Camp Pleasant Lake | |
---|---|
Directed by | Thomas Walton |
Screenplay by | Thomas Walton |
Produced by | Jared Safier Thomas Walton |
Starring | |
Cinematography | David M. Parks |
Edited by | George Lambriodes John Mark Triplett |
Music by | Reuven Herman |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by |
|
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Camp Pleasant Lake is a 2024 American slasher film that takes place in a camp around a 20-year-old mystery regarding a missing girl. [1] [2] [3]
This article needs an improved plot summary.(July 2024) |
Some attendees at Camp Pleasant Lake get a surprise from their past, while campers and camp counselors become victims of twisted serial killers. [4] [5] [6]
The film was released in selective theaters and VOD platforms on February 27, 2024. It was released by STARZ network on June 1, 2024, and had since been their number #1 movie for two straight weeks. [8] [15] [16]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 20% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.80/10. [17]
Darren Lucas of moviesreview101.com wrote, "The slasher subgenre has struggled in recent years and after decades of franchises dominating, could we have a new addition? Well, if you are a slasher fan, you are going to have a lot of fun with this movie." [18]
Matt Donato of Bloody Disgusting wrote, "Worse still, the film's slasher elements might be squirting red juices like sprinklers full of Kool-Aid, but the working mechanics that keep the killer slicing and dicing are a mess. There's nothing exceptional about Camp Pleasant Lake despite dialogue that tries to cheekily serve up "epic" sequences of violence — a garden-variety masked and hooded murderer stabs victims with sharp objects who drop to the floor immediately dead." [19]
Jeremy Werner of Moviehole wrote, "All-in-all, "Camp Pleasant Lake" is empty on laughs, empty on suspense, and sometimes empty on gore despite the killer slashing his way through 30 people throughout its runtime. It's really unfortunate because the idea behind the film is fantastic, the look of the killer is great for being low budget, and the killer's origin story could easily be built into a franchise, but it never blossoms." [20]
In B-Sides & Badlands, Bee Delores wrote, "Camp Pleasant Lake knocks off Friday the 13th & Stream - and it's a blast." A staged murder weekend bursts into a nightmarish wasteland worth of any of the Sleepaway Camp sequels." [21]
Michael Gingold of Rue Morgue wrote, "There's no visual invention or stylistic ambition to compensate for the microbudget look and slapdash plotting, which includes a revelation of the killer's identity that's obvious from about the 10-minute mark. Once the malefactor claims victims two separate times right in front of the other characters, and also takes out a bunch of other people in a very conspicuous (if poorly staged) way, and no one ever acknowledges, addresses or discusses these actual slayings, Camp Pleasant Lake has descended from tedious and grating to downright insulting to the intelligence. Even the most die-hard of slasher fans are advised to take their vacation elsewhere." [22]
John Soltes of Hollywood Soapbox wrote, "The acting in the movie, which is written and directed by Thomas Walton, doesn't add up to much, although there are some sinister delights from The Nun's Bonnie Aarons. The jokes don't land, and the horror is never terrifying enough for the audience to care too much. The kills are gratuitous and not terribly original." [23]
In Spectrum Culture, Miyako Pleines wrote, "There is so much tonal dissonance in this film that it becomes totally unwatchable after a point. Nothing is surprising to the viewer, and it's obvious from the very first scene who the real killers are. Basically, the story is the sort of movie you expect a seventh-grader to turn in for her English class. The only difference is that it might actually be more interesting to read that seventh-grader's story than it is to watch this film. Camp Pleasant Lake is a movie that makes you realize that it's actually truly hard to, well, make a movie. Not just anyone can do it. These people certainly can't." [24]
J Hurtado of Screen Anarchy wrote, "There's nothing new in Camp Pleasant Lake, and the things that are familiar aren't even executed well, leaving the audience to wonder what exactly is the point? The film attempts to place itself in the universe of meta horrors, acknowledging the bloodthirsty nature of many fans of the genre, the idea that the context of the bloodletting is inconsequential just as long as it doesn't stop flowing. And there is something to that idea, but the film has no interest in investigating this mindset, rather it mocks these fans as they are gleefully picked off, one by one. " [25]
In Scare Value, Bryan Staebell wrote, "The story of Camp Pleasant Lake is one of concept vs. execution. Unfortunately, the latter wins out too often. There is a fundamentally great idea at the core. When the movie is able to take advantage of it...the movie hits some nice highs. There is also a fun performance by Jonathan Lipnicki. In the end, however, there it's trying to serve too many masters." [26]
A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies, splatter films, supernatural and psychological horror films.
Lake Placid is a 1999 American comedy horror film directed by Steve Miner and written by David E. Kelley. It is the first installment in the Lake Placid film series and stars Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda, Brendan Gleeson, Oliver Platt, Betty White, Meredith Salenger, and Mariska Hargitay. In the film, a giant crocodile terrorizes the fictional location of Black Lake, Maine, while a dysfunctional group of police and scientists attempt to capture or kill the beast.
Sleepaway Camp is a 1983 American slasher film written and directed by Robert Hiltzik, and starring Felissa Rose, Katherine Kamhi, Paul DeAngelo, Mike Kellin, and Christopher Collet. The original entry in the Sleepaway Camp film series, it focuses on serial killings which occur at a summer camp for teenagers.
Jonathan William Lipnicki is an American actor who is known for his roles as a child actor. He has appeared in films such as Jerry Maguire (1996), Stuart Little (1999) and Stuart Little 2 (2002), The Little Vampire (2000), and Like Mike (2002). He also starred in the television series Dawson's Creek on The WB and Meego on CBS.
Felissa Rose Esposito, better known as simply Felissa Rose, is an American actress and producer. Rose has amassed over 150 film credits, and is best known for her work in the horror genre, for which she is recognized as a "scream queen".
Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland is a 1989 American slasher film and the third installment in the Sleepaway Camp film series. Written by Fritz Gordon and directed by Michael A. Simpson, it stars Pamela Springsteen as Angela, Tracy Griffith, Mark Oliver, and Michael J. Pollard. Taking place one year after the events in the previous film, it again follows the same transgender serial killer, Angela, who is targeting more teenagers at another summer camp.
Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers is a 1988 American slasher film written by Fritz Gordon and directed by Michael A. Simpson. It is the second installment in the Sleepaway Camp film series, and stars Pamela Springsteen as Angela, and Renée Estevez. The film takes place five years after the events of the original, and features serial killer Angela, working as a counselor, murdering misbehaving teenagers at another summer camp.
Sleepaway Camp is an American slasher film series consisting of five films, one of which was not fully completed. The franchise primarily focuses on serial killer Angela Baker and the murders she commits, largely at summer camps.
Detention is a 2011 American slasher black comedy film directed by Joseph Kahn, and co-written with Mark Palermo. The film premiered in March 2011 at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Detention stars Josh Hutcherson, Shanley Caswell, Spencer Locke, and Dane Cook.
See No Evil 2 is a 2014 American slasher film directed by the Soska sisters, written by Nathan Brookes and Bobby Lee Darby, produced by Michael Luisi, and starring Danielle Harris, Katharine Isabelle and the WWE professional wrestler Kane. It is the sequel to the 2006 See No Evil feature film. Unlike the original, which had a theatrical release, the film was released in 2014 on a direct to Blu-ray and DVD form.
Ghoul is a 2015 Czech 3D horror film, directed by Petr Jákl, written by Jákl and Petr Bok, and starring Jennifer Armour, Jeremy Isabella, and Paul S. Tracey. An American film crew goes to Ukraine to investigate stories of widespread cannibalism, only to summon the spirit of Andrei Chikatilo, a notorious serial killer and cannibal. It is shot in found footage format.
The Sky Has Fallen is a 2009 American horror film, written and directed by Doug Roos. It stars Carey MacLaren and Laurel Kemper as two survivors of a gruesome apocalypse.
Hush is a 2016 American slasher film directed and edited by Mike Flanagan, and starring Kate Siegel, who also co-wrote the film with Flanagan. The film co-stars John Gallagher Jr., Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan, and Emilia "Emma" Graves. It was jointly produced by Trevor Macy through Intrepid Pictures and Jason Blum through Blumhouse Productions.
Bonnie Aarons is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as the Nun, a personification of the demon Valak, in The ConjuringUniverse (2016–present), starring in The Conjuring 2 (2016), The Nun (2018) and The Nun II (2023). Other roles include the bum in Mulholland Drive (2001), Baroness Joy von Troken in The Princess Diaries (2001) and its sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004).
Desiree Joan Gould was an American actress. She was known for her role as Aunt Martha in the 1983 slasher film Sleepaway Camp.
The When a Stranger Calls franchise consists of American psychological-thriller installments, including the original 1979 theatrical release, its television movie sequel, and its 2006 theatrical remake, and also the 1977 short film The Sitter, which started it all. The plot centers around a teenage high school student who works as a successful babysitter, who one night is harassed with disturbing phone calls from an unknown man while she is caring for an isolated home. As she continues through the night, the calls become more threatening and she urgently seeks the help of local law enforcement, the location of the assailant is revealed to be closer than she would like; forcing the young woman to fight for her life.
Pool Party Massacre is a 2016 American comedy horror film written, directed, and produced by Drew Marvick.
In a Violent Nature is a 2024 Canadian slasher film written and directed by Chris Nash, and starring Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, and Lauren-Marie Taylor. Described as an "ambient slasher", it follows a mute killer who is accidentally resurrected from his grave in the Ontario wilderness by a group of teenagers, whom he then begins stalking and murdering. The events depicted are largely observed from the killer's perspective.
Vindicta is a 2023 American slasher film from the screenplay of Ian Neligh directed by Sean McNamara. It stars Elena Kampouris, Jeremy Piven and Sean Astin. The film centers on a rookie paramedic whose first days in a city plagued by riots becomes all the more terrifying when a sadistic serial killer begins targeting a select group of people, leading her to learn of a dark secret with connections to her own family.