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The Campus Corpse
(College) 6******skulls
1977/Color/92 Min./Vestron Video & Miraleste Company/Rated PG
Director.........Douglas Curtis (The Sleeping Car)
Screenplay.......Bruce Shelly & David Ketchum
Music............Ian Freebairn-Smith
Producer.........Douglas Curtis & Bruce Shelly
Executive Producer.....
Dramatis Personae
Craig...........Jeff East (Deadly Blessing,Pumpkinhead,Summer of Fear)
Rod.............Brad David
Barney Askin....Charlie Martin Smith(American Graffiti, My Three Sons)
Carl Lewis......David Hayward(Accidental Meeting, Delusion, Red Alert)
Phil............Jim Boelson
Dworsky.........Sandra Vacey
Wendy...........Kelly Moran
Ice Man.........Hal J. Smith (The Andy Griffith Show-TV)
Det. Henderson..Paul Napier
Mr. Askin.......Edgar Justice
Campus Girl.....Lani O'Grady (Eight is Enough-TV)
Critique: The horror movie trope that a bad decision is made and the viewer is agonized as he plays it out. After Craig's initial error, he is so deeply involved that it does indeed seem that he has to carry on. The on a mission music is a bit inappropriate. A good job is done of making Rod into a hateful megalomaniac operator. This film lacks some of the essential characteristics of a horror movie. It is a good example of a film that skirts the genre. Dragging a body around for days is not a sufficient condition for a horror movie ("Weekend at Bernie's", although not funny, is a comedy). In the midst of Greg's quandaries, Rod's businesslike conspiracy did take on a sufficiently gruesome tinge to approach horror. In addition, woods hypothermics pop up in horror movies all the time. Still, the heroic ending with its exultant victory music belongs in a Burt Reynolds movie. Cameos: The ice man was the cartoon king on a memorable Brady bunch episode and the girl in the book line played the oldest sister on "Eight is Enough".
* No Blood * Not Violent * Strong Language * No Nudity *
* No Sexual Situations *
Plot Summary: Craig Lewis has hopes for a track scholarship. He packs and leaves his small town Indian Gardens for the university. He is immediately surrounded by the Delts, led by the wise-ass operator Rod, who want him aboard the frat. He is invited to pledge night. At the groovy party, he meets Barney the brain who's "only been laid three times". Barney advises him to play hard to get which gets them a better offer from the Deltas. The Deltas show him the dirty elitist tricks of college life, lies about sky diving, cutting lines for books, and enrolling in filled classes: Jo Jo the computer man simply adds them to the classes they want by computer. Craig's brother Carl is upset that Craig wants to pledge Delta, since he had some kind of a scrape with them back in '72. Craig is unnerved by Barney's mention of the initiation. The pledges are left clad only in jockstraps to run nine miles to a house before it becomes dark. It is 32 degrees and sinking as they leave. Careless Barney runs off a cliff and breaks his leg. Craig makes him a bed of white pine branches and runs to the lodge for help. After initial disbelief, Bill and Rod load up the van and head out to the spot. Barney seems to have crawled off, but is soon found dead. The operator, Rod, takes control, directing Craig to go back to the van. Instead of calling a doctor they hide Barney. Officially, there are no hazings. They decide to cover it up, arguing that Craig would be put in jail for participating in a hazing incident. The scheme is to fake a skiing accident and bury Barney in a snow drift.To fool the police they'll have to keep him in ice for five days until the skiing weekend. They try to deceive the college into thinking that Barney is still attending classes. Craig takes his place in attendance and passes in his typed homework. Fat Dworsky notices that Greg is not Barney and it is agreed that Greg should take her out on a date to keep her quiet. It appears that the boys are just staving off inevitable trouble. Craig finally goes into the police station, apparently ready to end it, but as he begins to talk about the initiation with the fraternity, the others show up and pull him out, telling the policeman that it's a fraternity prank. He is told that other "brothers" would say it's all his fault if he exposes them. A funny thought occurs to Phil that maybe Barney wasn't really dead when they put him in the freezer. Finally they arrive at the ski resort. Craig is made to wait while the boys go chat with some girls at the resort. Craig storms out but Rod smooth talks him. Soon they head out onto a deserted range. Craig breaks a ski and they try to arrange the body to make it look like an accident. Later Craig and Wendy, his high school sweetheart, have a seventies style musical interlude (Paul Williams?) on bicycles. Rod tells Craig and Wendy that Barney's been found on the slopes, and a funeral ceremony is planned. Barney's father shows up wondering why Barney would go skiing. He was no outdoorsman. Worse, he is impressed with Craig and asks him to be a pall bearer. A detective arrives to speak to Craig, finally breaking Rod's omnipresent chokehold on Craig. More trouble comes as fat Dworsky shows up at the funeral service. The pressure gets to Craig during the funeral and as Craig passes the coffin, he is in for tha shock that leads to the wild revenge ending.
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