A Disappointing Continuation

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

A group of cheerleaders head to cheerleader camp to strengthen their skills for a shot at nationals. Unfortunately for them, there's also a crazy coverall-clad killer in the woods intent on picking the ladies off one by one. Sound familiar? Probably yes, since we've seen it all before. Spirit Camp borrows heavily from its predecessors and doesn't really bring much new to the table. The gore starts off well but drops to mostly offscreen deaths as things go on, and the acting is uneven - some of the cast seem to be playing it straight while others ratchet up the camp. Roxy Vandiver is a standout as bad girl Nikki, whose past is not what it seems. Spirit Camp works when it's moving along on retro slasher mode or when Nikki is on screen. The lame attempts at humor are mostly painful and the last act could have used some tightening, but you could do worse if you are looking to scratch your slasher itch.

The film I thought took me back to the older horror films when it was just basic people trying to escape a psycho killer. But the real thing that makes this film so good is the smart comedy mixed in, it is a horror, comedy, you can watch over and over again. It is one of those horror films which also doesn't need loads of special effects because it's so good anyway, and it just never gets boring, it will have you glued to the screen. Some people may think the acting is a bit low rated because the actors are not super well known, but who cares? If you liked other films such as Friday the 13th or Halloween then this is the sort of film you need to be watching. The film picked out a cast of characters that really work well with each other, if they had used different actors the film would of been ruined.

This movie is listed as a Horror/Comedy and it is a perfect blend of both. The comedic parts are actually really funny and the horror side of the film is a perfect slasher flick. The ads for the film describe it as "Friday THE 13th meets BRING IT ON" which is a pretty good comparison. Although there were actually more similarities and nods to the film HALLOWEEN than there was to Friday THE 13th (the action takes place at Loomis Lake and the camp director is named Mrs. Haddenfield). You will also see some more subtle nods to HALLOWEEN if you watch close enough...I won't ruin them all for you here. The acting is the movie is superb. There is not one bad performance in the group. A few performances that really stuck out as really great were the part of Sheriff Todd played by veteran actor Brandon Smith, the part of Rachel played by Julin, and the character of Missy played by Megan Moser. These were great performances, but really all the actors did a great job. The gore scenes is the film are great too. One thing this Horror/Comedy didn't do was skimp on the blood. There are plenty of great kills to satisfy even the most die hard slasher fans. This film is definitely one to watch again and is going on my list of favorite slasher flicks!Be sure to watch the behind the scenes documentary on the special features. Beyer talks about making this movie with such passion, you can tell he really loves the genre and film making in general, and it shows in his final product. Also, during this behind the scenes look, we get a very personal glimpse of a tragedy that struck his family, as during shooting his mother had to undergo brain surgery to remove a brain tumor. Mrs. Beyer was did all the catering for the film and was very involved and supportive of her son and this project. There is a very touching interview with Beyer's mother and even footage of her right after having been through the surgery. This was a very interesting behind the scene featurette with a lot more substance than most of the making of documentaries we are used to on every other Horror DVD. I hope Beyer sticks with the Horror genre and I look forward to seeing future projects from this amazing filmmaker.

Thanks to fangoria I came beware of this flick, I watched the trailer and agreed, I want it, but that wasn't that simple. Again the production let me know that they weren't allowed to export their feature. But I kept emailing and after a while they send over the DVD. Included in my package was a pair of knickers from Julin. That was already a fun part, but was the movie as good as her panties? Lucky it was. First I would like to say that the movie is indeed a mixture between 70's slashers and comedy. But the comedy doesn't take the lead. This independent takes off already with gore and nudity, always a good teaser to start. Then we go 2 years further and the movie really starts, and as in a slasher all kind of girls are in it, the fat one, the nerdy one, the sexy one. All facing into the face of death. The killings are mostly off screen only showing the results or even just hearing the knife going into the flesh or a scream. But still it works. And the best thing is that the editing is okay, you will never notice that it is a low budget flick, and the acting is good too. So if you are into some old school fun, be sure to take the road to spirit camp.