Director: David Kerr
Year: 2026
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
After closing down for the summer, counselors at a summer camp try not to let their personal animosity get in the way of clearing out the campground for the end of the year, which is only enhanced when they suspect a masked serial killer from the camp’s history has returned to kill them all.
Review:
For the most part, this was an immensely likable and worthwhile indie slasher. Among the better factors within here is that this manages to feel like an effective follow-up while still employing enough on its own to stand away from that one. The return to the camp and trying to get the place settled once everyone has gone home for the summer sets them up rather nicely to get into the traditional means of summer camp slasher efforts involving seeing the counselors prepare to clear up the leftover activities from the previous campers. This sets up the majority of the film where it goes off on introducing the different counselors and how their personal animosities toward each other over the previous summer have brought toeards them together, featuring some genuine drama and arguments between everyone who’ve just spent a lot of time together to feel genuine while also giving just enough interpersonal rivalries to provide some plausible red herrings for later.
That causes this to work here to come about involving the masked killer going around knocking the group off while they try to make sense of the situation. The series of attacks here focus on the killer coming out of nowhere and setting off a complex series of actions to kill off the group, with the attack on the bunkmates in the main house, a special trap outside by the basketball court that results in a victim being hanged, another victim strapped to a tree so they can be decapitated with a shovel, the police officers being taken out with the car, and the other attacks around the camp where someone is unaware of the killer being someone else and talking them into being killed off. It allows for some creativity and some brutal gore. It all leads into the great chases around the camp where the reveal of the killer and everything takes place, making everything come together incredibly well for a lot to like here.
There isn’t much here, but it does have some minor issues. The main drawback with this one is the bizarre structure in the first half where it tends to be quite formulaic in how it treats the group of counselors and how they interact with the killer. The whole thing is based on interacting with the group interacting with each other to the point of bullying or committing a kind of criminal offense with how far they take their encounters, only to then have everything be brushed off and turned into a lackadaisical meeting that never amounts to anything and is let go, creating a sense of disconnect with everything that takes place. While the drama is impactful in how this sets up the kind of cathartic interactions for later, there’s a problem making the group as likable as they could be, which is a bit of a problem trying to set them up as likable as they want to be. The other issue here, which isn’t as bad as tis issues but does hold this back, is the eventual reveal of the killer’s motivation, as that’s immensely flimsy and disappointing when it gets fully revealed, makes no sense with what’s gone on in the previous film, and really isn’t all that logical in terms of being a genuine reason for the rampage which, alongside the low-budget limitations, are what keep this down.
Overview: ****/5
A wholly fun summer camp slasher, this one comes together immensely well with only a few minor drawbacks that are present here to keep this one down from the original. Those with an appreciation for this kind of genre effort, who are curious about it, or who are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like, while most others out there should heed caution.
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