Summer Camp Nightmare (1987)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Bert L. Dragin

Writers:

William Butler (novel)
Bert L. Dragin (writer)

Release Date:

17 April 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Dear Mom, The camp director is dead. The counselors are locked up. And the kids are out of control. Having a wonderful time. Love, Marvin

Plot:

A group of campers revolt against their strick camp director and take over the camp for themselves.

Plot Keywords:

Camp | Youth | Summer Camp | Hanging | Hanged Boy

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Chuck Connors	...	Mr. Warren
Charlie Stratton	...	Franklin Reilly
Harold Pruett	...	Chris Wade (as Harold P. Pruett)
Adam Carl	...	Donald Poultry
Tom Fridley	...	John Mason
Melissa Reeves	...	Heather (as Melissa Brennan)
Stuart Rogers	...	Stanley Runk
Shawn McLemore	...	Hammond
Samantha Newark	...	Debbie
Nancy Calabrese	...	Trixie
Michael Cramer	...	Jerome Blackridge
Rick Fitts	...	Ed Heinz
Doug Toby	...	Manuel Rivas
Shirley Mitchell	...	Mrs. Knute
Chris Hubbell	...	Jack Caldwell

Also Known As:

The Butterfly Revolution

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:PG-13

Company:

Butterfly

Trivia:

Despite the tagline, not a single camper is mentioned with the name Marvin.

Soundtrack:

Stars and Stripes Forever

Long Live Runk the Punk!

"Attention campers! Welcome to North Pines, where we got lotsa soul, and rock-n-roll, and wild times." This film defines the eighties; the cheese, the mullets, the headbands, the ragged jeans. Summer Camp Nightmare is pure fun and a great addition to the eighties teen movie legacy. I also found this one hiding out in the horror section (where it does not belong). It's title is a tad misleading (except the camp part, because this movie's full of it). It's storyline is similar to that of Lord of the Flies but it doesn't take itself that seriously. Instead, it becomes one of the most hilarious flicks I've ever seen. Charles Stratton does an excellent job as a far-out Counselor In Training who leads the revolution of Camp North Pines. "Society keeps us in line by the use of fear. When we overcome fear, that's when we stand above society." With this theory, he convinces almost everyone to join the revolt. It's filled with great characters, the best of course being Runk the Punk with his Iron Maiden t-shirt. Runk, without a doubt, has the two best lines in the movie. 1) "Stay outta my face, small crap." and 2) when he and Mason (Tom Fridley from Friday the 13th Part VI) lip sync a Fear song titled "Beef Bologna" at the talent show. From there, the movie gets fairly medieval as the kids become more and more primitive. Their new society fails and all hell breaks loose. If you're a fan of the eighties, you have to find this cult classic. To the revolution!