When Jason (Fred Hechinger, Kraven the Hunter) turns down a summer law internship to help his friends run their summer camp, Camp Pineaway, the socially awkward 20-something gets way more than he bargained for.
This turned out to be a classically set up slasher horror film. While it does lean into the classic tropes, there are a few twists that make it watchable. The scene is set with the camp owning couple John and Kathy enjoying a couple of beers on the lake shore next to a campfire. The first kills are interesting enough.
The next day the counselors start arriving, letting us know who they are and what each character is about. Jason is dropped off by his nagging mother. Demi (Pardis Saremi, The Pom Pom Murders) arrives with a carload of designer luggage and a mind to continue her influencer streaming. Chris and Bobby drive down in a convertible, convinced that their first summer as counselors instead of campers will get them laid. You get the idea.
After settling in, of course people start getting murdered. Jason is the first to find a body, and his reaction is understandably hysterical although maybe just a touch manic and over the top. However the rest of the group react so blandly, you wonder if they made a mistake in editing. In a group of six or eight people, you'd think at least one would have some sort of reaction, if only to look around the group to see how they're reacting. It was odd and felt awkward.
Other than that, as things develop, the movie is interesting and worth a watch. No real jump scares, just a killer stalking prey.
There were a couple of laugh out loud moments for me, including the tennis racket bug zapper in the opening scene. When I worked at Walmart, we could not keep those in stock, so seeing them in regular use was funny to me as I always wondered where they all went.
Surprisingly, despite some brutal killings, there were no Oh Shit moments, except maybe when you figure out what happened in the second kill. A couple of eyeroll moments that I won't spoil, but are worth a "What were they thinking?" moment.
If you like casual slashers without any big deep meaning or lore, this movie is for you.
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