Cannibal Campout

Lore & Background

The plot begins with a woman named Nancy being hacked to death with a felling axe by a man wearing a motorcycle helmet while she jogs in Redston. Later, two couples—Jon and Carrie, and Amy and Chris—head to Redston to camp. They encounter hillbillies Rich and Gene, who attack them. The hillbillies are revealed to be brothers of the helmeted man, Joe. The quartet sets up near abandoned cabins, while the brothers murder pranksters John and Ray. Carrie is killed by Gene and Joe; Jon is knocked out, disemboweled, and eaten. The brothers force-feed the other captives Jon's innards. Rich butchers Chris and tries to rape Amy, but she stabs him and leaves him for dead. Amy encounters Joe, pulls off his helmet to reveal his disfigured face, but is recaptured by Gene and Rich, who cut out and eat her unborn child. Later, the brothers hunt unsuccessfully; when Rich suggests fast food, Gene scolds him for breaking a promise to their mother about avoiding chemical-soaked foods. Rich's complaints lead Gene and Joe to seemingly decide to eat him.

Reader's Guide

Cannibal Campout holds a minor place in horror history as an example of extreme low-budget regional filmmaking from the late 1980s. Its reception was mixed: Bloody Disgusting awarded it three out of five, praising the audacity of the filmmakers for getting the project onto shelves nationwide. DVD Verdict called it bad but enjoyable due to the gore and 'the lovable cheapness of the whole thing.' DVD Talk gave it one and a half out of five, criticizing the acting, gore effects, and tone as 'too stupid to believe,' noting that the villains are 'garishly weird, stupid and gross' but fail to create dread. The film's significance lies in its cult status among fans of exploitation and gore cinema, representing a DIY approach to horror that bypassed mainstream distribution.

Did You Know?

• The film was written and directed solely by Jon McBride.
• The character Joe wears a motorcycle helmet and has a disfigured face revealed when Amy pulls off the helmet.
• The hillbilly brothers promise their mother they will never eat chemical-soaked foods, leading them to reject fast food.
• The film features a scene where the brothers cut out and eat Amy's unborn child.