Over the years this low-budget slasher flick has gained cult status (not to mention its rumoured sequel, which made appearances in various books and databases but ended-up being released as an unrelated softcore slasher called Millenium Countdown) and now thanks to Anchor Bay people hunting for this for years can finally see it - and honestly it doesn't deserve the following it's garnered.

After a bizarre Freddy Kreuger-ish opening dream sequence (which has our heroine Betsy Russell being attacked by killer pom-poms) this settles into a more horror/comedy groove as a bunch of cheerleader squads (containing all the usual cliched characters, including the "fat guy" comic relief who oogles girls and even gets to "moon" the camera) go to Camp Hurrah for a competition only for them to start getting killed off by an unknown murderer.

While this was obviously intended to not be taken seriously (as witnessed by the bad "rapping" moment and amusing "mascot lunch" scene) it's still a misfire because it's not scary enough or funny enough to entertain its intended audience. There is a few alright deaths (even if they don't start until about halfway in) and George "Buck" Flower has another wacky role as the weirdo camp caretaker; but this is bordering on a *½ ranking because the thin script goes nowhere (and contains some really bad red herrings), the comedy attempts mostly fall flat, and the finishing twist is pretty dumb.

There's worse slasher movies out there, but there's also a heck of a lot better making this a passable time at best. (Chris Hartley, 9/26/04)

Directed By: John Quinn.
Written By: David Lee Fein, R.L. O'Keefe.

Starring: Betsy Russell, Leif Garrett, Lucinda Dickey, Lorie Griffin.

aka: Bloody Pom Poms.