If you're reading this review, and you've seen the previous dozen or so films in this franchise, you should already know what you're getting into with these films. That being said, I can say there's a little more effort put in this film than some of the previous ones. It may not be much, but it's a step in the right direction.
If you haven't seen a film like this, or the previous dozen or so that came before it, let me catch you up to what you're missing. Films like this are z grade horror; they look like something you and your friends would've shot in high school because it's made cheap and quick, with acting from some people who aren't trying, and the plot overall makes no sense. The difference is this gets distributed on DVD, Blu Ray, Vimeo, and even Amazon Prime. You're probably asking who would pay to watch films like this, and why. You just got to be the type of person who enjoys watching indie filmmakers try to make something, even when its bad. And sometimes you get gems where they're so bad it's entertaining.
The Camp Blood series has been going on for about 20 years. If you ask me, the best entries in this franchise were the first and second film in 2000, along with a film titled Within the Woods in 2005. This series remained dormant for 9 years until we got Camp Blood 3: First Slaughter. From 3 onwards, the franchise detaches from the first two films, and the continuity goes haywire. Almost each subsequent film tries to go in a different direction, with little continuity to connect some of the films. Even when films are supposed to connect, the continuity is that messed up that it's not worth trying to make sense of anymore.
With this film, however, it's nice to see a writer make an attempt to connect to events and characters from previous films, even when some of the names are wrong. There is a moment where a girl recounts the story of her stepmom and her Stepmom's boyfriend Chucky were killed, yet the flashbacks from that previous film reminds us that it was Tommy, not Chucky.
To summarize what the plot of this movie is, it's basically Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning with a little bit of The Forgotten, aka Don't Look in the Basement, thrown in there. A rehabilitation center for the surviving friends and family members of victims from previous films is set in place within the Camp Blackwood area to accommodate those in need. Unfortunately for them, it looks like the supposed dead clown mask wearing killer has returned.
As mentioned before, z grade horror with little to no money to fund it. But I have to give the writer credit for trying to connect to previous films, especially with trying to make sense of a random moment from one of the previous movies that occurred that had no context whatsoever. Now with this film, that scene actually has a purpose and a reason to exist. It was just placed in the wrong film, basically.
You also have actors Samantha Coolidge and Ryan Dalton as Judy and Doctor Spanner, respectively, who go all in with their performances. In previous films, and even in this film, we've had actors who either just can't act, or are simply not even trying, like lightly jogging away from the killer, or gripping someone's shoulders as opposed to their neck. But these two actors stood out for trying to take the material as seriously as they can, given the conditions of the low production. They put energy and effort into their roles, which is something this series needs a little bit more of.
If you've seen previous entries in this franchise, you know what you're getting into, but I would say out of all of the films that have been made since this franchise's resurgence in 2014, this is probably the best one of the bunch, but that is through simple process of elimination. If you haven't seen this film and are curious to watch it, I wouldn't recommend it. But it you are into z grade horror films, and you want to check this franchise out, start from the beginning and work your way up to this. If you can't make it past the first film, you're not going to enjoy this one.
If you haven't seen a film like this, or the previous dozen or so that came before it, let me catch you up to what you're missing. Films like this are z grade horror; they look like something you and your friends would've shot in high school because it's made cheap and quick, with acting from some people who aren't trying, and the plot overall makes no sense. The difference is this gets distributed on DVD, Blu Ray, Vimeo, and even Amazon Prime. You're probably asking who would pay to watch films like this, and why. You just got to be the type of person who enjoys watching indie filmmakers try to make something, even when its bad. And sometimes you get gems where they're so bad it's entertaining.
The Camp Blood series has been going on for about 20 years. If you ask me, the best entries in this franchise were the first and second film in 2000, along with a film titled Within the Woods in 2005. This series remained dormant for 9 years until we got Camp Blood 3: First Slaughter. From 3 onwards, the franchise detaches from the first two films, and the continuity goes haywire. Almost each subsequent film tries to go in a different direction, with little continuity to connect some of the films. Even when films are supposed to connect, the continuity is that messed up that it's not worth trying to make sense of anymore.
With this film, however, it's nice to see a writer make an attempt to connect to events and characters from previous films, even when some of the names are wrong. There is a moment where a girl recounts the story of her stepmom and her Stepmom's boyfriend Chucky were killed, yet the flashbacks from that previous film reminds us that it was Tommy, not Chucky.
To summarize what the plot of this movie is, it's basically Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning with a little bit of The Forgotten, aka Don't Look in the Basement, thrown in there. A rehabilitation center for the surviving friends and family members of victims from previous films is set in place within the Camp Blackwood area to accommodate those in need. Unfortunately for them, it looks like the supposed dead clown mask wearing killer has returned.
As mentioned before, z grade horror with little to no money to fund it. But I have to give the writer credit for trying to connect to previous films, especially with trying to make sense of a random moment from one of the previous movies that occurred that had no context whatsoever. Now with this film, that scene actually has a purpose and a reason to exist. It was just placed in the wrong film, basically.
You also have actors Samantha Coolidge and Ryan Dalton as Judy and Doctor Spanner, respectively, who go all in with their performances. In previous films, and even in this film, we've had actors who either just can't act, or are simply not even trying, like lightly jogging away from the killer, or gripping someone's shoulders as opposed to their neck. But these two actors stood out for trying to take the material as seriously as they can, given the conditions of the low production. They put energy and effort into their roles, which is something this series needs a little bit more of.
If you've seen previous entries in this franchise, you know what you're getting into, but I would say out of all of the films that have been made since this franchise's resurgence in 2014, this is probably the best one of the bunch, but that is through simple process of elimination. If you haven't seen this film and are curious to watch it, I wouldn't recommend it. But it you are into z grade horror films, and you want to check this franchise out, start from the beginning and work your way up to this. If you can't make it past the first film, you're not going to enjoy this one.
