Cheerleader Camp (1988)

User Rating:

3.3/10   

Director:

John Quinn

Writers:

David Lee Fein (writer)
R.L. O'Keefe (writer)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Give me a K - Give me an I - Give me an L - Give me an L

Plot:

An unknown killer is killing off the members of a small cheerleader group at a remote cheerleader training camp.

Plot Keywords:

Cheerleader | Girl | Friend | Nightmare | Summer Camp

Cast

Betsy Russell	...	Alison Wentworth
Leif Garrett	...	Brent Hoover
Lucinda Dickey	...	Cory Foster
Lorie Griffin	...	Bonnie Reed
George 'Buck' Flower	...	Pop (as Buck Flower)
Travis McKenna	...	Timmy Moser
Teri Weigel	...	Pam Bently
Rebecca Ferratti	...	Theresa Salazar
Vickie Benson	...	Miss Tipton
Jeff Prettyman	...	Sheriff Poucher
Krista Pflanzer	...	Suzy
Craig Piligian	...	Detective
William Johnson	...	Chief Ronnie (as William Johnson Sr.)
Kathryn Litton	...	Timmy's Girlfriend
Tommy Habeeb	...	Assistant Detective (as Tom Habeeb)

Also Known As:

Bloody Pom Poms (UK)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Japan | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:R16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bakersfield, California, USA

Company:

Daiei Studios

Trivia:

The film's original title was Bloody Pompoms.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Timmy records himself on the tape recorder he says, "A monster is stirring, it needs to get out, it needs relief." But when the rest of the gang watch the tape later, what he says and how he says it is different. It changes to "I hear something stirring. I think it's gonna need relief."

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Scary Movie (2000)

Soundtrack:

Cheerleading

Bring it on, Cheese-leaders!

For once, this stereotypical 80's horror movie is not just set in a sport-crazy American high school or at a summertime camp but in.... a combination of both!! An actual cheerleader camp! Do these really exist? Anyway, this setting means there's a double portion of clichés, dumb teenager jokes and naked breasts guaranteed, so it can't be all bad, right? The opening sequence, which seems to come straight from a "Nightmare on Elm Street" sequel, gives us the false impression that "Cheerleader Camp" might be more ambitious than the usual 80's slasher, but it rapidly turns into a silly and by-the-numbers horror comedy. A group of competitive high school girls and two incredibly dumb males attend a camp where the best group (including their mascot) can win tickets for the national cheer leading contest...or something. Of course, their main concern quickly becomes surviving, as there's a vicious killer around as well. The best thing you can say about this film probably is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The murders only occur halfway through the film because the opening is too busy playing out the fat guy pranks! Travis McKenna (who truly has a gigantic bottom) is more than just a comic relief; he "fills up" the first 40 minutes of this film with vulgar fat-guy behavior, like videotaping the girls sun bathing topless and "mooning" the entire camp through the windows of his van. There's absolutely no attempt to build up tension and the murders are delightfully cheesy. Quite gory, but certainly not unsettling and only diverting your attention from the lousy storyline. The killer's identity is so easily predictable and even the typecasting of Buck Flower as the eerie old janitor couldn't possibly make you doubt.