Review: ‘Camp Pleasant Lake’ knocks off ‘Friday the 13th’ & ‘Scream’

The best filmmakers can make even the most minuscule budget and resources work to their advantage. Blasting a low-budget indie feature as “rough around the edges” is not valid criticism; writers and directors are typically self-aware enough to realize that their limited means culminate in less-than-ideal results. But that’s not to say the film isn’t effective. In fact, the coarseness of either the cinematography or the acting has a particular charm to it. That’s certainly the case with Thomas Walton’s camp slasher knockoff Camp Pleasant Lake, which excels in retooling elements from Friday the 13th and Scream to become its own worthy addition to the slasher genre.

20 years ago, Camp Pleasant Lake was the site of the Meadows Family tragedy. Young Echo was abducted, while her parents were brutally slaughtered. The brother, Jasper, was never seen or heard from again, seemingly vanishing into the surrounding woods. In the present day, the Rutherfords-owned camp operates as a horror camp, where adults from all over flock to participate in an immersive and bloody horror movie experience.

Every year, campers descend upon Camp Pleasant Lake to hopefully get their jollies off seeing others get mutilated and dismembered. Legend has it that Echo returns each spooky season to behead and slash the unsuspecting innocent, leaving only lifeless bodies in her wake. But this year’s Halloween is different than most. A killer lurks among them: could it be Echo finally getting her revenge? Or maybe it’s another killer bloodthirsty for their very own flesh-dripping bodily pile-up.

With a cast that includes Jonathan Lipnicki (Stuart Little) and Bonnie Aarons (The Nun), Camp Pleasant Lake is far from a pleasant experience; that’s to say, there’s plenty of blood-spurting carnage to satiate anyone’s hunger. Possessing a meta-edge, ala Scream, the film comments on the absurdity of lake-side horror, even as it totally and unapologetically leans into slasher tropes.

A macabre playfulness from the killer injects a bit of camp into the story, paired with the campers’ often over-the-top line delivery. With an absolute banger of a score — shout-out to composer Reuven Herman for delightfully tasty ear candy — and gory practical effects, all the film’s parts work together to create a scrumptious buffet that any slasher fan will love.

While the film bungles its flashbacks — the backstory, in particular, drags for far too long — once it settles into the present, it thankfully finds its groove. A staged murder weekend bursts into a nightmarish wasteland worth of any of the Sleepaway Camp sequels. If you’re hungry for a Friday night popcorn flick, Thomas Walton’s latest is a perfectly campy good time.

Camp Pleasant Lake arrives in select theaters and on VOD this Tuesday (February 27).

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