The Camp Blood series is about killer clowns in the woods who hack up sexed-up campers. If this sounds suspiciously like the Friday the 13th series, you are not incorrect. Instead of Jason, we get a guy in a clown mask that was purchased from a Spirit Halloween store on Nov 1st. There are fourteen movies in the Camp Blood series, and counting. It’s a well you think would dry up, but the clowns keep coming. And coming.
The thirteenth installment of the Camp Blood series takes on a new form; it’s entirely animated. I can’t think of another horror franchise that takes a turn into animated features (excluding the incredible, literal spine-ripping cut scenes from Friday the 13th: The Game). Camp Blood X uses low-budget, basement-dwelling, sour-smelling PS3-level graphics and let me tell you, I am here for it. This is a movie you watch and marvel and then marvel some more because modern animation software and out-of-the-box character banks can now be used to render a naked lady peeing in the forest. Twice. Breasts are unleashed, beavers are split, people make pants sandwiches, and limbs are sawn off, though there’s not much gore because animating gore is really difficult. It’s much easier to show pubic hair and bras. All of this is done in an eerie, otherworldly animation style. Even with the most novice forms of animation, faces tend to express feelings. Eyebrows raise, mouths turn down, and eyes narrow to show fear. But in Camp Blood X, the faces are devoid of life. The fixed stares are blank and emotionless, even when a victim is tied to a table with a rotary saw aimed at her (bare) crotch. The eyes are as dead as the souls the clowns take. This lends the entire movie a creepy, unsettling sheen that stays with you long after the end credits. What did I just watch, and do I like it? I think yes?
The plot itself is by the numbers: three couples go to a campsite, get horny, and then get chased and/or tortured by some clowns. What’s more interesting is that the film is a window into the minds and souls of the filmmakers themselves. Written by Keith Parker and directed and animated by Jason Peri, Camp Blood X has lesbian scenes, girls peeing, up-skirt shots, and several outfit changes. There’s clearly an exploration of something erotic through lifeless animated girls. And to this I say, you do you. W.A.V.E movies taught me that there are people out there who love seeing women strip and drown in quicksand. The world is an amazing place and there’s something for everyone. Wave your freak flag high and find your people and never let them go.
