Spirit Camp
Spirit Camp
R | 25 September 2009 (USA)
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When a street smart "goth girl" (Roxy Vandiver) is forced to attend cheerleader camp as part of her rehabilitation from a juvenile correction facility, she clashes with the "popular girls," and finds herself embroiled in a bitter rivalry with the bitchy ringleader Rachel (Julin). But when members of the spirit squad start turning up dead, the girls must put aside their differences and struggle to survive the murderous rage of a crazed psycho-killer lurking among them!

Reviews
ada the leading man is my tpye
Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant
Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Leofwine_draca SPIRIT CAMP is a little better than I'd hoped for, what with it being a no-budget independent horror film and all. This one's a slasher that heavily copies Friday the 13th, replacing the summer camp locale with a cheerleader camp set in the isolated woods. This means that almost the entire cast is female with just a couple of guys in support.The gender reversal twist is probably the most interesting part of this story, as are the attempts at characterisation that you don't normally see. Certainly the slasher aspects are predictable and the gore quite cheap and disappointing. The acting is average but not the worst I've seen, and at least the actresses are making a genuine effort here. I can't call SPIRIT CAMP a good film, but at least you get the impression that the filmmakers tried their best here.
hypnokomedy After reading the reviews of this abortion it is hard to understand why ANYONE would give it a favorable review. It is a "camp rendering" of the slasher flicks of the 80's with plenty of boobs to keep the viewer tuned in. The acting is barely possible, campy, and poor at best. It is a Michael Meyers knock off with a bad mask to boot. The murderer is previewed early on and most of it is just a trashy waste of time. You would be better off getting your hemorrhoids sandpapered than to waste the time watching this bloody abortion. The first chick killed reminds me of one of the K-people... the people are parodied that would anger most people. This movie couldn't decide if it was a satire or a serious flick. Avoid if at all possible.
james_depaolo Plot-Think Friday the 13th meets The Breakfast Club with cheerleaders. Roxy Vandiver and Julin, among others in cheer leading outfit trying to not be killed by a slasher in the woods at Spirit Camp. This film really just sells itself.Review-Kerry Beyer is truly a fan of horror. With references in this film to genre classics such as Halloween,( camp director's name is Miss Haddonfield)and kills very much like Friday the 13th. Spirit Camp is a prime example of what an indie film can do right, and a Hollywood film will always screw up. Kerry is another example of the talent that is coming out of Texas right now. Texas has become a hotbed for horror in the last few years, pretty much like when Nirvana put Seattle on the map. Where people will look at the cover art of this film and have their minds made up before even attempting to give this film a shot. I can tell you that this film delivers a very solid story, very well written characters, a decent amount of kills, and a huge amount of nudity. Make no mistake about it, this film was created for a certain demographic, and that is male between the ages of birth and death. You have Julin, Roxy Vandiver and etc running around in cheer leading outfits while being chased by a killer. Who else could you market this film to? Churches? What it lacks on kills, it makes up for with the ladies. And the shock, what it lacked on ladies and kills, it made up for with a well written script. Kerry actually made a smart script from a type of genre comic film that a smart script should not work on, and it worked. Look at Roxy playing Nikki, where most directors would be content letting Nikki be the bad ass misunderstood rebel. Kerry, as the film went on made her character a "don't judge a book by the cover" character. This is another example of the brilliance of this film. He lets the actors own their characters, instead of playing against the tongue and cheek feel of the film. He made them seem serious, funny but yet sympathetic that you would not want to watch anything bad happen to them. This film has such a dark humor and very fan written script, that you cannot hate this film. It was made by a fan for the fans. You almost feel as though, Kerry had a proverbial check list as to what to include in this film. We have to have the male characters that have the appeal of someone from Porky's. We have to make a death scene even worst, why not get a snake to crawl on the girl while she is in fear. This film is such a fresh breath of air to the horror genre. Spirit Camp is a great example of how far indie films have progressed in the last few years. How are Julin and Roxy Vandiver not more famous by now? This film shows what these ladies are capable of, and shows you what Texas is becoming very well known for releasing. Spirit Camp is a fun time. This film is an example of do not judge the film by the box art. It is so much more than fun and exciting than the cover art shows you. This is definitely a must watch.
Scarecrow-88 Loomis Lake. A serial killer in a blue jump suit and white gloves, ax in hand (or shiny butcher knife when the moment presents itself), loves to attack cheerleaders, sexually assaulting them mostly after death. A new group of girls arrive to Loomis Lake two years after a psychopath was sent to prison, supposedly locked up tight maximum security, but he escapes and could be on the hunt for more cheerleaders to hack and slice. Julin is the stuck-up biatch who has plenty of insults for those she considers inferior, like Nikki (Roxy Vandiver), on parole and given a chance to escape further sentence if she cooperates with the whole "spirit squad" ordeal.Here's the thing: at Loomis Lake, a supposed superstar cheerleader (in this movie's case, Amy Morris as Lindsay, who uses her *status* as a weapon to penalize the girls whenever they break one of her "rules") teaches teenage girls to be part of the "spirit squad", a cherished tradition, it seems. One by one, the girls are picked off by a maniac who moves through the woods where their cabin is located, using an ax, knife, his own hands (like when he lifts one little teenage suburban bitch off her feet with one stranglehold), whatever weapon he so chooses. Katy Rowe, as Amber (who has an overweight boyfriend, which is actually surprising considering she acts like Rachel (Julin), in regards to her appearance as a spoiled suburban princess. Megan Moser is the obnoxious girl who really "gets into the spirit" of being a cheerleader, knowing the fundamentals of what it takes as if cheerleading was a religion.Vandiver is obvious from the get-go the "final girl" who will take the necessary steps to protect herself against the crazed killer on the rampage. Nikki is considered a tattooed outcast, a "freak", a "skank" by Rachel and Amber since she comes from "the trailer park" and has a past. Nikki, however, isn't necessarily the misfit they make her out to be, and, is in fact, the reasonable, more decent member of this group of girls. The film barely strays from the slasher formula, but I must admit is rather funny at times.I like the way Vandiver is allowed to evolve and has, to me anyway, a sympathetic character with appeal. She could easily remain the stereotype the film initially presents, but the fact that she is not some fake Valley girl who objectifies people allows her Nikki to become a character we can accept and appreciate. And, the girl is hot—the tattoos and "white trash" image projected at first glimpse cannot mask her sexy figure, often brought to our attention by the camera which often ogles her body, legs to face. The fact that Vandiver is the heroine is thankfully another difference in how slashers often work. Vandiver is even shown taking her shirt off, exposing her breasts as the nearby groundskeeper looks on from the outside window of the cabin. Of course, because the other girls are so mean or vapid or self-absorbed, Vandiver is the only real pick of the litter we can root for.Where "Spirit Camp" suffers is the lack of gore shown on screen; the director often shows the ax blade lifted up in front of a massive moon in the sky, swinging out of screen and into a victim. The film pretty much follows the slasher formula besides the few exceptions I mentioned. I will say that the end has a surprising violation as the killer has subdued poor Vandiver, using his knife to cut away her panties after it slides down her quivering body, raping her until the heroine can find a weapon to free herself from his clutches. The ending has the usual "is the killer really dead?" kind of climax you expect from these kinds of movies.Funny supporting part for Brandon Smith as a sheriff who has his share of problems with Nikki (and sniffs panties he finds on the ground near where a dead cheerleader can be found, but he is too inept to find if he had properly investigated). Smith's sheriff has this absurd scene where he informs the woman in charge of the spirit camp about the escaped killer yet doesn't properly evacuate the girls whose lives were in danger. Emma MacInnes has an amusing scene as Amber's cute sister who has some of the film's best lines and threatens to tattle-tale if not paid (Amber's naughtiness is often held against her). Kerry Beyer (who wrote and directed the movie) is a gas station attendant Nikki becomes enamored with; he gives her a lift to the camp when the girls ditch her).The girls are definite eye candy (only Vandiver shows her breasts, while the others are shown in bras and skimpy cheerleading outfits), even though their personalities are lacking.