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Overall Rating : 6/10
Directed By : Jon McBride, Tom Fisher
Jon McBride (Woodchipper Massacre)
Amy Chludzinski
Christopher Granger
Richard Marcus (Tremors)
Supplied By : Camp Motion Pictures
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Nov. 30, 2006
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| PLOT CANNIBAL CAMPOUT is the tender and terrifying tale of a band of man-eating maniacs. Desperate to survive, the deranged orphans honor a deathbed promise to dearly departed mother never to eat junk food again. Instead, they work up frenzied appetites that will only be satisfied by the taste of young flesh. When Amy and her college friends arrive for a fun-filled weekend of camping in the desolate wilderness, they quickly learn the horrors of being on the wrong end of the food chain. Only brutal murder, torture and mutilation await as one by one they are stalked and terrorized by this brood of bloodthirsty mountain dwellers who will stop at nothing to appease their hunger for sliced, diced and barbecued camper. |
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| THE REVIEW Much like the typical slasher 1988's CANNIBAL CAMPOUT tells a tragic story that befell on a group of unsuspecting youths as they come in contact with a few sadistic and cannibalistic killers. The weekend is approaching, and for High School student Jon and his friends, that means one thing - two days of relaxing and having fun. Jon has rounded up his friends Chris and Amy, and along with Girlfriend Carrie, and they all plan to embark on a camping trip in a local town called Redston. Redston, as of late has been tainted with news of bizarre murders occurring at the hands of a cannibalistic family of brothers, but despite warnings by Chris who has caught wind of the stories the teens head out anyway. When they arrive near the campsite it isn't long until their van is approached by two seemingly crazy individuals, it scares the teens but they soon brush them off and continue on their way.... but as predictable as any Slasher of the type the two crazies happen to be ruthless killers and when later joined by their brother whom seems to be mentally challenged, they would return to hunt the teens and kill them in the most gruesome ways, all in the name of dinner. When in reverse order, yesterday I reviewed Jon McBride's Sophomore effort, WOODCHIPPER MASSACRE, and although impressed I had yet to see the one he's most remembered for, his debut that he along with Tom Fisher directed, the Slasher CANNIBAL CAMPOUT. Comparing this to WOODCHIPPER, one would be quick to notice that unlike the tamer Sophomore film, CAMPOUT is a lot more, gritty and raw, and most of this is due to it's over the top gore. As someone whom saw a virtually bloodless film in WOODCHIPPER by McBride beforehand, imagine my amazement when I saw how gory this was. Yes, just like his other film the quality visually is very low budget shot of video fare, but what made WOODCHIPPER MASSACRE special for me is also apparent in CANNIBAL CAMPOUT as well. Although McBride and crew didn't have a major budget, I must say that the gore is very well done and this is a result of how it was creatively shot. The story on the other hand is nothing remotely original, much like the films that followed, it takes note from the many big-budgeters like FRIDAY THE 13TH and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, the mentally handicapped cannibal featured in CAMPOUT acts much like a Leatherface and even wears an army helmet, that covers his head. I myself, believe it or not, has seen a lot of these shot on camcorder type of projects, and I have to admit that only a slim few really present a story that manages to keep my attention, this is, most of the time due to terrible execution and acting. CANNIBAL CAMPOUT on the other hand, manages to keep a decent pace and it's characters remain somewhat interesting(especially with one of them announcing their pregnancy) - you can't help but watch until the ending, just to see what is to become of the helpless victims. When it comes to a comparison, I would be quick to say I prefer the more complete CANNIBAL CAMPOUT as opposed to WOODCHIPPER MASSACRE, the film that McBride followed up with, but both are products of amateur filmmaking that just have to be respected even by fans who are quick to dismiss them. | ||||
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| GORE
METER 5.5/10 Very graphic, as one's insides are torn out an eaten by the cannibal clan, also an axe to the head, but maybe the film's most disturbing moment is the notion of the killer's eating a fetus..... |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 3.5/10 Typical 80's tunes are found here - composed by star Chris Granger. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM CANNIBAL CAMPOUT is definitely far from the best slasher I have ever seen but it is definitely impressive at the budget that was available to the filmmakers, and it's graphic scenes are ones to remember. If you are a fan of any of the 80's slashers and don't expect much from your entertainment by way of originality - CANNIBAL CAMPOUT is surely one of those lost films that deserve a look.. This DVD will be released on January 12, 2006 |
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