Zombie Campout (2002 Video) User Reviews

Horrible dreck not worthy of the Wal-Mart Bargain Bin

[boonshka · 4/10 · 22 March 2006]

This piece of tripe is utterly disgraceful, and not even good enough to be sold in the five dollar bargain bin at your local Wal-Mart. I am not sure what they were thinking when they got involved, but certainly they expected it to be better than this. Sad thing is, it could have been so much better.

I actually feel bad for the actors involved in this, because I can imagine their embarrassment. If I was them, I would try to buy up every copy to minimize the shame. Anyone voting a "10" for this movie (come on, a 10 for ZOMBIE CAMPOUT???) clearly has some stake in it. I also like these reviews that describe it as "great" and "you won't be disappointed" have only reviewed on this lame movie and nothing else.

For the sake of your wallet, don't spend a dime on this movie.

4 teens and a video camera

[pascalsimons · 2/10 · 14 March 2006]

It's amazing what you can do with just a couple of friends, some cheap makeup,camcorder and some obviously fake torn off body parts which must belonged to some dress-up doll. I'm sure they must have had a lot of fun making it. It must have cost a lot of effort and time. All of these components put together can help in creating an awesome movie, a blockbuster even. There's always that possibility. But not in this case. The parts I've already seen (I still have to see over an hour of this movie) show me it's still infinitely better then the witches of the Caribbean, a similar low budget movie. Thats still part of my 'looking on the bright side' philosophy. What prevents this movie from being a worthy horror movie; is the crappy sound, the actors who don't seem to know how to act, the 'special' effects and the entire lack of horrific ambiance (lighting and all of that stuff).

Zero budget zombie comedy that provides a little cheap fun.

[capkronos · 2/10 · 16 October 2008]

More ambitious low-budget filmmakers try to overcome their limitations, while the rest simply embrace them. This is definitely a case of the latter, where the director and cast pretty much know they're making a piece of silly crud and decide to have a little fun with it. It almost reminded me a bit of DON'T GO IN THE WOODS, a film whose "plot" basically consisted of a bunch of random people wandering into the woods just long enough to get killed by some maniac. Of course this one has zombies instead of a maniac, and an even lower budget if you can imagine that, but it's surprisingly similar in many ways; starting with four poorly-defined people going camping, then introducing a bunch of insignificant characters who exist just to die. Bunny (Misty Orman), her boyfriend Steve (John M. Davis), her best friend Tammy (Tiffany Black) and Steve's friend Trevor (Jeremy Schwab), who is being set up on a blind date with Tammy, decide to spend their weekend camping out near a lake. There they set up camp, sit around talking, make out (while some terrible song goes "Yeah... Oh yeah... So Nice..." in a deep Isaac Hayes like voice) and run into four bikini-clad girls who invite them to a party the next day. After about a half-hour of pointless filler that will bore most viewers into a coma, a meteor shower erupts and fragments hit a nearby graveyard, bringing the dead to life. The badly made-up zombies then go on a rampage around the campground, killing off and eating whoever crosses their path.

Make no mistake, this movie is completely and utterly awful. I cannot think of any redeeming qualities it has from a technical standpoint; direction, acting, script, zombie makeups, editing, sound and cinematography are all the pits. There are also several instances of atrocious CGI that make the effects in Sci-Fi Channel flicks look Oscar worthy by comparison. However, this movie did make me laugh a lot. I'll admit it. I kind of enjoyed watching it. Whether it be the horribly delivered lines of dialogue or the fact that every single female cast member who wandered into frame was dressed in a bikini top and cut off jean shorts, this one had plenty to amuse bad movie fans. Strangely, there's no nudity aside from a two second shot of the top of an ass when a zombie girl's towel falls off. In fact, this movie makes a running gag out of the fact the director obviously couldn't afford to pay any of the ladies to take their tops off. The two female leads change into their bikins UNDER the top they already have on. Another who is changing into a bikini is hidden behind a tree branch that keeps MOVING up and down to make sure nothing is seen. That had to be intentional, right? I hope that was intentional...

My absolute favorite scene in the whole movie, which I had to rewind and watch like five times because it was so hilarious, involved a pair of lesbian characters who get killed. One has her throat ripped out and sprays an exaggerated amount of blood on the other big-breasted girl who's wearing a flimsy white top. Then that girl tries to run away, but gets ambushed by more zombies, who grab her and rip both of her arms off. Well, they rip the arms off an obvious mannequin torso. Then the armless girl keeps on a running, trips over a tree limb and then falls down and smacks her head off a rock. That's the highlight (or is that lowlight?) of this particular flick.

After a painfully slow first half, this became a bit livelier toward the end, with more cheap gore effects, more cheap action and more cheap scenes of screaming girls in bikinis being pulled to the ground by three or four zombies. It's all stupid and amateurish as can be, but I had a bit of fun watching it and reveling in its stupidity. One thing that I absolutely hated were snippets of dialogue making references to it just being a stupid zombie film, as well as characters looking directly into the camera and mugging. Is that EVER funny? These movies, bad or not, always play better without being so obvious.

pathetic attempt at a horror/comedy

[movieman_kev · 1/10 · 7 April 2009]

Bunny and Steve plan a weekend camping trip with Trevor and Tammy whom they hope to hook up so Tammy will forget her former boyfriend. But once at the camping site, radioactive meteorites crash into a nearby cemetery causing the dead to rise up from their graves. Which none of the major characters realize for about half the film.

The zombies don't even come into play into half an hour goes by and due to the feeble attempts at humor (the near-nudity gag akin to an Austin Powers film is not witty nor clever in the slightest, the 'plot encapsulating' park ranger is slightly less irritating) what a long 30 minutes it is. As for the rest of the film, it's no great shakes either, but at least something, no matter how inept or badly acted, is happening. Make no doubt about it, this horror/comedy stinks more then a year-old decomposing corpse.

My Grade: F

Like camping with people you hate

[sebpopcorn · 1 September 2008]

Two grinning idiots in sandals and socks and a pair of catalogue models that would never look at them in real life go camping together. Because the director doesn't understand how to make a movie every excruciating detail of their preparations are shown at length, this includes them going to the toilet, stopping on their way for a snack and so on.

Really what the makers of this movie want is to get these two catalogue models to pop their puppies out but it doesn't happen and you can really feel the deep sense of sadness hanging over the entire production because of it. Nobody can act unless you count saying your line and leaving 2 seconds between the next person responding as being acting.

The effects are poor, I mean really poor, but the zombies at least look OK. Even if you are the biggest zombie fan in the world you will hate this movie, the positive reviews are so misleading they can only be written by someone with a vested interest in you watching this film. Don't be fooled, this is just pathetic and the jokes - especially the credits - will only make you hate this film more.

Blair Witch without the jiggle

[Bernie4444 · 1/10 · 24 February 2024]

Various people in a quasi-dating mode, camp out near a cemetery when the obligatory meteor shower hits. Naturally, this raises zombies. Can you say hors d'oeuvres? It is just a matter of time until someone says, "Stay in the car".

Great dialog "Glad to meet you and your car." Leftover bubblegum music for the background. They would have been better off playing "Don't Step on the Grass, Sam" during the zombie's debut. All the characters in the film are best known for being in the film "zombie Campout" (2002). The zombies look like thriller rejects. Wonder where the movie was shot? (The ranger has a faux pas Texas symbol on the jacket.) However, the long shot of the meteorites looks like Canoga Park, not downtown LA as some have thought.

The far west end of the San Fernando Valley of Southern California for hundreds of years was home to the American Indians of both Fernando and Chumash tribes. Indian villages were established at each place where a creed emerged from the canyons of the Simi Hills. These inhabitants were the original population of the Canoga / Owensmouth area.

O. K. It was shot in Flower Mound, Texas, USA. Therefore, the lake could have been Grapevine. I have a friend that bought land in Flower Mound and it looks like the spot. People go wild pig hunting there.

Strangely enough or coincidence Bunny (Misty Orman) moved from Texas to L. A. about the time of the making of this movie.

Actual bubblegum music is: Dumbhead 2002 Radioactive 2002 Pushing 2002 Forgotten 2001 Hillbilly Massacre 2001 Sheetmusic 2001 Fierce 2002 Zombie Love 2001 Grave Mistakes 2000 When I'm with you 2002 Zombie chase 2001 Perfect Girl 2002 (probably tastes like chicken) Quiet 2002 Crazy Man 2001 Forgotten 2001 Rip Off 2002 Breakdown 2000 Mars Needs Cheerleaders 2000

I predict that this movie is not campy enough or weird enough to be a cult classic.

The DVD has a few extras that you may as well watch.

I want another!

[justjammin · 10/10 · 19 June 2003]

HA!! This movie is so bad!! BUT I LOVED IT!!!

So the director shares a birthday with Ed Wood (of Plan 9 fame) it's obvious that it's his first movie. But you know what, it made me laugh, seriously, through and through. I mean, they had to have no budget for this film, but considering it's finished, and the DVD quality is great, I'm really impressed.

So I picked up the DVD at the Fango convention, and met the beautiful Misty Orman in person, she was super nice too. (And even more attractive in person.) She told me I would laugh, she was right I did laugh, and I laughed a lot!

Anyway, these other reviews below say pretty much the same thing I was going to say. It has some rough spots, but overall, it's pretty great. I'm seriously looking forward to the next project these guys put out!!

Bottom line, if you only like big budget stuff, and can't appreciate ultra low budget, very in your face funny, then stay away. But, if you have any ounce of intelligence and are up for a good hearty laugh, then go buy this DVD. IT'S TOTALLY WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!

worth adding to your collection

[jasonlwarren · 7/10 · 1 July 2003]

This movie is funny. it's very cheezy at times but the whole plot sticks with an average zombie movie. it's not that scary but then again neither is the director. when i sat down to watch it with the director for the first time i was wanting to laugh but i didn't want to hurt his feeling by laughing at his first movie. about halfway i couldn't hold it in, i busted out laughing, and Josh was like "I was wondering if you were getting it." That's when I realized it was not a horror film but a very "horrific" comedy.

Disliked

[Shadowstorm_260 · 7 February 2009]

I must say, in the long list of B movies I've savored, this wasn't particularly decent. Sure, it had some guilty pleasure moments that made me smile, but others were just plain.. well, ugly in a cinematic sense. There was a brief moment of attempted CGI(if you could call it that) and unfortunately the 'best'(used loosely) looking zombies don't appear towards the end.

((SPOILERS)) For those of you looking for some 'campy' zed flick to enjoy, this isn't it. For the devoted zombie addict it was low tier, not something I'd share with friends.. and surprisingly, no notable nudity save a few 'teaser' moments. It's like they tried to make a PG 13 'zombie' movie.

Okay, considering the limitations...

[ajservo2 · 9/10 · 1 June 2003]

It doesn't really know what it wants to be. If Zombie Campout is trying for Evil Dead funny, it's not quite fast enough or jump out of your seat enough. If it's aiming for Dawn of the dead, it's not horrific enough. As it is, the movie plays out like a big reflexive horror movie about movies. It's just kinda scattershot as to where it wants to be at the end of the day.

This is looks to be Mr. Smith's first effort, and by the look of the credits, it's obvious he poured alot of his own sweat and effort into this film. The film has it's share of flubs (texas lic. plates everywhere, and the comet lands in northern Mexico) but it's really all in the details, and this film doesn't need to mess with it. There's no mics in frame, or crew members in the shot (well, maybe one...)

It's got some good laughs, the cast looks like they had fun (smiling zombies tell all) making it, and has really nice gore FX for a budget like this. I did spot a rubber baseball bat, otherwise everything was appropriately nasty looking when it needed to be. There aren't any FX where someone's passing off cow liver as a victim's stomach (like Romero's done...) so big ups on originality in the gore. One of the victims looked like she was really missing her arms...

I'd recommend it to someone who likes a good laugh, or anyone wanting to stage a MST3K-eque show. Better than Manos: the hands of fate or Red Zone Cuba, but maybe not some of the later Police Academy movies. I eagerly await whatever Mr. Smith does next.

An Off-Beat Homage to Zombie Horror!

[John_Forkner · 5 May 2003]

Review, `Zombie Campout' By John Forkner

Camp: [noun:] 1. A place where a group of people is temporarily lodged in makeshift shelters. 2. Artificiality of manner or style, appreciated for its humor, triteness, or vulgarity. (American Heritage Dictionary)

I'm going to come right out and say it: While `Zombie Campout' may not redefine low-budget zombie horror, it's the stuff cult classics are made of.

The plot is paper-thin. Four friends go on a campout looking for a little action, when radioactive meteorites crash into a nearby cemetery, causing the corpses to come to life. These `things' (you can't say `zombie' in a zombie movie) make short work of the other campers, adding them to their perpetually marching, moaning horde of the undead. Can Bunny, Tammy, Trevor, and Steve escape this zombie campout and still have time to make out?

Zombie horror has been a staple of filmmakers for decades. From the pop-culture phenomenon, `Evil Dead' (and its two subsequent sequels) to the recent `Resident Evil' and upcoming `28 Days Later', zombie films have enjoyed a considerable following. But none of these is sacred when a spoof like `Zombie Campout' comes along, cramming in every zombie/horror movie cliché it can think of and lampooning them into oblivion.

Writer, producer, director Joshua D. Smith has his work cut out for him; and while it's not hard to appreciate his vision as a director, his real talent lies as a writer. The script is brimming with cheesy dialogue and clever gags, many of which are mercifully subtle (one of the funniest involving two blonde babes tying their hair back with trashy 70's porno music playing in the background), and include a handful of self-effacing asides (as yet another blonde babe observes, `This is like something out of a bad zombie movie'). Perhaps most praiseworthy is Smith's understanding and masterful use of the element of surprise. Just when I was starting to sink into my chair, another gag I wasn't anticipating was thrown at me, keeping me on my toes and into the film; something most recent big-budget comedies have real trouble pulling off. Bravo.

The acting is a bit of a mixed bag and in a campy movie such as this, where stilted dialogue and under-energized performances abound, it can sometimes be difficult to tell what's supposed to be good and what's supposed to be bad. While the entire cast seems a bit reluctant to jump on the collective `act scared' bandwagon, it's ultimately Steve (John M. Davis) and Trevor (Jeremy Schwab) who are the only ones who convincingly pull off `fear' (to be fair, the two lesbian campers have the only truly frightening moment in the film and pull it off nicely). But where the film really bogs down is in Director Smith's tendency to trap his heroes in cars and cabins surrounded by zombies and have the `What do we do now?' discussion. Everything screeches to a halt and the pacing is thrown, thanks, in no small part, to the ladies who, with zombies closing in on all sides, somehow manage to remain completely nonchalant. What happened to the urgency?

Aside from this tricky issue of acting scared in a horror movie, the four leads are fine. Jeremy Schwab's transformation from the ever-smiling `smart kid' to protective "stud" boyfriend feels perfectly natural. And when John M. Davis lets go and commits to his part, his face lights up and.is it just me, or does he bear a slight resemblance to `Evil Dead's' Bruce Campbell? The lovely Misty Orman, as Bunny, brings some nice energy to the screen, particularly in her kick-butt action sequence where she takes on a horde of the undead. Tiffany Black plays the uncomfortable Tammy (whose last boyfriend was a `total poophead') nicely, but those late-night shootings must've taken their toll on her because she seems a tad sedated. Other standouts are Deborah Png as the shotgun-toting, Vietnamese-spouting camper, and Larry Purtell as the Park Ranger whose so-bad-they're-good line readings are worth the price of admission.

The picture, though filmed in widescreen with digital video, is rather grainy and low quality, but with a low-budget film, that's to be expected and it really doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the movie as a whole. The editing is a tad choppy at points and there is a bizarre little intermission stuck in about halfway through the movie when nothing is happening. Why not put it at a cliffhanger moment?

Special effects are used throughout, many of the caliber that would make Ed Wood proud. Never mind that the CGI clip of falling meteorites shows them landing off the coast of Mexico when we've established that the story takes place in Texas. It sure looks cool and that's clearly all that matters. There's also a great use of explosives when two rednecks attempt to blast a mob of zombies away with pistols, shotguns, uzis, and finally.well.I won't give it away. The zombie effects range from simple black shadows around the eyes to detachable limbs and rotting faces that squirt blood. The film even pokes fun at its own limited effects when zombies attack a fisherman and begin to pull off his arms and legs, only to discover that all of his limbs are prosthetic.

With the characters often referring to the script for advice, takes to the camera, shots of guys reading super-macho magazine `Trucks and Boobs', and an army of bikini-clad blonde babes, `Zombie Campout' knows exactly what it is and never lets the audience forget it. The combination of off-beat humor, campy dialogue and performances, and B-movie quality special effects make this film quite a nice surprise and a gory treat for fans of zombie horror and anyone else with a sense of humor, living or dead.

Very funny!

[nw75093 · 10/10 · 6 May 2003]

If you like to laugh, then this would be the movie to check out. For anyone who enjoys classic comedy/horror film this appears to have taken from it all. The script is well written and the actors do a good job on the dramatic scenes while never letting the audience forget that this is not a movie to be taken too seriously. Overall, I enjoyed the actor's portrayal of Trevor best and found the movie to be very funny!

Brilliant

[rogers_mitch · 9/10 · 3 June 2006]

A bit disjointed at moments but overall a great religious allegory. From some of the other reviews it is obvious that many people didn't "get it". The zombie motif is a brilliant metaphor for the ham-fisted efforts of the L.D.S. religion. The zombies symbolize the persistent evangelical (and often mindless)efforts of its missionaries. The story seems to be designed to be entertaining yet not overly preachy in its critique of Mormon and other evangelical religious cultures.

I found the abortive use of (almost) nudity to represent the sexual repression at play within the evangelical community at large. The director seems to be throwing Mormon hypocrisy at us, forcing us to examine our own conflicted values.

Today's current religious climate has made films such as Zombie Campout necessary. Here in the bible belt it is increasingly difficult to engage in constructive dialogs regarding religion. It appears that the writer chose the L.D.S. community for this metaphor as it seems to be the most glaringly obvious match for the analogy. I am sure that it took some amazing courage to produce this film and to find funding for something so critical of a mainstream religion.

Though some may find the religious overtones too subtle to grapple with I think this film will stand the test of time as the zombie novelty wears off. This film will go a long way to further religious diversity and tolerance.

Hokey, fun and well-intentioned

[maxvinyl · 8/10 · 25 April 2022]

Lots of hate for this movie. Some is deserved, but it also deserves some praise. First off, the script was clever and funny. It's loaded with a lot of nice looking girls.

That said, the technical aspects are where the criticism lies. The picture, sound, lighting are all very student film-esque. I honestly feel in the hands of a more experienced director, this movie could have gotten a wider release and even had a small cult following.

It does appear that the cast thoroughly enjoyed themselves making this, despite filming in the Texas summer heat. It is still a fun MST 3000 type of film that would have been better with a larger budget. Worth watching once with friends.

C+

Entertainingly cheesy film

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 9/10 · 1 September 2015]

Heading up to a local lake, a group of friends having a party on the property realize that a meteor shower has unleashed a series of zombies from the ground and decide to make a run before they're caught and changed into zombies.

This one here was a rather fun and enjoyable zombie effort. One of the best things about it is the rather fun and enjoyable atmosphere created throughout here, as this one here is the epitome of brain-less fun. This is best shown in the kind of great cheesy action to come from this one, including the one-shot sequences of the zombies running through the countryside after being resurrected as scenes of them attacking the oblivious fisherman, appearing at the security guard or the camping couple in the motor-home start this off rather well in getting to the action. As well, the redneck hunters who appear out of nowhere and begin taking them out with assault rifles, machine guns and rockets is even better as while it's quite stupid this one has a great sense of fun. There's even more enjoyable camp outside the action as the whole plot pretty much given away in a toss-away joke, the characters repeatedly make references how to behave in a horror film and the kind of attacks popularized by the zombies all give this a goofy, cheesy atmosphere that's quite funny at times. There's some great action to this, from the action on the boat-rental dock to the camp-ground battle that is full of action getting out of the cars with the dead pounding alongside them and the fights at the end with the second party getting attacked at the campground are quite enjoyable. Using one of the most logical and inventive methods of defense against zombies ever devised, a clever get- away plan that comes along and all the fun and suspense once it gets to the cars parked outside, it manages to make the film rather fun and entertaining, and there's also the fact that these different confrontations with them really manages to make this one so much fun since all the different ones allow for a great pace with plenty of big scenes throughout. Along with all the action, there's plenty of blood and gore in here, which while cheap-looking, all of these here make the film enjoyable as this did have a few small problems holding it down. One of the biggest is the self-censoring the film has towards the nudity. This one has plenty of opportunities to let it loose but comes up with ways to get around it, from a nude driver on the street filmed only at shoulder level, the in-car flashing is done the same way, changing into bathing suits is done under their shirts, a topless swim session is taken place off-screen but not seen and a later changing scene is done, admittedly humorously, by having a branch in front mimic the bobbing and weaving to keep it all hidden. The fact that it goes to such great lengths to keep it hidden is where the film comes under fire as it would've been fine had there been none at all. The other part to this is the terribly low-budget to it. From the terrible look of the zombies to the obviously fake blood to the weak CGI, this one doesn't have much to its effects at all. Overall, these are the only things wrong with it.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language and Brief Nudity.