Going away to summer camp was a major goal and the camp horror films of the 80s and 90s turned it into an awesome nightmare. Summer camps were an ideal setting for slasher horror films because they had all of the right ingredients: secluded locations, lots of quirky but relatable characters, and tons of gruesome potential.

It was the Friday the 13th series, with the masked madman Jason terrorizing the campers and counselors at Camp Crystal Lake, that brought the era to life. The first eight movies in the series were released in the 1980s, so by the 90s, the genre was firmly established. This was probably for the best, since in the next few films in the series, Jason left camp to go to New York City, outer space (the early 2000s were a weird time for horror fans) and the dream realm.

By the end of the 90s, the camp horror era had begun to die out. Fewer people were going to camp and there were new locations and menaces that were more relevant to the targeted audiences. Horror movies were now inspired by popular video games or set in a wider range of locations. We’re now even seeing some of those horror movies reimagined as online games in Ontario, to complete the circle.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) and the rise of J-Horror changed everything. The Blair Witch Project brought found footage to the forefront of the genre and made the unseen more frightening. Adaptations of Japanese horror classics brought new stories to audiences and reinvigorated the genre as a whole.

While the 90s may never be remembered as fondly as the 70s or 80s as a horror decade, they did produce some of the wildest and weirdest slasher movies on screen. Below are recommendations for where to start if you’re not quite ready for the Halloween season to be over.

Popcorn (1991)

Setting a slasher movie in a movie theater might be a bit too meta for some, but fans of Popcorn understand that it’s simply too good an opportunity to pass up. Popcorn is a love letter to the horror movies of earlier decades, while still having plenty of scares in its own right.

The plot of Popcorn follows a group of amateur filmmakers using an abandoned movie theater to host a horror movie marathon as a fundraiser. As the night gets going, the bodies start to pile up. The movie marathon plot allows Popcorn to also feature three movies-in-a-movie – these being direct homages to the sci-fi horror gems of the 1950s and 60s.

Candyman (1992)

Most slasher movies don’t have much to offer beyond scares, gore and campy humor. Candyman stands apart from the crowd as a genuinely important film that explores issues of class, race and gender, while still providing plenty of terrifying violence. Candyman also goes the extra step to create an entirely new urban legend while examining the process that leads to these legends in real life.

The film follows an aspiring academic who is interested in urban legends originating in Chicago’s notorious Cabrini-Green development. Her lack of belief in such legends leads to her summoning the Candyman and unleashing him on the city. The Candyman, with his hook for a hand and his mouth full of bees, is one of the 90s most frightening and unique antagonists.

The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)

Since the Italians practically invented the modern slasher movie, it would feel wrong not to include at least one from legendary gialla director Dario Argenta. By the 90s, Argenta’s career was flagging, however, The Stendhal Syndrome features some of the most brutal action of the decade.

The movie follows an up-and-coming detective (played by Argenta’s daughter, Asia) on the case of a serial rapist and murderer, while also suffering from Stendhal syndrome. Reality, art and nightmares blur together as she and the killer hunt one another. The use of bed springs as a makeshift weapon is one of the more visceral moments on screen.

Final thoughts

The camp era was a fun one, and thankfully, it isn’t completely dead. The ninth season of the hit anthology horror series, American Horror Story: 1984, was a celebration of the camp genre. The horror genre has diversified so much that we’re unlikely to ever see another true camp horror era, but there will always be one or two new summer camp horror movies since it’s such a great setting.