First lesson at summer camp - context. Of course it looks a bit cheap it was made on a very low budget, of course it seems generic, it's the template that got copied. If you haven't got that information in your backpack then you need to head back to the city.
Okay for the rest of you as keen as Annie to get going let's review this flick.
Firstly I need to get my retro crush out the way, as I really like the look of this pic. There is something about that darker with just a tiny hint of grain film that adds to the mood of these things. It brings out a faded deepness in the colours and shades I guess and the location, (which in itself is nice to look at), really brings this look out. Mix this in with 80's fashion, some actually really beautiful shots and you have a little nugget of early 80's.
I think I saw somewhere most of the cast were rounded up from New York, which I think helps as they seem less Hollywood and more kids (lets suspend our disbelief on their ages) next-door. Nobody has been glammed up and although they're the pretty ones, they're still slobbing out and relaxed about it all.
Nobody does a bad job at acting either, (except maybe that waitress in the Diner, is she meant to come across a bit weird?). I mean they're not given emotionally meaty material to work with, but they make what they've got believable and they do seem like a gang that would hang out.
The show stealer of course is Betsy. This is one, "Karen", you don't want to cross. Her wholesome cookie has just cracked craziness is awesome and she launches herself like a cage fighter into those wrestling moments.
As part of Generation X, I had heard the hype but pre internet life didn't ruin the twist, so even though I caught this in the mid 90's, I got my ohhh moment, and as far as slasher films go, its a pretty good ohh and still a fairly unique killer, especially when you are really expecting it to be the star of the franchise - and lets just say on my first viewing, I nearly peed my pants when they showed up in this one. I had no idea that was coming.
The kills and the gore are fake, but good fake. Nobody actually looks like an axe is impailed in their head, but it's good enough to get the, "ohhhh they just got it" going and they're defiantly way better than most low budget kills.
Our final girl isn't just a wet fish either. She's done with her strip poker, flirting with the boss and smoking her pot and is pretty sensible and resourceful. I mean she starts with wanting to call the police and just getting the hell out of there and when that fails she ups the Girl Scout by using anything she has around her.
Of course the music is the final touch and is so set in pop culture stone it's now iconic. Like the Halloween it copied, without the music it probably wouldn't work.
Watching today, well it was old when I first caught it, now it's even older, I guess it's in the horror history category. I like to think of it as the one that started the trash in the slash.
Horror / slasher fans who come to the genre and don't mind old school production values will enjoy this, a majority of them are there for old school vibe anyway. Casual modern viewers may find it a bit lame, but if you compare it to some of the slashers churned out decades later, it's really not that bad, it does have a bit of substance.
For me its one of those films that's now become like a music album, where I can bung it on as background noise, but will still stop to watch a few moments, or I can sit and watch the whole thing through and still enjoy it.
So I guess my review is a bit biased as its become one of those flicks that kind of attaches and weaves into your life and gets played every couple of months or so. Then again that seems to be the case for this film and franchise across all generations, for a lot of people, so that says a lot about its longevity.
Okay for the rest of you as keen as Annie to get going let's review this flick.
Firstly I need to get my retro crush out the way, as I really like the look of this pic. There is something about that darker with just a tiny hint of grain film that adds to the mood of these things. It brings out a faded deepness in the colours and shades I guess and the location, (which in itself is nice to look at), really brings this look out. Mix this in with 80's fashion, some actually really beautiful shots and you have a little nugget of early 80's.
I think I saw somewhere most of the cast were rounded up from New York, which I think helps as they seem less Hollywood and more kids (lets suspend our disbelief on their ages) next-door. Nobody has been glammed up and although they're the pretty ones, they're still slobbing out and relaxed about it all.
Nobody does a bad job at acting either, (except maybe that waitress in the Diner, is she meant to come across a bit weird?). I mean they're not given emotionally meaty material to work with, but they make what they've got believable and they do seem like a gang that would hang out.
The show stealer of course is Betsy. This is one, "Karen", you don't want to cross. Her wholesome cookie has just cracked craziness is awesome and she launches herself like a cage fighter into those wrestling moments.
As part of Generation X, I had heard the hype but pre internet life didn't ruin the twist, so even though I caught this in the mid 90's, I got my ohhh moment, and as far as slasher films go, its a pretty good ohh and still a fairly unique killer, especially when you are really expecting it to be the star of the franchise - and lets just say on my first viewing, I nearly peed my pants when they showed up in this one. I had no idea that was coming.
The kills and the gore are fake, but good fake. Nobody actually looks like an axe is impailed in their head, but it's good enough to get the, "ohhhh they just got it" going and they're defiantly way better than most low budget kills.
Our final girl isn't just a wet fish either. She's done with her strip poker, flirting with the boss and smoking her pot and is pretty sensible and resourceful. I mean she starts with wanting to call the police and just getting the hell out of there and when that fails she ups the Girl Scout by using anything she has around her.
Of course the music is the final touch and is so set in pop culture stone it's now iconic. Like the Halloween it copied, without the music it probably wouldn't work.
Watching today, well it was old when I first caught it, now it's even older, I guess it's in the horror history category. I like to think of it as the one that started the trash in the slash.
Horror / slasher fans who come to the genre and don't mind old school production values will enjoy this, a majority of them are there for old school vibe anyway. Casual modern viewers may find it a bit lame, but if you compare it to some of the slashers churned out decades later, it's really not that bad, it does have a bit of substance.
For me its one of those films that's now become like a music album, where I can bung it on as background noise, but will still stop to watch a few moments, or I can sit and watch the whole thing through and still enjoy it.
So I guess my review is a bit biased as its become one of those flicks that kind of attaches and weaves into your life and gets played every couple of months or so. Then again that seems to be the case for this film and franchise across all generations, for a lot of people, so that says a lot about its longevity.