Cannibal Campout (1988) Online

Hi All-- To be honest, I am not a B-Horror Movie person, until I was involved in the making of one. If you have read this far you must be an aficionado of the Banal, the Bad, the Bs....But they are fun to watch aren't they?

I assisted Jon McBride in the direction and coordination of this made-to-video classic. This was Jon's brainchild, and he did a lot of hard work to make it all happen. I enjoyed my part behind the camera creating scenes from the screenplay with what we had to work with. Many of the death scenes I made up on the spot, going by what Jon had in mind, then using what was available to do my best. I "made up" (without spoiling) a number of the death scenes off the top of my head, and often hand-held the camera, which at first appalled my co-workers, but I got pretty steady as time went on. I felt the hand-held feel gave me more mobility and was less restrictive than being glued to a tripod. This movie was shot with a camcorder in the woods, with no budget to speak of. I think we did some pretty good work here all things considered, and to think it is important enough to have warranted a DVD release is simply amazing in a lot of ways. The cast was very dedicated and unpaid in any way. Everyone showed up faithfully , gave up weekends for most of a summer, suffered through warm clothes to maintain continuity as the temperatures rose. Most people don't realize what goes into any film project, but here on its simplest terms, many hours were spent....I recall we had 6 two hour VHS tapes of footage--12 hours that was edited down to a 90 minute running time. I always enjoyed "Bad" movies, the fact that they are bad makes them entertaining on their own level. We more or less wanted this to be enjoyed as a bad movie. We wanted viewers to scream at their TV sets telling the campers how dumb they are. We purposely borrowed from other horror genres, both as an homage and for potential viewers to groan to themselves while quietly snickering.

I could write a lot here, and felt bad I could not make the commentary filming for the DVD, but I was unavailable on short notice at the time. But in closing I want to thank Jon McBride, Amy Chludzinski, Gene Robbins, Richard Marcus, Carrie Lindell, Christopher A. Granger, Joseph Salheb and the rest of the cast and crew who all worked so hard.

I can't wait for the DVD--I will buy one myself to see all the great extras.

Best Regards to all as I am proud to stand in the company of Edward D. Wood Jr., who was an inspiration to us all....

Tom Fisher

A long time ago, well back during the 1980's anyway, when if you had 6 friends, a camcorder and a long weekend with nothing to do you could make a movie for there were distributors who, for a hefty share of the profits, would sell it mail order for you. This resulted in a lot of movies hitting the video shelves. Oh sure, they hung around for a while but then most of the sank into the obscurity they so richly deserved. Of course now DVD is playing the role of . . . dare I say it? . . . re-animator and these movies are being resurrected for another go round.

All of which brings me to the movie I am here tonight to talk about. Submitted for your approval, CANNIBAL CAMPOUT.

Stop me if you've heard this one before: 4 best pals hit the road for a weekend of fun, take the wrong road and run into some geeky rural types who mean nothing but trouble. What? You've this plot already? Imagine my surprise! One of the characters even looks at the cannibal clan and remarks "Here come the guys from DELIVERANCE." before the trouble really starts. Our villains are cannibals but they have a good reason for their eccentric eating habits; their mother taught them that fast food and store bought food was full of chemicals and the fresher their meat the better. (I'll give you a moment to groan out loud if you wish.)

The plot is predictable in all ways but one. The female lead (Amy Chludzinsky) takes this outing to break the news to her boyfriend that she is pregnant. So right away you think that she at least is going to make it to the end of the picture, right? Well I won't spoil it for you but remember this is an indie picture not released by a major studio so it is best to approach it knowing all bets are off. The characters all have the IQ of meatloaf (the dinner, not the singer) the gore is bargain basement the acting is . . . well . . . what can you expect? One of the forest dwelling cannibals wears a mask for the whole picture and when he finally pulls it off you get a quick look at his mutated face. It is only a brief glimpse but I could swear he was wearing a Toxic Avenger mask!

This movie is soon to be re-released on DVD. Get it if you must. As for me; been there, done that, lucky to still have intact brain cells.

You can tell this movie was done with almost no money and some of the acting is hilariously bad. BUT.."hilariously bad" is not truly bad in the sense of tortuous. I was laughing quite often through this ridiculous farce. You have to hand it to someone who can make a movie about cannibals that is fun to watch. It's hard to believe this is Jon McBride's FIRST movie (well either this was his first or another low budget classic called "Woodchipper Massacre" was his first) and Blood Red Planet was a RECENT film he was a part of.

CC is 10 times better and easier to watch then BRP. McBride needs to go back to where he came from and try for more films like Cannibal Campout.

Perhaps Cannibal Campout 2, or a crossover, Cannibal Camper Woodchip Massacre! Woodchip Cannibals!

If you like hilarious bad movies with some life in them, check this one out

I had a difficult time tracking down this film. And like most people tracking down a rare, obscure 80's slasher flick, i finally found it on eBay. I watched it the first time as a horror fan, just looking for some blood and gore and i was pleasently pleased. It had the guts, lots of blood, and a dark humor towards killing people :) The second time I watched the film,I watched it as a filmmaker. I was highly impressed with the guy who made this film. The guy who directed the film (Jon McBride) acted in it, financed it, sang the music for it and edited it. And after all that hard work, he came out with a decent low budget gore flick. Sure the acting was bad, but the kids weren't professional actors and did it for free, so what do you expect? and its not half as bad as other low budget flicks, for example "Blood Lake"

There were many various angle shots that went along very smoothly, which is very uncommon for other low budget indie slasher films. If your into cannibal films and looking for an American style unlike the common Italian ones, check this film out. It does a great job at representing the American side of great cannibal films. I would love to see this film out on dvd, but highly doubt it, since no DonnaMichelle film has ever been made on an official dvd release.

This is a zero-budget film, so you must be prepared for dodgy effects. But if the actors aren't top notch, they are at least keen, and this comes out in the film. Add some great comedy-country tunes and plenty of gore, and what more could you aask for?

This is a zero-budget film, so you must be prepared for dodgy effects. But if the actors aren't top notch, they are at least keen, and this comes out in the film. Add some great comedy-country tunes and plenty of gore, and what more could you ask for?

My wife Amy was in this movie so I am a little bias but this is probably the worst movie of all time. In fact it is so bad it is great. I mean it is sort of like the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in that it is a movie you love to watch just to make fun of it. There is a small amount of nudity, lots of profanity, and lots of realistic gore. I suppose that some people like it for the gore but that is not why I love this movie. What I love is the sheer stupidity of the characters and ridiculous dialog. If your a fan of Monty Python type humor you will get it, if you are not, you won't and should probably avoid this movie. That is unless you are just into gore.

Note they are re-releasing this movie on DVD. Cast members reunited at Granger Musik and Video Werks on 07/25/06 to shoot interviews and commentary for the new DVD. Believe it or not there may also be music video included on the DVD, a movie inspired song called "Cannibal Campout" by the horror punk band "The Vladimirs". ( http://www.mp3.com/vladimirs/artists/435603/songs.html )

Made around the same time as Troma's superior "Redneck Zombies" this is still a look at what a old fashioned VHS camcorder could do back in the 80's that didn't involve porno. Create some extremely "so bad it's good" horror movies filled with extreme gore and dark humor. Usually because these movies were made ineptly and the producers knew it there would be no chance for it to be theatrically or even be submitted to the MPAA so they loaded it with offensive violence and carnage..the fetus eating scene proceeded Troma's Terror Firmer scene by 10 years and was done with such bad taste that it's impossible to not like. Fun stuff 8/10

Besides the obvious fact that this had to of been a low budget film I still found it to be hilarious. Most of the time I found myself laughing more at the way the movie was made and the bad acting then the movie itself. Through it all this movie pulls it off and is a must see for a good laugh.

4 Teens go away for the weekend,only to meet up with 3 maniacs in the woods. Where have I heard that before? This is done in the same vein as Troma's Redneck Zombies only not as gory. The background music is way too loud, and there's some very happy singing by the bunch on the way up, but if you can get past that you'll have a lot of fun with it. Also featured is a very young John Farrell.

While Cannibal Campout is a well made sov horror film, and considered a classic of the genre by many, it is lacking in one main aspect, the acting. Usually these types of films can stand out for their low budget production values, but make up for it in the dedication of the actors. This film fell pretty short of that, with most every actor/actress giving an atrocious performance that gave it all an even cheaper feel. But as most don't seek out this sort of film for the a-list actors, lets set that aside and look at the rest of the project. The direction is phenomenal. The way the dark and daunting score (with a part borrowed from Aerosmith's Dream On?) undermines the slow woodland trek of the camping party creates a very effective eery feeling very lost in today's Hollywood horror films. The Deliverance/Southern Comfort/Texas Chainsaw backwoods antagonists motif is a little over the top and over acted, and probably could have been more frightening with less profane dialogue and an overall quiet stalking tone to the characters. The camera work also fell short in some scenes where it's harder to make out who's talking, and to who. One could compare this film to Friday the 13th, but with a scarier feel and much more heart from all involved. If you're a fan of sov horror, or anything low budget but with a certain so-cheap-it's-scary-and-realistic feel, this is definitely a title to check out, but not for the weak stomached as this is by far one of the goriest and most disturbing films of the genre. The gore aspect alone ruins re-watch value for me and lowers my rating. In my opinion, it could have been just as good or better without it.

I admit I watch a lot of bad movies and there even are some that I champion, but Cannibal Campout is not a title I recommend even for people who like to watch crappy movies. Cannibal Campout has its share of gore sure, but its mostly a bore and hard to watch. The plot is nothing any horror fan has'nt seen before(and done better), a trio of hicks hang out in the woods and stalk, kill and eat vacationers camping nearby. Production value, artistry and acting are non existent in this homegrown, hand-held horror film. That dosn't bother me though, what does is that it is slow paced and boring when there is no gore happening on screen. I'm sure this was a labor of love for those involved with this production, but for those of us outside their freindship circle, it is painful to watch.

i found this movie in the small town of Aurora, Nebraska. odd that it should be there, but i took a look nonetheless. its an SOV film, meaning that a bunch of kids with camcorders probably borrowed from school made it. its entertaining at least. bad acting and stupid plot aside. it should be considered a cult classic though, just because of "the gimp" you have to see it to believe it. its a bad movie, but one that everyone should watch before they die.

mat "drumladdy" (the hot carls)

I'm an avid lover of low budget and even some trash and that's why I decided to give a chance to "Cannibal Campout".

I won't get into the plot because you've seen it before. It deals with the typical group of friends who get lost in a road and guess what? end up being victimized by a group of American cannibals in the woods.

The movie was shot on a handycam obviously but that doesn't means that it's something bad because the direction has an edge and even tries "different" angles. Some humor is involuntary I might add.

Sure, the gore is cheap and the acting atrocious but the movie has a heart and even tries too hard to impress the audience. The American cannibal sub-genre isn't very explored and this is a prime example of how independend and low budget at least tries...

Watch it only if you are a fan of ultra low budget and trash overall.

"Cannibal Campout" is an ultra low-budget, straight-to-video, shot-on-video feature with your everyday college students camping in the woods pitted against a few degenerates who have an acquired sweet tooth for debauchery and human flesh. If it sounds like the typical '80s slasher met some cliché backwoods folks, then you wouldn't be very far off the mark.

This is purposely campy and as a saving grace sometimes humorous as a result. This has self-degradation in the form of outright parodying another movie--Friday the 13th, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw, even Top Gun--to being whimsical on its own with certain lines and out-there villains. The music ranges from simple melodies to random keys in a desperate attempt to spice up the not-so-scary mood and paper-thin story line. The acting fluctuates between wooden line reading to nearly pulling off that character. Richard Marcus' character is hands down the most effective due to this kind of crackbrained eccentricity that's in the vein of Chop-Top. There's blood and guts shown mostly in full view instead of the camera pulling away like in a number of "Friday the 13th" sequels due to censor boards.

You can't expect much from these lost, need-an-extensive-map-to-find-'em '80s pictures except to get some kind of brief entertainment or nostalgic value. This could have been cut in half to make an effective short, as there's not much to fall back on as a viewer between all the walking-in-the-woods filler except so many death scenes and some tongue-in-cheek quirkiness that can soon be forgotten after it's over. (Also submitted on http://fromblacktoredfilmreviews.blogspot.com/)

Yup, that's right, this movie is awesome. Only fans of splatter movies can fully enjoy this, for the gore is just great. Yeah the plot is stupid, yeah the acting is atrocious but the gore is well done. And this was home made! The plot is as thin as any of the Hollywood "bad girls", but it's nice, it all fits well and makes sense. It's also extremely generic. 4 friends go off into the woods, they meet cannibals (replace cannibals with creepy, recluse killer), and start to party. But, wouldn't you know it, the cannibals (again, killer) come and kill them all. The ending explaining the reason for eating people, because fast food has harmful chemicals. Yup, ending does suck. Throw in a back story of two kids trying to prank the 4 friends, who, of course, die.

The acting is really, really, REALLY bad. But, who cares, this was self made, no budget, for fun on a video recorder. Yup, video. Don't expect emotionally charged acting, expect what it is, kids having fun. They had no experience in anything, the reviewers got to remember that.

The best part about this movie is the gore and effects. They are works of wonder. The blood flows and body parts fly. The have the over-the-top gore aspects of early Peter Jackson. With no budget, the managed to make gore scenes that surpass a lot of the bigger budget slasher/splatter films of the '80s.

So, if you're looking for some cheap thrills, low budget gore and don't care about plot or acting, watch this!!!

This low budget / no budget horror movie is awesomely gory and hysterically funny but it is not for those with a weak stomach or those who are easily offended (i.e. nudity, profanity disembowelment, dismemberment, cannibalism, and sick humor). Dopey (but lovable) college students go camping and get sliced, diced, pureed and eaten by The Three Stooges. This is not a mainstream film but one which was shot direct to video back in the 80's and is similar to Troma productions like Toxic Avenger. This movie can only truly be appreciate by those of us with a sick, demented, sense of humor and an appreciation for low budget horror flicks.

You got to love any horror film that takes place out in the woods. Cannibal Camp Out takes place in just that. Somewhere in the woods of New England, four not so brave or smart teens decide to take a weekend vacation in the middle of nowhere. There, they meet up with three crazy cannibals who are very hungry. Guess what happens next! Starring John McBride, Cannibal Camp Out is an example of good gore horror with bad acting.

I saw this movie when I was in High school. My friends and I still use it to gauge just how bad a movie is. It looks as though a couple of friends got together with a video camera and did a school project. That's the quality of the piece of crap. It's very funny, only because it's so stupid. You can actually see someone off scene(supposed to be off scene) throw blood at a sign when one of the female "actresses" gets killed. Its great to watch with a few beers and some friends for good laughs... that's about it.

This unoriginal splatter-flick is only exciting _because_ it's formulaic and silly. It's replete with one-liners and bad cuts that made me proud of my talents with a camcorder. Only see this one with friends -- you'll be bored to death if you're alone, but you'll be able to reflect on how bad this movie is if you bring company.

The gnarly 80's retro hell prologue deftly sets the tone for the considerable campiness to come: a luckless lady jogger wearing leotards, a tank top, leg warmers and a headband gets brutally bagged by a machete-wielding lunatic. The film gets worse/better after that dubious beginning. Four uniformly obnoxious and unlikable young folks venture into a remote desolate forest for a camping trip. The quartet run afoul of a trio of dirty, hairy, chortling, foul-mouthed and inhospitable greasy backwoods sleazeball cannibal degenerates who proceed to gleefully kill and eat them. This bargain basement bottom-of-the-barrel poor man's "The Hills Have Eyes" represents dimestore Do-It-Yourself indie fright feature schlock at its most deliciously dire and dismal. This perfectly putrid picture commits all the essential bad film mistakes to qualify as a wonderfully rancid piece of wretched dreck: ham-fisted (mis)direction, poky pacing, horrendously rank amateurish acting from a game no-name cast, cruddy sound, shaky, ugly, washed-out shot-on-video photography, a trite and totally predictable script, a meandering narrative, a gratingly droning and redundant synthesizer sludge score, a dab of gratuitous female nudity, lousy dialogue ("I have a feeling this is going to be a weekend we're never going to forget"), a dreadful group singalong in a van, cheesy excessive gross-out gore (fake blood sprays everywhere whenever someone gets gruesomely offed), and a simply jaw-dropping incredibly jaunty ending credits theme song. The undeniable tasteless highlight occurs when two of the flesh-eating fiends butcher a pregnant woman and joyfully devour her fetus! A hilariously horrible horror howler that's not to be missed.

There is nothing redeemable about this film that I consider to be among the worst of the worst. There is an awful musical number on the way to the campground which is more brutal just to listen to than to watch the cannibals attack the camp. The music is wretched, the film was made with a handicam...and not a very good one at that. I do find a certain appeal in the utter lack of talent and some of the gore is just not reproduceable in any way. The embryo scene...that's all I will say. And the whole movie almost made me go blind.

And for all of you B-Horror fans out there who put zero to little thought into the production value of your B-entertainment. For those of you who would rather witness disgusting, unrealistic gore, rather than take in an intriguing plot, and for all of you schlock enthusiasts who don't mind (or even welcome) comically lousy acting, as well as an equally comical low budget, here it is, the newest addition to your collection.

Hey, who wants to go camping with a bunch of tools? Yeah, me either, but John McBride will be our tour guide, and we know what that means... unintentional humor all around!! McBride, and his handful of "actors" (one of which has an unusually round head) take it to the woods for the weekend, telling lame jokes, and walking around, and sitting around, and doing a pathetic job at acting like they know each other. Meanwhile, the local inbred psychos, who, long ago, promised their parents, "no more junk food", are lurking the woods for campers to torture, rape, murder, and, of course, to cannibalize, all the while unfittingly pretty, piano music plays in the background, over, and over, and over again. Yay for incompetence!!

It occurred to me that, from my comments, it may seem like I think very little of this movie, which is certainly not the case at all. I mean, really, what about "Cannibal Campout" doesn't sound hilarious? Most fans of B-Horror feel like they can handle watching just about anything, as long as it wasn't shot on video. believe it or not, low-budget Horror does get "worse", and more obscure than Ed Wood, and Herschell Gordon Lewis. Welcome to the not-so wonderful world of Z-Horror. You can't rightly call yourself a real fan of the schlock unless you delve into the seemingly unlimited supply shot-on-video micro-budget's of the 80's. So, any super-8 haters out there looking to change their ways, Cannibal Campout is a swell place to start. For more carelessly produced, bottom-of-the-barrel, shot-on-video, Z-grade garbage from the 80's, check out Todd Sheet's Zombie Rampage. As for this one, sure, why the hell not? It's not like watching it will make you any dumber... right? 7/10

This movie was shot by Jon McBride. He did a great job as this is one of his earlier films that was shot off the cuff. You will find many, many negative feedbacks on this film but I believe a lot of folks truly miss the point in films shot on video. It's not suppose to look as if coming straight out of the box office as a smash hit topping the boards as the new #1 hit movie. The true beauty in these films lie in the artistry displayed by the simple "cheese factor". Exactly, it's a "work of art". I'm hoping a lot more folks take this into consideration and dig deeper into films alike. You will have much more respect for films like this if you look at it from that angle ( no pun intended ).

Cheers & Enjoy- Dain

Cannibal Campout (1988)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Shot on a camcorder horror film is actually fairly well made even though the budget couldn't have been over a couple thousand dollars. Four teens go into the woods for a camping trip when three cannibal rednecks attack them. The first forty-minutes this film actually works as an interesting low-budget film. Yes, the acting is horrid but the director appears to be smart enough to fill the film with violence, nudity and he also writes some interesting villains. The film eventually loses all gas and runs on empty for the final half of the film. Having a movie like this run nearly 90-minutes is a problem when twenty-minutes could have been hacked off. The film also features a simple, low key music score, which isn't too bad and the gore effects, while cheap, also manage to be entertaining.