After seeing so many Camp Blood sequels on Tubi, it was nice to finally be able to go back to the beginning and watch the film that started it all. Well, maybe “nice” isn’t exactly the right word for it, but you catch my drift.
Two couples head out to the woods to hike at a closed campground the locals have dubbed “Camp Blood”. Their guide is a tough woman named Harris (Courtney Taylor) who leads them to their campsite and tells them about the legend of a killer in a clown mask that lurks in the forest. Little do they know the real killer is hanging about with a very large machete and hacking up anyone who gets in his way.
The film kicks off in fine fashion with a couple of birdwatchers getting busy before the clown comes around and cuts them down. Once it settles in, it becomes a pretty generic, albeit moderately entering slasher. The gore is kind of sparse, but we do get an okay burnt up face and a decent machete in the head gag. There are also moments that kind of crib from/pay homage to Friday the 13th and Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Although some of the scenes where the friends get lost in the woods tend to drag, I will say the payoff works better than expected as the twist ending provides a solid capper on the film. The most amusing part though is sound of squeaky clown shoes on the soundtrack to signify the killer is near.
Just about every slasher movie contains a scene where an old guy warns the characters not to go messing around in the woods. The guy in Camp Blood has to be the most obnoxious of all time. At least he gets what’s coming to him.
It’s hard to believe that a low-budget slasher like Camp Blood could spawn over a dozen sequels. Like any respectable long running franchise, the sequels got sillier as time wore on. Fortunately, if you just want a bare bones meat and potatoes horror flick, Camp Blood will likely do the trick.
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