Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Killer Campout Part II


Director - Brad Twigg (Milfs vs. Zombies, Shriekshow)
Starring - Kay Leahy (Bloody Summer Camp, Curtain Call), Justin P. Martin (10/31 Part 3, Shriekshow), and Brucellious Morris Jr. (Go Away, Murder in the Family)
Release Date - 2024
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Welcome to Camp Phoenix... you wont be coming home"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):


     I've been writing reviews at Horror Society for over a decade now and during that time I've befriended several amazing filmmakers. One filmmaker I met early on in my career was West Virginia native Brad Twigg of Fuzzy Monkey Films. I was introduced to Brad when he was promoting his horror comedy Milfs vs. Zombies and I've followed his career ever since. Honestly, his brand of film has always been the style of movie that I enjoy. I love the campier stories with buckets of blood that he offers viewers. Sometime back Brad released his slasher Killer Campout, and it would gain a very decent following which prompted him to create a follow up. I followed the project pretty closely, but it slipped my mind over the last few months with everything going on in my home life. That's why I was very surprised when Brad reached out to review the finished film. I couldn't say yes fast enough and had to quickly work it into my schedule. Like always, I want to thank Brad for sending this one over. 
      The film begins with a trio of youths digging up the corpse of Gene Blackwell in hopes of resurrecting him. They actually succeed and unleash the now undead killer back into the woods where he used to hunt in while a group of orphaned teens are camping nearby. 
      Director Brad Twigg and Fuzzy Monkey Films has released some seriously impressive indie horror tiles over the years. Milfs vs. Zombies may have been my introduction to his work, but it was films like WrestleMassacre, Killer Campout, Frames of Fear, and so on. With that being said, Killer Campout Part II is easily my favorite film of his. He held nothing back with this one and not only was it a fantastic sequel but it's easily one of the better slashers to come out in recent years. The acting in this one is hands down the best in the Fuzzy Monkey catalogue. Honestly, I'd be here all day if I took the time to credit everyone that did an amazing job in the film. Two of my favorite indie horror starlets, Morrigan Thompson and Angel Nichole Bradford, appear in the film for a short time which is a bit of a shame. I would have loved to see them take on a much larger role. We also see some Fuzzy Monkey regulars like Julio Fernandez, Luba Hansen, and Rick Jermain just to name a few. The story for this one is a great continuation of the first film while paying tribute to the face of slashers, Jason Voorhees. I grew up on the Friday the 13th franchise and I've always loved the slashers that take place in the woods or at a camp. Killer Campout and Part II takes the simplest of stories centered around camping and it works. Part II then adds the resurrected killer in a similar fashion to Voorhees during Friday the 13th Part VI. It works and gives the film its original slasher back with a great spin on it. Also, the film takes the story a bit further with its character development and the sub-plot around the Blackwell family. Finally, the practical effects in this one are great and so are the deaths. These death scenes are extremely violent with some of the most impressive effects I've seen in indie cinema. Overall, Killer Campout Part II is a brutal slasher and one of the better sequels I've seen. It's a movie that is as mean spirited as Terrifier and its sequel but much better. I highly recommend checking this one out if you ever have the chance. You will not be disappointed.

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