A strange and unsettling experience set against the backdrop of the Colorado mountains—it’s also surprisingly thought-provoking. The film follows a group of young people who go camping at an abandoned camp in Colorado. The owners let them stay because they're friends with their son, who is returning from service in the Marines. However, local legends speak of an old American Indian Shaman known for putting curses on people. David Hess portrays the grumpy owner of the campground while Charles Napier appears as the Sheriff. "Body Count" (1986), originally titled “Camping del Terrore,” which means "Camp of Terror," is an Italian slasher film in the style of *Friday the 13th* and similar movies that were popular at the time. It’s not really a copycat, though; the story is quite different, and Mario Bava's "A Bay of Blood" (1971) was itself the inspiration for the carefree young people visiting a desolate former resort in *Friday the 13th*. What’s noteworthy is that this is an Italian filmmaker’s take on youths camping in Colorado, as it was filmed entirely in Italy with primarily Italian actors and crew. Having camped out in Colorado myself, including staying in cabins, I can say the characters' interactions and events feel more dreamlike than realistic. For example, the Southern accent of one of the girls sounds Southern, but also feels a bit off. You have to adjust to the unusual atmosphere and the characteristic poor editing that Italian filmmakers were known for. The production wasn’t smooth sailing either; they had bad weather during the four-week shoot in the mountains, and two additional writers had to be brought in to fix problems with Alessandro Capone's original script. But if you can accept those quirks, the film succeeds as a distinctive slasher with a story that goes beyond simple thrills and offers some observations about people. Evil isn’t always embodied by a monster; sometimes it comes from ordinary parents or children. Nancy Brilli is memorable among the female cast as Tracy (the one in the red leotard). The other women are also interesting in their own ways. The film has a running time of approximately one hour and thirty minutes, although it felt slightly shorter to me. It was filmed at Campo Imperatore, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy, which is about ninety-five minutes east of Rome in the central Apennine Mountains. GRADE: B

Source on TMDB