Summerhouse Slaughter (2023)

Summerhouse Slaughter (2023). 1h 10m | Not Rated

“Arriving at a training camp in the woods, a diverse group of cheerleaders arrives at the camp and decides to start their training there, but as personal pettiness starts to strike the group alongside a mysterious killer they must try to resolve their differences to get away from the killer alive.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis was a rather fun indie slasher effort. What works so well for the film is the adherence to the old-school formula when it comes to the general style and approach that it takes to its material. Starting off with the prototypical prank gone wrong against a slew of victims that sets everything in motion, the arrival at the location years later and revealing the trauma thatu0026#39;s been lurking inside over the coincidence thatu0026#39;s kept them alive the entire time is all a classic formula tactic in these kinds of slasher efforts. Rife with an authentic atmosphere and some of the later setups that are prevalent in the genre, thereu0026#39;s a really enjoyable old-school tone present in the film. As well, once it gets to the stalking and slashing thatu0026#39;s at the center of the story thereu0026#39;s a lot to like. The initial prank is quite gruesome and graphic, getting this off to a fine start with the rest of the shocking kills throughout here. The start of this one at the camp where the killer takes the disguise off the victim is a rather fun sequence, much like the rampage throughout the rest of the film where the killer strikes victims in the bathtub or in the bedroom among other sections around the camp manages to generate some fun scenes. Again employing the old-school setup of the killer never being visible and only using shadows or parts of their body to orchestrate the kills, all of which combines with the fun pace that always keeps something going to give this one a lot to like about it. Thereu0026#39;s not much in the way of holding this one down. The biggest problem here is the rather underwhelming finale where this goes against a majority of the usual approaches in the genre in the final battle against the killer comes up a little short. Itu0026#39;s incredibly rushed and barely features any kind of physical interaction in terms of stalking and chasing that usually gets introduced in a slasher effort in favor of a verbal confrontation involving the final girl and killer about the motivations behind it which doesnu0026#39;t have the same ring to it. As well, some of the low-budget issues that are normally found in this type of film show up, from the limited sets, guerilla approach to filmmaking and some of the special effects work but these are more notable elements about the film than outright flaws.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.”