Dirty, Sexy, Bloody Pom Poms
Whether you watch 80’s horror flicks for the T&A, the camp factor, or Leif Garrett, this film has you covered.
One of the joys of watching older movies is seeing actors I’m familiar with either at the height of their career or when they were focused on a different genre than what they’re currently notable for. Whether the actor is Tom Hank doing comedy, Al Pachino chewing the scenery, or Ron Jeremy just hanging out (SFW link), movies from the 70’s and 80’s offer a peek into any actor’s early career. Another nice thing about 80’s flicks is I still haven’t seen them all. While familiar with the classic horror movies of the time (Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween), every now and then I’ll stumble over a film I didn’t know about. Such was the case for Bloody Pom Poms (also known by its original title Cheerleader Camp if you’re trying to Google it). Granted, Leif Garrett was already a star when the movie came out. In terms of early careerspotting, I was more excited for Betsy Russell, who is better known these days as her role in the Saw franchise.
“Gimmie an M! GImmie an A! Wait…how do you spell massacre?”
Is this a movie that needs a plot summary? It’s a horror flick originally titled Cheerleader Camp, so you can bet that there will be cheerleaders, who will go to a camp and get slaughtered. If you’ve seen Cabin in the Woods, let me point out that the characters align with the horror-movie archetypes pretty well, with the Virgin (Russell), the Athlete (Garrett), the Whore (Lorie Griffin), and the Fool (Travis McKenna, who unleashes possibly the biggest mooning in cinematic history) all represented. But if you’re like me, plot isn’t what you’re looking for with a movie like Bloody Pom Poms. I watch movies like this for the T&A (which it delivers), the anachronisms (VW buses! Awkward white rapping! Beer helmets! Movies about cheerleading without a single visible minority!) and the brainless entertainment (sometimes causes by people literally losing their brains, although sadly not in this movie). Movies like Bloody Pom Poms are what I watch instead of reality shows: something to sit through when there’s nothing else on, and if I’m lucky I’ll catch an actor from Before They Were Famous. With a movie like this, filled with actors I don’t recognize, watching Betsy Russell onscreen was a treat, knowing that she continues her career in the horror genre with Saw III and its subsequent films. Like Jamie Lee Curtis and her return to the Halloween franchise after a long absence, it’s nice to see actors go back to their roots, genre-wise. Now if only we could get Tom Hanks to do another screwball comedy…
tl;drs
Blank is a blanker version of blank: Bloody Pom Poms s is a more predictable version of Sleepaway Camp, minus the squiggy child nudity at the end.
Screen credits over/under: Over. One of the two credited screenwriters never wrote anything else, while the second guy only wrote one other movie: Demonoid: Messenger of Death.
Recommended if you like: The gratuitous nudity 80’s movies are known for, knowing thirty minutes in how the movie’s gonna end.
Better than I expected: While dated, the movie’s pacing holds up and kept me from checking my watch every few minutes.
Worse than I hoped: The most cringeworthy moment has to be when the two whitest white guys try to rap.
Verdict: Decent movie if you’re a fan of 80’s horror flicks.
