Presented by Paramount Scares, Bloody Disgusting heads to Camp Crystal Lake the week of Friday the 13th to screen a series of films celebrating the Voorhees family and their influence. On Monday, the Halloweenies listed their 13 favorite murders in the franchise, and today Rachel Reeves takes a look at other scary stories centered around the camp.
When Friday the 13th was released in May 1980, its remarkable financial success poured oil on the flickering flames of the slasher genre. Already burning thanks to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre And Halloweenthese films became go-to films for many filmmakers looking to break into the industry or just make some coin. Everything from masks and machetes to final girls and fake-outs quickly solidified as standard genre tropes. However, it was Friday the 13th This made summer camps prime settings for slasher mayhem and popularized it with others who wanted to emulate the results.
For those who were fortunate enough to have attended a summer camp in their youth, the annual pilgrimage
offered a chance to disconnect from the outside world, make new friends, connect with nature, and escape the daily supervision of annoying parents. Of course, while the often secluded, remote locations encourage that sense of escape, they also prevent it. Making matters worse are the limited car access and limited adult supervision. Everything that makes a summer camp the perfect setting for murderous mayhem is ingrained in its DNA. With many real-life summer camps willing to rent out their facilities in the ’80s, it’s no wonder so many filmmakers were quick to jump on the summer camp canoe.
Since this Friday is literally Friday the 13th, let’s take a look at some of the early imitators that tried to capitalize on the revamped summer camp formula.
And if you crave more Friday the 13th Contents, Greatest horror And Damn disgusting present a marathon with eight films on the Friday the 13th Franchise. Not in the area? Can’t make it? Paramount Scares and Fangoria also present nationwide screenings of FRIDAY THE 13TH – The final chapter.
The burning (1981)
Even if the wheels for Tony Maylam’s The burning before Friday the 13th released in 2004, Camp Crystal Lake was a major influence on the final film that Maylam brought to the world. Although the core story of the film continued to revolve around the urban legend of Cropsey and the vengeful Camp Blackfoot caretaker, some key elements were adjusted to intentionally adapt the film to Friday the 13th and its fans. While a rewritten ending and additional emphasis on the nearby Camp Stonewater location do indeed speak to this, two key new crew additions scream this intent – Tom Savini and Rick Wakeman.
To hit the Gore Bar, the Friday the 13th Set, the producers of The burning went straight to the source and hired Tom Savini for the film’s makeup and effects. This choice immediately lends authenticity to the production and creates a strong visual continuity between the two summer camp slashers. Likewise, by hiring keyboardist Rick Wakeman from the band Yes, The burningThe film music is a successful mixture of Halloween And Friday the 13thcomplete with vintage synths, killer-embodying motifs and a jangly bluegrass breakdown. These two choices, along with a killer lineup that includes a young Jason Alexander, Fisher Stevens and Holly Hunter, make for one of the best Friday the 13th there are the followers out there.
The chill factor (1993)
Christopher Webster’s The chill factor is a strange little horror outing. It’s almost as if author Julian Weaver threw a number of popular horror tropes into a hat, pulled them out, and wrote a film around them. As one of the most popular horror films of the 1980s, it should come as no surprise that more than a few elements of Friday the 13th found their way into the film, including the summer camp setting. However, these elements are presented only slightly off-center to avoid comparisons to apparently.
In the film, a snowmobile trip for a group of young, attractive couples goes awry when one of the adventurers has a snowmobile accident in the middle of nowhere and is knocked unconscious. With little choice and bad weather on the horizon, the group holes up in an abandoned summer camp nearby. Things soon get really weird when the summer camp’s dark religious past awakens and wreaks all sorts of supernatural havoc on the young adrenaline enthusiasts. Since this summer camp is attended in the winter, it can’t possibly be inspired by Camp Crystal Lake, right?
Overnight camp (1983)
Like many aspiring young filmmakers, Robert Hiltzik thought the horror genre was his best chance to break into the film business. Inspired by the recent success of Friday the 13th and the personal memories it brought back of visiting Camp Algonquin in New York as a child, Hiltzik wrote the entire film around the summer camp setting. Although the camp in the film is called Camp Arawak, these camps remained one and the same as Overnight camp was filmed entirely on location at Camp Algonquin.
In addition to the summer camp environment, Overnight camp more mirrors Friday the 13th with a mysterious killer haunting the grounds of Camp Arawak, brutally murdering one camper after another. However, Hiltzik was smart enough to make some strategic changes to set his camp apart from Camp Crystal Lake. For one, Hiltzik insisted on hiring age-appropriate actors to play the young campers and counselors at the center of the film. He also relied on the interpersonal dynamics between the campers and the seasonal relationships that develop naturally. And while he undoubtedly took inspiration from Pamela Voorhees for Overnight campHiltzik, the central antagonist of The Movie, provides a surprise ending that will forever remain one of the most iconic endings in horror history.
Cheerleading Camp (1988)
John Quinn’s sleazy slasher Cheerleading Camp is everything you think and more. With Betsy Russell from Seenfranchise fame as Alison, the film follows her hellish summer at cheer camp. Plagued by horrific nightmares about the upcoming cheer competition, Alison soon begins to doubt her sanity and abilities as her fellow cheerleaders die horrific deaths one by one. Just like Needy Lesnicky in Jennifer’s bodyHell is a young girl, and Cheerleading Camp embodies this idea in every way imaginable.
Madman (1981)
Inspired by the success of films such as Friday the 13th And Halloweenfilmmakers Gary Sales and Joe Giannone wrote their own horror film about the East Coast urban legend Cropsey. Unfortunately, they soon heard about another Cropsey-related film called The burningRather than compete with each other and risk having both projects canceled, Sales and Giannone swapped their antagonist’s hook for an axe and called him “Madman Marz.”
In Madmana camp for gifted children called North Sea Cottages, has the unfortunate honor of being located right next to the dilapidated home of famous family annihilator Madman Marz. After an informative campfire story warns of the dangers of uttering Marz’s name in the woods, an arrogant young man naturally tells Marz to make his presence known. While Marz’s ensuing rampage makes satisfyingly quick work of the camp’s counselors, it’s the film’s amusingly over-the-top dialogue, synthesizer soundtracks, natural forest setting, and incredible theme song that make the film so unique. Madman a respectable Friday the 13th Imitation.
Twisted nightmare (1987)
If a random invitation to a summer camp popped up where a sibling had died under mysterious circumstances just a few years earlier, most people would throw the invitation in the trash without thinking twice. Luckily for us, the characters in Paul Hunt’s Twisted nightmarealso known as Ancient Evildon’t turn down a free vacation so quickly. As expected, the bodies quickly pile up in the ironically named Camp Paradise, while a mysterious killer drives the campers one by one from the grounds and out of this mortal shell. Strongly reminiscent of Friday the 13th in a variety of ways (including sharing some sets with Friday the 13th: Part III), Twisted nightmare is a summer camp horror film that is worth checking out only for the most dedicated campers.
Moonstalker (1989)
Similar The chill factorMichael S. O’Rourke’s Moonstalker subverts the traditional summer season camp setting and takes place in the cold winter months. In the film, a family on vacation and a group of young wilderness camp counselors training for… something soon find themselves at the mercy of a brutal madman. With little else to offer in the way of plot, it would be easy to write the film off. Moonstalker as little more than a generic Friday the 13th Fare. But what Moonstalker While it lacks narrative complexity and cinematic prowess, it more than makes up for it with atmosphere, decent kills, and silly slasher fun.
