Give me a F, give me a U, give me a N. Yes… FUN. Nothing more. Nothing less. Senseless, over-the-top, but fun. Probably too much fun? In its investment for energy, it really did play up the textbook gags and fooling around for the majority of the time. Teenagers will always be teenagers --- well what else would you do at Camp Hurrah. Anyhow the straight-to-video "Cheerleader Camp" is a low-budget b-grade late 80s slasher / sex comedy item opting for numerous semi-nude shots (especially when you got the likes of Teri Weigel and Krista Pflanzer in the cast), tacky blood splatter and a very tongue-cheek-approach to its traditional material. In which case much needed, because some of the cheesy dialogues can be eye-rolling and it stars a former teen idol Leif Garrett. The style is similar to other such campy slashers within the same period; "Return to Horror High" (1987) and "Cutting Class" (1989). The plot enters in a protagonist with a traumatically stressful mind, throws around typical red herrings (memorably enjoyable character turns by George 'Buck' Flowers and Vickie Benson), suspiciously telegraphed activities, absurd occurrences (like those odd dream sequences) and a silly revelation going on to a twisted ending. Everything feels purposely blatant. Director John Quinn's execution might be lumpy, but it's breezily paced and enthusiastically captured. Also the camera-work achieves some inventive angles, especially early on. The always enviable Besty Russell heads the cult cast with Lucinda Dickey (spending a bit time in a costume), Rebecca Ferratti, Travis McKenna and a delightful Lorie Griffin.

A 'Bring It On' style cheerleader competition is the setting for this enjoyably dumb 80s effort that combines the puerile humour with stalk 'n' slash parody (think Porky's crossed with Sleepaway Camp, and you won't be far off). It's incredibly stupid and unlikely to appeal to mainstream movie goers or 'serious' horror fans, but if you're a fan of trashy cult films, then this might well be worth checking out.The action begins as a team of top cheerleaders, plus hunk Brent (70s teen heart-throb Leif Garrett), fat slob Timmy (Travis McKenna), and mascot Cory (yummy Lucinda Dickey), arrive at Camp Hurrah to take part in a state-wide competition; but as cheer-leading battle commences, a mysterious killer begins to hack through the hot, high-kicking teens, leaving 'bloody pom-poms' (the film's alternative title) in their wake.As soon as lard-ass Timmy moons through the van window on arrival at the camp (perhaps the most stomach churning moment of the entire film), you know you're in for a seriously low-brow piece of entertainment, and amazingly, director John Quinn manages to keep the entertainment this unsophisticated for the entire film—quite an achievement: we get fart jokes, beautiful bimbos baring their breasts in a big-boob showdown, a cross-dressing prank, a humorous sex scene, a dreadful rap from Brent and Timmy, cheap but bloody gore, and a mascot dance-off (you ain't seen nothing till you've seen an alligator break-dance!).As far as the actual story goes, there are several possible candidates for camp maniac—including cheerleader Alison Wentworth (Betsy Russell), who is plagued by twisted nightmares and visions, shifty handyman 'Pop' (played by versatile bit-part actor George 'Buck' Flower), head camp counsellor Miss Tipton (Vickie Benson), and mullet-haired Brent—but it should come as no surprise when the real killer is revealed to be none other than Cory, the jealous team mascot (who, let's face it, is easily as hot as her pals).Whilst I'm not convinced that being relegated to wearing a reptile costume is a valid reason to go on a killing spree, it sure makes for a fittingly daft denouement to a seriously silly flick.

Simple-minded teen sex humor is punctuated with graphic slasher murders in this mediocre genre effort. Also known as Bloody Pom Poms, the film takes advantage of its central character's frequent nightmares to clog up the narrative with disturbing dream sequences. Further confusing matters is the fact that all these pretty young cheerleaders look about the same, so once the bodies start dropping it's easy to stop caring who gets it and when. Cheerleader Camp tries hard to win us over, offering goofy set pieces like horny old men spraying themselves in the face with hoses, a football-themed sex fantasy, and the most horrible "mooning" sequence ever filmed.Cheerleader Camp won't hold pleasure for any except the most dedicated Z-level celebrity watchers. Exploitation vet George "Buck" Flower mumbles and scowls his way through his role as a crusty red herring, and future hardcore-porn star Teri Weigel gets some practice from a garden tool. Ex-teenager Leif Garrett is bloodless as a philandering boyfriend, and his performance is distinguished only by an awful gelled-up hairdo and his weak, white rap duet with morbidly obese sidekick Travis McKenna. Betsy Russell had a healthy career in low-budget, low-impact exploitation films during the '80s, playing the title characters in Tomboy and Avenging Angel along with starring here. There are two Playboy Playmates and one Penthouse Pet among the toothsome cast members, and director John Quinn went on to helm an assortment of softcore sex films like Fast Lane to Vegas and Sex Court: The Movie.

"Cheerleader Camp" is an enjoyable if cheesy slasher from the time period.**SPOILERS**Traveling to cheerleader camp, Alison Wentworth, (Betsy Russell) Bonnie Reed, (Lorie Griffin) Theresa Salazar, (Rebecca Ferratti) Pamela Bently, (Teri Weigel) and Cory Foster, (Lucinda Dickey) as well as male helpers Brent Hoover, (Leif Garrett) and Timmy Moser, (Travis McKenna) show up late and get chewed up by Didi Tipton, (Vickie Benson) the camp head. As they start their training performances and all the other activities there, a suicide gets them really uneasy and starts triggering her nightmares. Trying to get on with the camp, she suspects something is wrong at the camp and decides to investigate. When her jealousy starts getting the better of her, she finds that several of the girls from camp have disappeared and that it becomes responsible from a serial killer. Realizing who the killer is, they try to get away before the killer catches them.The Good News: This is a really good cheesy slasher. The fact that there's a really nice amount of cheese is the big one. The setting, situations, humor and how it plays out shows some great cheese with the film. Along with these reasons, the main factor has to be how it plays out, with the fact that it really uses this one makes it feel really good. That even the small amount of comedy in here, based around the cheese, only adds to the fun. As a slasher in itself, it isn't bad and does have some good moments. The stalking scene down at the lake is really interesting, as well as the walk-through of the cabin towards the end. Any time taking place near the woods is good enough, and the few times it tries to set-up the suspense is really nicely used. The kills here aren't bad at all, as there's a slashing done with razors hidden inside pom-poms, being crushed between a van and a tree trunk, having a bear trap close on the face, having their wrists slit and several gunshots, as well as the two center-piece kills. Although they aren't original, the fact that it really sells itself on these, as well as getting it's goriest scenes, make them the real reason to see this. They're going to be pretty obvious as time is spent on them to get them over, and won't be ruined. That the majority of these happen in the film's last half-hour gives these a really frenetic pace and keeps it interesting. The last factor here is that the film really pulls out a spectacular twist that is really surprising. It's magically one of the best things about it as it's really unexpected, comes off believably and is a great shock that it comes off as such. These here are where the film really serves well.The Bad News: This one here doesn't have a whole lot wrong with it. The films cheese is it's greatest deficit. There's the fact that it doesn't appeal to all makes that really obvious. Some of the film's cheese, namely the pranks pulled and many moments of it's attempted humor, are so cheesy that it can become painful to sit through. The very fact that this one even has as much cheese as it does will likely be a serious point of contention among some, not nearly for how bad they're done but because they're cheesy to start off with. This will hinder the film a lot and really drives it down. Aside from the cheese, another small flaw is with all the cheerleading scenes. Granted, these are a necessity, but it has far too many and really doesn't have to have as much. This one even tries to have several moderately long sequences spread throughout rather than simply a few here and there. That also brings out the other flaw, the film's slow first half. With most of the kills at the end and a lot of the cheering and pranking done at the beginning, it starts off pretty slow. These here really hurt the film.The Final Verdict: While it's not that bad and actually has a lot of good stuff going for it, there's a cheesy aftertaste that some might not appreciate. Fans of late-80s slasher cheese or are in the mood for some harmless fun will find it really entertaining, while those who aren't fans of cheese will be thoroughly bored with this one.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Language and mild sex scenes