There are probably more than a few graying sleaze beasts whose transition from boys to men came via Betsy Russell’s nude horseback ride in Private School, and therefore might be motivated by nostalgia (or a few drinks) to check her out this poverty-row horror feature. At least, that’s why I watched it. And after sinking 90 minutes into Camp Fear, I feel it’s necessary to pass along some science about the picture, so you can decide for yourself whether or not you’ve got an hour and a half to kill for Betsy.

First and foremost, though BR is top-billed on the DVD packaging, her role as a sorority sister on a anthropological dig is more support than lead – director Thom Keith gives more screen time to her fellow sisters, a motley and unmemorable bunch that includes Playmate Peggy McIntaggart (here billed as Peggy Savage), and sticks Betsy with the thankless role of arm candy to her former real-life spouse Vincent Van Patten (a long way from Rock ‘n’ Roll High School). Also, it’s apparent that after taking off her clothes in every single movie she made prior to Camp Fear, Betsy wised up and made sure the “no boobs” clause was in this contract. That fact will probably be this film’s major stumbling block for Betsyheads, and it’s completely understandable – I mean, we didn’t sit through Tomboy or Avenging Angel to check out her acting chops. The filmmakers toss in a feeble attempt to please fans’ raging hormones with a scene of Van Patten pawing the ass of an obvious Fake Betsy, but for those of us who have put in the hours with Ms. Russell’s oeuvre, it just doesn’t fly.

Having said all that, it’s also important to add Camp Fear is cheap, sleazy, stupid to the bone, and in its final scenes, completely insane, which for many of us, should translate into solid entertainment. Michelle Bauer and the late porn star Savannah have back-to-back shower scenes within the first two minutes of the picture, which is quickly followed by a brief topless girlfight. Several thousand feet of film are devoted to a “hot” lambada number (sung by Erika Ninn while wearing a cowprint Danskin outfit), and soon after that, we’ve got the girls in the woods, goofball movie bikers with names like Ace and Frog on their tails, an inflatable beach toy masquerading as a lake monster, and big-ass ex-basketball player Tiny Ron as a Druid who needs the girls for a sacrifice that utilizes what appears to be part or all of Ronnie James Dio’s stage set for the Holy Diver tour (minus the dragon, but there is a Stonehenge triptych and lasers). All of that, plus a classic performance by the gone-but-never-forgotten George “Buck” Flower (as a drunk, of course), is almost enough lunacy to make up for the lack of a nude scene by Betsy Russell, but it’s possible that some viewers may be more forgiving types than I.

Retromedia Entertainment’s DVD includes a dupey-looking trailer, taken undoubtedly from the VHS release, and cover art that has nothing to do with the movie. But then again, there’s also no camp anywhere to be found in Camp Fear, so it’s hardly worth the quibble.

– Paul Gaita

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