tmdb17996075
Written on 2/13/2017
Let's be honest here: the movie is not a masterpiece and that should never be argued. But I will say this: if "Body Count" got all this negative reviews, is mostly because people were expecting something brutal, merciless and shocking like "Cannibal Holocaust" and instead, they got an Americanized Ruggero Deodato, who was probably trying to approach a different audience. Can we blame him for trying?. Yes!... but I, for one, enjoyed this film, even though I understand that it is less than perfect and obviously not even remotely memorable.
In "Il Camping del Terrore", a group of moronic friends go on a vacation trip with no specific destination. In the middle of the road, they pick up a hitchhiker (of course) named Ben, who invites them to his parents' campsite. Ben's father, who is not a very friendly guy to begin with, starts setting some deadly traps all over the woods, with the purpose of catching the ghost of an old Indian shaman who wanders around the place (yes, he actually wants to catch a ghost with regular traps). According to an infamous legend, many years ago, a witch doctor put a curse on his tribe and captured their spirits in the woods. Every once in a while, this old Indian shaman leaves his mysterious lair to take new victims). Shocked by his father's revelation, Ben chooses to remain silent and not share the whole "ghost of an old Indian shaman" story with his new friends. However, when one of the guys appears viciously attacked and ends up in a coma, Ben breaks down and tells the truth. Of course, nobody believes him, and everyone stays at the campsite, because... seriously, who would actually believe that there's a ghost wandering around the woods?. As a result of their skepticism, one by one, they all start to disappear. Meanwhile, Ben's parents, who are far from being a perfect couple, are in the middle of a major marital crisis that will bring terrible consequences for everyone... because if you thought that the old Indian shaman was as bad as it could get, you were dead wrong!
Like I said before, this film is another example of the "slasher fever". It contains all the elements: a campsite, stupid characters who are about 30 years old and behave like teenagers and a mysterious killer. Rip-off or not, I think what makes this movie appealing to slasher fans, are the silly flaws that probably embarrass most of the crew members who were involved in this project back then. I for one, find it impossible not to like this film regardless of these flaws, or maybe precisely because of them My favorite tacky special effect would be the part in which the shaman hits one of the characters with a axe in the middle of her face... but the face is actually a motionless wax figure screaming. I don't mean to be a gossipy or anything (?), but something tells me that this particular scene with the axe on the face is an attempt to copy Tom Savini's achievement in "Friday the 13th" (those who have seen the movie should know what I'm talking about). Avoiding the possibility of sounding too cynical or critical, I'm going to leave the imperfections aside for a moment and focus on the genuinely impressive and well developed scenes. For instance, the outlandish nightmare sequence (that I will not spoil), or the scenes in which the Shaman subtly appears from the trees, threatening his victims. Those are the scenes that make full contrast with the harsh comments and prove in a way, that regardless of the evident faults, Mr. Deodato is after all a talented director who can develop good moments of plain horror.
My final verdict: Yes, "Il Camping del Terrore" is clearly not an example of subtle and refined horror for "serious" movie lovers. However, the film doesn't fail when it comes to entertainment and it provides some really great scenes of butchery, with good music composed by Claudio Simonetti from Goblin (also in charge of the music in "Suspiria", if that works as a gentle reference). So in spite of the noticeable and yet lovable faults, this little slasher is highly engaging to me and anyone who can appreciate silly slashers for what they are.
