Cheerleader Camp (1988) Starring Betsy Russell, Leif Garrett, Lucinda Dickey, Lorie Griffin & Travis McKenna Written by David Lee Fein & R.L. O'Keefe Directed by John Quinn

Cheerleader Camp is not a parody in the same vein as something like 1981's Student Bodies, but more along the lines of a fun compilation of Slasher characteristics that are meant to wink at the genre fan at a time when the genre was declining. Even the cover art - which contains an iconic image of a skull faced, bottom tit showing, pompom-pumping cheerleader that many horror nerds that grew up in the 80's will immediately recognize - also has a completely silly background that clearly reveals the type of film it is. What keeps the purposeful humorous points of the film a little less than noticeable is probably how it plays its humor off. As a complete piece of film (who am I kidding?), Cheerleader Camp doesn't feel too much like a comedy, because it doesn't try to go all out at all times with jokes.

Now, that's not to say the film doesn't have straight hysterical moments, because it does, but they are possibly confused as being serious, when they clearly are not. A perfect example is the before mentioned rap scene, where fucking Leif Garrett and that fat guy from Road House rap about each of the girls on the cheer team. Actually, I shouldn't say THE cheer team when it's THEIR cheer team. Because they are cheerleaders. Leif Garrett and that fat dude from Road House. Now, if that's not funny, I don't know what is. Actually, I do and I cannot help but find it hysterical that they used Leif Garrett as the film's main stud. It was obviously a slight joke on the filmmakers part because the dude is such a schlep in the film, which, funny enough, is a pretty good look compared to the whole heroin style he sports on Celebrity Rehab.

Outside of using the equivalent of Paul Giamatti as the resident stud, Cheerleader Camp fills in the rest of the Lindo Valley cheer team with what is an all-star cast of slightly familiar 80's faces. Lucinda Dickey from both Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. Lorie Griffin who would be best remembered as the blond zoophile in Teen Wolf. Porn star Teri Weigel, who plays an integral part as one of the girls that shows off her tits. Then there's the incredible Rebecca Ferratti, who's made appearances as 'sexy lady' in Ace Ventura: Pet detective and 'Playboy Playmate' in Beverly Hills Cop 2. There's the fat guy from Road House, who, incidentally, looks just like Kurt Russell. Well, a fat version. And of course, the film's main star, Betsy Russell, best known for Out of Control. Oh, and a few Saw films, too. Then there's Buck Flowers, who really should need no introduction.

As tongue in cheek as the film comes off and being not all too scary, Cheerleader Camp is a solid Slasher film, specifically for how perfectly it encapsulates the quirks of the genre. And watching it from a modern perspective, it captures the hilarity of the 80s aesthetic quite well, too. All the girls are hot, have long flat butts, big real boobs with equally big areolas, big hair and great fashion sense. The shorts are short, even on the men, which is made even greater due to the fact that Garrett's "stud" character tucks his polo shirt right into them bastards with full confidence. All of these traits truly mix together to create a movie that is fully entertaining from top to bottom, especially if you can appreciate such cinema shenanigans.

The only real issue I have with the film is the lack of murders and how they are handled. I think the first real on screen kill comes in at the 40-minute mark, and while it's not a bad kill, overall the deaths are bland and often goreless. Nevertheless, if a Slasher can keep my attention without having a crazy amount of on screen death, it must be doing something right. However, that attention may have been kept up by the easy on the eyes cast, but attention is attention, no matter how you slice it.