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Cheerleader Camp (1988) More at IMDbPro »

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40 reviews in total

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12 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
camp trivia classic to the max, 22 April 1999

Author: L. Lion (laughing_lion@yahoo.com) from Los Angeles

Is it terrible? Errr, yeah. Do they really have such things as Cheerleader Camps? The plot is remarkable for a teen slasher movie: not only do the slashing at a summer camp, but it is a summer camp for CHEERLEADERS!

Just the fact that cheerleaders are getting slashed at a summer camp is enough to bring a smile to the face of anyone who loves terrible 80's teen movies, but it is the CASTING that elevates this one to the top of the heap. They have dragged out some of the most bedraggled early 80's teen icons for roles in this. Under what rock did they find Leif Garrett? He doesn't even have a chance to sing. In case you're not up on your trivia, Leif was Brooke Shield's first boyfriend when she was a 13-year old sex symbol (although it was Dean Cain that got to break her in at Princeton). Leif was a Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine staple of the late 70's, battling it out for column space with the Bay City Rollers and even released an album that was a hit, including some of the least inspired Beach Boys covers ever. Then he completely disappeared to the C. Thomas Howell nether regions, only much deeper than C. Thomas has delved. In the Brooke Shields role we have Betsy Russell, who was kind to Phoebe Cates what Phoebe Cates was to Brooke Shields in the early 80's. Rounding out the casting coup are two Playboy Playmates, which is always good for the trivia buff, especially when one of them is Terry Weigel, the only playmate I know of who went on to make hardcore porn. I don't have anything bad to say about Lucinda Dickey, except the idea that the MASCOT also goes to cheerleader camp was just too inspired for words. It simply can't be expressed the joy I get knowing that this film exists. It is a pinnacle of its sort.

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10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
"Fleshy" horror flick., 27 October 2002

Author: gridoon

This is supposed to be a horror film, but the filmmakers were obviously too preoccupied with the oodles of (first-rate, I must admit) nudity and sex-related jokes to care very much about the "horror" aspect. The film does have at least one astonishingly gory scene, but the killer's identity is painfully predictable; it's practically spelled out for you. Betsy Russell's performance is better than this film deserves. Seriously. (**)

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10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
One of the better Slashers Ive seen, 7 October 2003
Author: fanqarm from kngstn, washington

Yes, Cheerleader Camp is a bit cheesy, but I feel it's one of the better slashers I've seen. In the tradition of Sleepaway Camp type movies, it really delivers comically as well as the suspense and horror. Laden with mid 80's sex and shenanigans, snobby cheerleaders, creepy care-takers and the lovable, overweight video voyeur Timmy. How could anyone refuse?

Although I feared that Leif Garret would destroy the authenticity of the movie, after the first five minutes I realized it could not be done. He really captured the sleazy boyfriend persona quite well. And I was really happy to see Lucinda Dickey (from Breakin' & Breakin' 2) as 'Cory' the team mascot.

So if you ever see this in a video store, be sure to rent it. But don't hold out on trying to locate the sequel. There's a rumor that it doesn't even exist. Maybe Uma Thurman knows.. She supposedly starred in it.

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7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
A fun slasher flick for lovers of B-movies only!, 18 September 2000

Author: jimmyplm from Chapel Hill, NC

I grew up on cheesy 80's slasher movies. That's why I have developed a thick skin when it comes to films. I can appreciate almost anything now that contains a few murders and some random nudity. (Believe me, I know how awful that sounds).

Cheerleader Camp is one of the movies that I loved best in my youth, and still enjoy to this day. It is one of those movies that doesn't expect you to think too much while you watch. It is simple eye candy.

I think it has a pretty good plot for a horror flick (with a very unexpected ending). It is also funny to see just how low former teen idol Leif Garrett could go (who would ever have pictured him a slasher flick like this one?). I think that the characters are all very likeable, and you actually pity them when they get picked off one by one.

Fans of B-movies HAVE to love this one!

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8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Russell underrated, 29 May 2005

Author: metalrox_2000 from United States

If there had been a bigger budget, this would have been THE slasher flick of the 1980's. It was much better then another camp series, sleepaway camp, and the acting was much better then other b-movies. One thing that worked against it, however,was the rather generic title, and it's alternate title, bloody pom poms, wasn't any better. Had more attention been paid to this movie, Leif Garrett would have been on a major comeback, and Besty Russell, perhaps the least known, and most eye pleasing of any 80's starlet, would have been a a list star. Alas, in 1987, this good movie came and went, while much attention was paid to big studio stinkers like ishtar, The Golden Child, among others. How Besty Russell was never an a list star, is a loss.

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Killer to the left! Killer to the right! Gonna kill us all! Fright! Fright ! Fright!, 9 June 2006

Author: Woodyanders (Woodyanders@aol.com) from The Last New Jersey Drive-In on the Left

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Hey, what do you get when you cross a cheerfully dippy T&A-ridden teen sex comedic jiggle romp with a more nasty and gory slice 'em and dice 'em up body count horror slasher opus, adding a dash of "Meatballs"-type silly summercamp stupidity hi-jinks for good goofy measure? Why, you get this so-cheesy-it's-downright-choice late 80's direct-to-video junk about a mysterious murderous lunatic brutally butchering assorted lovely young lasses who've gathered together at Camp Hurrah for a big annual cheerleader contest.

Toothsome 80's trash movie queen Betsy ("Tomboy," "Avenging Angel") Russell and the ever-luscious'n'lissome Lucinda ("Breakin',' "Ninja 3: The Domination") Dickey star as the main terrorized targets of the killer's wrath. "Playboy" centerfold Rebecca Ferratti, "Penthouse" Pet Krista Pfanza and a pre-porno Teri Weigel (sporting normal-sized, non silicone-enhanced natural breasts, no less!) supply lots of scrumptious eye candy in often undraped supporting roles. Among the prime suspects are the snippy head counselor (superbly bitched to snarky perfection by Vickie Benson, who's now an acting teacher), a creepy mute cook, and the sloppy tubby handyman (deliciously overplayed with mucho hambone aplomb by the inestimable George "Buck" Flower).

Director John Quinn really delivers the pleasingly sleazy low-brow schlock movie goods with lip-licking flair and enthusiasm: there are genuinely shocking outbursts of ferociously grisly violence, a satisfyingly substantial number of gratuitously bared breasts on display, 70's teen hunk pin-up Leif ("Macon County Line," "Devil Times Five") Garrett singing a hilariously hideous rap song, a quick, steady pace, solid production values, a truly jolting surprise twist ending, lively performances from the entire cast, and some amazingly atrocious pun-laden dialogue (all time favorite line: "I think we'd all be better off if she'd think more about the team and less about getting honey on her muffin!"). Anchor Bay work their usual up-to-snuff magic with their excellent extras-loaded DVD: Besides a sparkling first-rate transfer and widescreen presentation struck from the original negative, we've also got a very entertaining and illuminating commentary by Quinn and producer/actor Jeff Prettyman (who appears in the picture as a useless lecherous sheriff), three trailers, an alternate title sequence, behind-the-scenes photos, and a poster and still gallery.

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8 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
not a bad slasher flick, 28 October 2004
Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY

Hey now, this mostly gets slammed in reviews but frankly, it's a fairly decent slasher flick. In fact better than a lot that I've seen, really. This motley crew of cheerleaders (including two guys, one a faded 70's pop star and the other a fat slob) show up at a competition for cheerleaders and mysteriously, some of them are getting killed off. Buck Flower puts in an appearance as his usual hard-drinking dirtbag type of handyman, and there's a mysterious cook that never says a word who's busy chopping up meat in the same vicinity as the frozen dead body of the first girl that gets killed? Oh my. Now is he a suspect? MMMMMaybe. There are a few "red herrings" dangled out in front for all to see. There's also mascots, from all the schools: a mouse (or rat?) an alligator, a chicken, etc. All of this is a bit on the silly side but the killings are fairly nasty & the identity of the killer is fairly well cloaked up until almost the end. Overall, not a bad flick, if you like slashers. For some stupid reason I thought Betsy Palmer was in this flick (she of "Friday the 13th" and before that, 60's game shows) but it was Betsy Russell, duh, I felt kind of dumb when I realized that after waiting for Betsy Palmer to be revealed as the mysterious killer. Oh well, guess that's what happens when one watches too many of these. 5 out of 10 stars.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Porky's meets Friday The 13th, 1 May 2007

Author: acidburn-10 from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Cheerleaders at a remote campsite training for a competition only to be killed off by one by one in this Friday The 13th clone with a mix of Porky's. This is supposed to be a dead serious horror film so they say but plays more like a horror/comedy. Throw in pretty teens taking their clothes off, red herring suspects a heroine with emotional problems, the sex-starved boyfriend and what do you have a generic slasher movie but this one is fun.

The movie definitely never fails to be entertaining but fails to work when it tries to be more serious like Alison (Betsy Russell) never convinces me as the lead heroine I thought maybe one of the other supporting cast could have carried it off a little better, not saying she's terrible but she just doesn't cut it but has a fine body though and plus she's given way to much screen time. The supporting characters are brilliant like the uptight camp manager Dee Dee (Vickie Benson) whose hilarious in her role especially the sex scene with the Sheriff which is definitely one of the movie's highlights, Genre veteran George "Buck" Flower is good though, given more screen time than he usually gets, as the drunken, mumbling handyman, Leif Garrett played the silmy boyfriend Brent pretty well, Cory the team mascot was really sweet or is she, played by Lucinda Dickley. But Timmy though was the highlight of them all the comic relief fat guy character who wouldn't be out of place in Porky's, he's played brilliantly by Timmy Moser, Pam (Teri Weigel) was great as the blonde cheerleader really sweet and I would have liked to have seen her as the lead and lastly Theresa and Suzy were both stunning to look at.

When it comes to the horror, don't expect any real suspense or scares. It tries pretty hard to be original with several twist endings and a killer's-identity-surprise but it's all too predictable. The killer is easy, if you just think a little (it's rarely one of the obvious suspects...) and the murders come quick and fast, with little or no gore. The film also makes a classic blunder keeping some killings off-screen!

All in all an OK time waster given an extra star just above the average five is 2 things the Cheerleaders bitchin' bodies and the Porky's type comedy.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
"Why did she kill herself? Was it something I said?", 15 May 2005
Author: Backlash007 from Kentucky

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

~Spoiler~

Cheerleader Camp (aka Bloody Pom Poms) is a late 80's entry into the slasher sub-genre that we all know and love. Most people totally dismiss it because the killings aren't all that original, there are too few of them, and there's not much gore to speak of. It is worth a watch for nostalgia's sake. Cheerleader Camp may not be the best slasher but it does probably have the most attractive cast. After all, it is a cheerleader camp. Betsy Russell and Lucinda Dickey (the Breakin' movies) are headlining this thing. It doesn't hurt that they enlisted a few Playboy playmates either. Our male leads are a balding Leif Garrett and a robust Travis McKenna, with Buck Flower thrown in as the obvious red herring. The scariest scene (albeit a totally unintentional one) is probably the one where McKenna falls off stage and lands on poor 'ole Buck's head. There were surely no stunt doubles on this picture for Mr. Flower, so Buck almost got his head caved in. Another frightful scene features Leif Garrett rapping. Whew boy. The killer's identity is entirely predictable from the get-go, but what's not predictable is the ending. The killer actually get's away!! There is some sort of conspiracy as to the existence of Cheerleader Camp II. No one can seem to verify whether is was actually filmed or not. The world may never know.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Cheesy and amusing slasher comedy., 21 July 2007

Author: HumanoidOfFlesh from Chyby, Poland

The plot of "Cheerleader Camp" is simple:Alison,who strives to be the best goes on a trip with her cheerleading squad to Camp Hurrah to compete in a cheerleading contest.After her boyfriend is caught flirting with other girls,those girls begin to turn up dead,starting with an apparent suicide."Cheerleader Camp" is one of the many slasher flick made in mid 80's.It's fun to watch and surprisingly sleazy,but I think that "Sleepaway Camp" series is even better.There is only a little bit of gore,however there are some lovely girls who show bare breasts quite often.So if you are a fan of slasher flicks give this one a look.It is certainly more enjoyable than "Berserker","Hollow Gate" or similar amateurish crap.7 out of 10.

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