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Cheerleader Camp
(Cheerleader/Campground/Psycho/Slasher) 6******skulls
*Blood* *Violent* *Strong Language* *Nudity* *Sexual Situations* *Gory*
1988/Color/89 Min./Prism Entertainment & Quinn-Prettyman & Daiei Company Ltd. & Bloody Pom Poms Productions & Manson International/ Rated R
Director............John Quinn (Total Exposure)
Screenplay.......David Lee Fein & R.L. O'Keefe
Music................Murielle Hodler-Hamilton & Joel Hamilton
Producer..........Jeff Prettyman & John Quinn
Production Executives.....Michael Spielberg & Peter Elson
& Melanie Topp
Story by David Lee Fein & R.L. O'Keefe
Special Effects by Tom Surprenant
Dramatis Personae
Allison Wentworth..Betsy Russell
Brent Hoover...........Leif Garrett
Cory Foster..............Lucinda Dickey (Breakin', Breakin' II, Ninja III)
Bonnie....................Lorie Griffin
Pop.........................Buck Flower (Across the Great Divide, Inside Out 2)
Timmy Moser..........Travis McKenna
Pam Bently.............Teri Weigel
Theresa Salazar.....Rebecca Ferratti (Gor, Outlaw of Gor)
Miss Tipton.............Vickie Benson
Sheriff Poucher......Jeff Prettyman
Suzy.......................Krista Pflanzer
Critique: In spite of some clear flaws, and the banality of a cheerleader camp as the setting for a horror movie, this film is mostly enjoyable to watch and moves along with an excellent pace. The production values are quite good. Yes that's former teen idol Leif Garrett as Brent Hoover.It is a real question why we needed the fat guy to act like a fool the whole time. I suppose that is to give some kind of "Meatballs" effect. Whatever it was, it certainly detracted from the movie. Allison's dream sequences go pretty well, and the identity of the murderer remains in doubt pretty close to the end.
Plot Summary: A cheerleader searches frantically for her locker. Then she's in the middle of the stadium with only her parents calling for love. She can't remember the words and then her wrists are slashed. It was a dream. The girls are driven up to the cheerleader competition in an isolated campground. The big fat yell leader, Timothy starts things off with a moon that no one is particularly offended by. Bob the handyman. Allison has been having bad dreams and appears to be taking medication. Suzie seems like she'll be cheerleading queen as she faces of in a topless contest with Pam at the swimming hole. That is, until she's found with her wrists slit. Allison tells her roommate Cory that she has similar desires. A dark side. Cory plants a seed of doubt in Allison by noting that Brent, her boyfriend, was with that girl today. She sees her face covered with blood. The mean cheerleading leader forces the mascots to eat with their costumes on. Allison goes to find something to drink and finds Suzie's dead body in the meat closet. She calls the sheriff who is not impressed that they had tried to cover it up. The cheerleader head and the sheriff play a football sex game and the little problem is forgotten. Allison prowls around in the maintenance man's shed for some reason. He pulls out another bottle of wine. Brent has started to notice Pam a bit more than Allison appreciates. When Allison goes to bed she dreams again. She heads over to one of the bunks and dreams of Pam together with Brent as everyone watches. Later when Brent and Pam have gone off by themselves, Allison is left alone and soon she's out of the competition. Allison wakes up screaming and Cory soothes her, insisting that she take no more pills. Later Allison is wondering about what she had done that afternoon. Theresa is quite concerned about the missing Pam and goes to look for her. For some reason Allison is still interested in Brent. Now Theresa has disappeared. Could Allison possibly have snuck out to get her? Brent, Cory, Allison and the maintenance man are all out looking for Pam and Theresa as does Cory. Theresa finally finds Pam in the woods. The killer, however, chases her down in a van. The drunken maintenance man has mad veiled threats in the past. The drunken cheerleading head, miss Tipton, stumbles out into the mix. Allison, still not sure whether she had done it or not, calls Sheriff Howser. One of the bodies is found and now the mood is pretty grim in the cheerleading camp. Everyone rushes out of the center. When Allison ends up with a meat cleaver in her hand and Miss Tipton dead at her feet, even Cory is starting to believe she might be the killer. The handyman now has a gun. The annoying fat Timmy stops to have some fun with the camera. They set up a bear trap on a cabin door to stop the killer but it doesn't work as hoped for. Now after everything looks all right, Bonnie has disappeared.
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