Jocke over that Rubbermonsterfetishism is always mocking me for my taste in movies. Not all movies of course, the big deal is the collection of slashers I own and adore. This didn't stop him from ordering a copy of Ruggero Deodato's little seen and appreciated (but widly distributed) generic slasher Bodycount at the same time as me. It has the brilliant original title Camping del Terrore. Is that the best slasher title ever? Could be. Let's fistfight about it sometime. I'll win.
It's always strange when filmmakers five-six years after the heydays decideds to shoot a slasher based on cliché A1. Do they still think there's money in it? Or are they living in the delusion that they can create something new, something that triggers the nostalgic memories of now grown-up's who have fond memories of making out in a drive-in during a screening of Friday the 13th part 2? I doubt that worked in 1986-1987. Slashers aren't high art, they're made to make hormone-filled teenagers scream and find a reason for some heavy petting in the darkness of the theatre or in front of the TV. That's why they are made. I personally enjoys the clichés. Like in a Godzilla movie or something with Santo and Blue Demon I know what to expect. I know there's gonna be a good-looking jock, a nerd, a blonde bimbo, a brown-haired smart chick etc. And most of them are gonna get stabbed, burned, chopped, decapitated during the duration of the film.
And say what you want about Bodycount, but it delivers everything you expect from it. And it's also a pretty decent slasher shot in a wonderful location, Abruzzo in Italy - the same place where Pasquale Festa Campanile's brilliant Hitch-Hike (1977) was shot, especially around the marvellous mountain area Gran Sasso d'Italia. The whole place has a very American feeling and it fits perfectly to shoot a slasher there. To make it more internationally bankable fine character actors like Charles Napier, Mimsy Farmer, David Hess and John Steiner makes apperances, but most of the time is spent with the idiotic bunch of morons written to be the main characters: silly over-aged teenagers who's there only to fuck, smoke and get murdered by the mysterious shaman roaming the woods - at least that what the legend says. And that's what happens. Nothing more.
Like Umberto Lenzi's unbelievable cheesy Welcome to Spring Break (aka Nightmare Beach, released in 1989, way past the prime of the slasher genre), there's something Giallo-esque of the film. There's a twist ending, involving a past trauma and one of our heroes is of course the killer, but just like the Lenzi one this is disguised as a typical slasher. Bodycount is more Giallo, because the killer stabs the victims - I think three of them at the exact same place, so I guess either the budget was very low or the screenwriters was very bored - all four of them!). But that's just me. It's a slasher in spirit and in look and it's not a bad one, it's just very unoriginal. Deodato handles the direction with his usual flair and most of the kills are OK, but hardly any sensations when it comes to splatter and effects. But I've seen drier slashers out there.
It's been difficult to find Bodycount uncut and with good quality on DVD, but I think the Italian DVD is the best one so far. Fullscreen (which could be an open-matte version actually) looks good, not spectacular, and what I can see it's fully uncut. I bought it directly from Amazon.it to save some money. Foreign cult movie shops have a tendency to add a bit to much to their prices for me to feel it's interesting to purchase from them.
Bodycount, or Camping del Terrore as everyone should refer it to, might only be for extreme collectors of Italian cult or slashers. I personally think it's a lot better than most of the American slashers of the same era and this new DVD makes it worth watching again.
Welcome to Spring break is amazing, it's such an entertaining film!
Posted by: Alex Bakshaev | February 20, 2013 at 12:36
I might give Welcome to Spring Break a spin again. It was years since I saw it. I found it very entertaining!
Posted by: Fred Anderson | February 20, 2013 at 13:01
"It has the brilliant original title Camping del Terrore. Is that the best slasher title ever? Could be. Let's fistfight about it sometime. I'll win."
Last time I fought was in kindergarten........I lost.
"I personally enjoys the clichés. Like in a Godzilla movie or something with Santo and Blue Demon I know what to expect. I know there's gonna be a good-looking jock, a nerd, a blonde bimbo, a brown-haired smart chick etc. And most of them are gonna get stabbed, burned, chopped, decapitated during the duration of the film."
Yeah.....like you stated before....candy for the brain.
"To make it more internationally bankable fine character actors like Charles Napier, Mimsy Farmer, David Hess and John Steiner makes apperances,"
David Hess and Mimsy Framer together.....?
Sounds like fun flick.
"Deodato handles the direction with his usual flair and most of the kills are OK, but hardly any sensations when it comes to splatter and effects. But I've seen drier slashers out there."
One of the driest slashers I´ve seen is The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog(1927), everything is about atmosphere.
"It's been difficult to find Bodycount uncut and with good quality on DVD, but I think the Italian DVD is the best one so far. Fullscreen (which could be an open-matte version actually) looks good, not spectacular, and what I can see it's fully uncut."
No notes on IMDB...?
"Foreign cult movie shops have a tendency to add a bit to much to their prices for me to feel it's interesting to purchase from them."
Yeah.....I see what you mean...there are some shops here in Sweden that I don´t buy from anymore....too expensive.
Good review, and thanks.
Posted by: Megatron | February 20, 2013 at 15:54
Thanks for the great article..
Posted by: Demon Testsdas | February 25, 2013 at 23:28