CAMP TWILIGHT
Directed by: Brandon Amelotte
Starring: Linnea Quigley, Dave Sheridan, Felissa Rose, Barry Jay Minoff, Jessica Cameron,
Six delinquent highschool students are given the chance to earn some extra credit by participating in a pilot camping/outbounds weekend. Little do they realise that their weekend marks the 30th anniversary of some gruesome murders occurring in the park, and that a masked killer is stalking the grounds, killing everyone in their path…
Camp Twilight definitely shows that the Slasher genre is trying to outgrow its misogynistic roots, but this particular entry needs to be shorter and bloodier.
After witnessing the murder of two unrelated campers at the start, we the audience are clued in as to what is occurring at Camp Twilight, even though the hapless rangers don't have much of a clue. The rangers are the comic relief and for the most part are pretty good, especially their comedy timing when nearly talking over each other.
Over at the highschool, three boys and three girls are told by their teacher that unless they take part in this camping trip, they aren't going to have enough credits to graduate. Some of them are reasonably happy to go except for the fact they will be without their cellphones for the entire time. Chaperoning the kids are Mrs Bloom, Mr Warner and late addition, Ms Monique.
The film takes a while to get into the murders although it does set up a couple of characters who may be the killer. We witness one of the rangers finish for the weekend, only to be seen skulking around later on, while Ms Monique disappears almost as soon as she arrives. We also see that Mr Warner's wife is off on a business trip, leaving him alone for the weekend. Could any of them be the killer?
Like the Friday 13th franchise, Camp Twilight ensures that there are plenty of potential victims for its killer. Whereas a lot of modern horrors will have a maximum of five protagonists to whittle down over 90 mins, we not only have the six kids, their two/three teachers and the park rangers, all within the killer's domain as it were. The only problem is that there is no visual flare or panache to the murders. They are all presented in the same methodical manner with the same murder weapon. It’s a pity that more couldn't have been done in the fx department.
It is commendable that the script addresses certain misogynistic attitudes - boys will be boys, etc. One plot strand sees Kevin (Harris Sebastian) frustrated by what he sees are "mixed signals" from his girlfriend Sydney and decides the best way to solve the situation is to "teach her a lesson". The fact that she's recovering from psychological issues seems to pass him by. When Kevin returns to the group (with some scratches on his forearm) he's called out by Mrs Bloom and the other girls for at the very least abandoning Sydney to make her own way back to the camp. It’s a refreshing moment and in stark contrast to the conversation Kevin had with Danny (Dondre Tuck) earlier. The script also does a great job of addressing spousal abuse as one character delivers an excellent, harrowing monologue about what they had to witness as a child.
The problem with the script is that it meanders way too much and spends a lot of dead time with the teens, which could have been trimmed considerably. The script is hoping that by spending more time with them we'll empathise with them more when they eventually meet their demise but unfortunately these are very, very shallow characters and spending more time with them just exacerbates this.
The cast themselves are pretty good in their roles. Kevin and Danny in particular have good chemistry together. There are a number of horror legends in small roles, including Linnea Quigley, Camille Keaton, Jessica Cameron and Vernon Wells, which gives the film a bit of a solid pedigree.
THE VERDICT
Camp Twilight gets as much right as it gets wrong. The location is great, the cast is effective and the technical aspects are all very solid. The script is commendable for providing believable dialogue, comic interludes and addressing the usual frat boy behaviour seen in this kind of film. However it does meander a lot, and the wraparound newscaster elements were very flat. Although there were plenty of murders, they were very much the same (I'll agree that this does fit with the killer, but still…), and need to provide more tension to be effective.
6 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)