it was pretty amazing.

Re:Weekly Theme for May 11: Camping

Some really good, and really awful, horror movies involve camping.

Friday the 13th was already mentioned.

I thought Campire Tales might have been good after seeing that James Marsden, Ron Livingston and Christine Taylor were it in, but alas, it wasn't.

The updated House of Wax had its moments: Paris Hilton fit her part in the film perfectly and the creepy town that was constructed was exactly that, but overall it's nothing special.

I'm not a fan of Cabin Fever but I will forever remember the disturbing little Kung Fu kid at the end of the film that ran around screaming "Pancakes!" and biting people.

The Tripper also had some pretty hilarious moments and was an interesting idea, but was ultimately a let down. Courtney Cox as a PETA Hippie was a nice little cameo.

Shrooms was probably worse then having a bad drug experience.

I'm a huge fan of The Descent. I'm not however looking forward to the sequel.

And the film that many Spout members have filled many a discussion posts over, The Blair Witch Project. I will rehash the tagline that was used during the promotion of the film: it did for the woods and camping what Jaws did for the ocean. I've watched it countless times and still get that anxious feeling of fear and dread each time.

Re:Weekly Theme for May 11: Camping

When i watched Old Joy, i didn't know that it was a mumblecore movie (made by Kelly Reichardt, who just did Wendy and Lucy). Low budget, two guys out in the woods - I kept waiting for the broken leg or crazy mountain person or whatever. But no, just an excellent character study.

The great thing about Sleepaway Camp is that there are 5 sequels, probably with more to come.

Re:Weekly Theme for May 11: Camping

joem18b:

The great thing about Sleepaway Camp is that there are 5 sequels, probably with more to come.

I've been trying to watch all the Sleepaway Camp movies but can never seem to find the first one and I hate watching movies out of sequence.

Re:Weekly Theme for May 11: Camping

mercurial:

joem18b:

The great thing about Sleepaway Camp is that there are 5 sequels, probably with more to come.

I've been trying to watch all the Sleepaway Camp movies but can never seem to find the first one and I hate watching movies out of sequence.

pirate bay has it, if you don't object to bit torrent

Re:Weekly Theme for May 11: Camping

   You guys have already mentioned a couple of my favorites including  Deliverance ,  Friday the 13th and  Blair Witch .  But I have a few others to mention including one I just watched today called  Timber Falls (2007).   A young, clueless couple make all of the WRONG choices during a hiking/camping trip.   She's a nurse and he's an Idiot.   Here's a clue...   After their first encounter with a group of shotgun and rifle toting "locals", who look like they just stepped off the movie set for  Deliverance  and quickly "extort" $50 from the young couple, they decide to continue on with their trip as if nothing had happened (!) instead of getting the **** out of there!   And THEN, when the girl discovers that her boyfriend has brought along a loaded handgun in his back-pack for self defense she tells him to throw it away!   He say's "But I can't. Somebody might find it. A kid might find it."   So she say's "Then unload it and throw away the bullets..."   ...   and he DOES!!!   I must say I stuck with this movie just to see what horrible fate was in store for the two stupidest people I have ever seen.   My patience was rewarded with some very good gore and savagery in the second act.   I will say this...   as much as I was disgusted by the idiot young couple and I wanted to kill them myself for being so stupid, this movie held my attention to the (predictable) end.

   Some other good ones...

   The Final Terror  ;  is an EXCELLENT "Horror in the woods" movie with a very young Darryll Hannah and Adrian Zmed..  

   The Hills Have Eyes ;    the original AND the remake...

   Grizzly  ;   a direct rip-off of  "JAWS" ...   "The deadliest JAWS on land belong to "GRIZZLY"  ...  not a bad movie all the same!

   The Flesh Eaters  ;   do plane crash or shipwreck survivors count as campers?

                                                                         < GOR >

Re:Weekly Theme for May 11: Camping

I just wanted to say that I LOVE CAMPING!!!!!