I found Deer Camp ‘86 while aimlessly scrolling through Amazon Prime. I had heard nothing about it, so of course I immediately clicked “play”.  It’s low-budget horror, my favorite kind, but it uses the budget well, and has a specific point of view and theme that it adheres to for the majority of the film; more on that later.  One of those themes is missing and exploited indigenous women; it’s probably not up to me to determine how well this specific subject matter is handled overall, but in general, any movie that brings attention to how easy it is for our society to turn away from violence towards women is going to get some of my time.

• Director: L. Van Dyke Siboutszen
• Writers: Bo Hansen, Riley Taurus 
• Starring: Noah LaLonde, Jay J. Bidwell, Arthur Cartwright 

Deer Camp ‘86 features a group of bros from Detroit who have traveled to a remote location in Michigan to camp and hunt deer.  Their trip goes terribly wrong when an encounter with racist locals leads to a murder with supernatural consequences. 

Major Spoilers Ahead

The movie opens with our group of hunters: Buck, the bully; Simon, the smart one; Karlos, a veteran just returned from combat; the quiet J.B.; nice guy Wes; and nerdy Egbert. Egbert is motion sick, and the groups’ recent kill bleeding over the windshield is not helping.  The group enthusiastically encourages him to not vomit inside the car.  When they finally pull over at a gas station, there is also a bar nearby and Buck wastes no time herding the group over to drink

Wes, who is recovering from a bad breakup and toxic relationship, is immediately smitten with the bartender, Star, an indigenous woman who has to deal with slurs and harassment from the local racists. Before too long, a bar fight breaks out between the bros and the racists interrupting Star and Wes. Lead redneck Buford is about to stab Simon in the back when Star pulls a shotgun on him and puts an end to the melee. 

Star Deserved Better

As the evening winds down, Star takes a breather outside where she is attacked by an unseen assailant. Egbert decides to enter the “worst human” competition when he hears the assault but chooses not to intervene, leading to Star being stabbed to death as she fights back.  After her death her necklace, a family heirloom, shakes and ash begins to rise from the ground.

With the bros unaware of the murder, they exit the bar, with Wes leaving a note for Star, letting her know he wants to see her again. In the parking lot, they discover J.B.’s truck has been vandalized, although it is still drivable. 

The group continues on to their cabin and settle in without incident.  Meanwhile, the local sheriff learns about the murder and fills his deputy in on the history of the area, letting him know that every time an indigenous woman has gone missing, a series of brutal murders followed, all marked down as “bear attacks”.

They’re All Guilty of Something

The next morning, their hunting trip starts. Simon is rattled when he sees something strange in the woods, but before he can follow up, the sheriff arrives to interrogate them about Star’s murder.  Egbert misses this moment since he’s stuck trying to cross a log over a river.  It’s pretty clear at this point that despite the redneck red herring, one of the bros is the murderer, and the sheriff knows it too. He warns them about outsiders coming and taking too much. They do not listen, mostly.

The bros pay tribute to Star by shooting cans in a field while saying nice things about her. For some reason they think this is touching, and that says a lot about their character. During this sequence, Buck also litters and kills a crow for no reason, so he’s screwed.  

After Wes also sees something lurking in the woods, they resume hunting, with Karlos  killing a doe and brutally removing its heart. Wes is upset since they don’t have a permit for does, and refuses to participate in their tradition of eating the heart. Just as well, since for those who do, it turns to maggots in their mouths. 

A Long Night

Strange things keep happening that night, including in a sequence with Egbert and a deer tick in a sensitive location that has nothing to do with the plot or character. Once Karlos’ fresh kill is stolen, the boys decide to go after who, or whatever, is playing pranks on them. Somewhere in here, they notice a bear trap is missing.

 J.B. brings his video recorder and catches a glimpse of a creature. After some debate Simon decides that he’s done, packs his stuff, and starts hiking back to town, truly earning his title of “The Smart One”.

The group fights over Wes wanting to drive Simon out, and Karlos reveals himself to be just as unhinged and racist as the rednecks; apparently this convinces Wes to stay and fight. An arrow pierces Karlos shoulder. After a quick lesson on arrow removal, where we learn that the arrow is stone tipped and not modern, the now fired-up group starts the search for their attacker.

Egbert’s Last Stand

Egbert takes more abuse from the group, before snapping and giving some back. just as he earns their respect he steps into a trap and is dragged off-screen. The group chases after him, only to discover his disemboweled corpse. The group panics and fires wildly into the woods, and then runs back to the cabin where their attempt to leave is thwarted by J.B.’s truck exploding. 

They hole up in the cabin, reinforcing it as best they can and hunker down for the night. Wes attempts to apologize for being distant due to his relationship, but Buck doesn’t want to talk about it. Stay a dick ‘til the end, Buck!  Flickering electronics signal that the creature has arrived, and Karlos starts to go into another rant about life in wartime that is cut short by a stone axe to the back of the head.  They try to fry the creature with a makeshift electrical fence, and when it looks like the coast is clear, make a run for it with Buck leading the charge. 

The creature hangs Karlos up like a fresh kill, heart removed and everything, before pursuing the group. When J.B. falls, Wes goes back for him, but J.B., the slowest of the group, sucker punches Buck and leaves him to die. The creature hits him in the chest with the axe and then sprinkles him with crow feathers before the ground swallows him whole.

The Killer Revealed

J.B. and Wes make it to a lake. As they frantically row across, Wes promises J.B. he will get him to safety. And that’s when they discover that supernatural creatures summoned to exact revenge can swim. Wes is pulled from the boat, leaving J.B. to fend for himself. He makes it to the other side where the creature emerges from the lake.   He tries to run but gets caught in the missing bear trap. J.B.’s the murderer, y’all!  The creature reveals itself to be a version of Star, one with black eyes. It kills him in much the same way he killed her, before turning and realizing Wes is still alive. 

It goes to attack Wes, lifting him in the air by his neck before placing one hand on his chest and judging him. Finding him to be innocent, unlike his friends, the creature lets him live, dragging J.B.’s corpse into the lake and vanishing. 

The next morning, Wes is picked up by the sheriff and Simon. Simon asks what happened, and the sheriff replies, “it’s always bear attacks”. Their jeep passes a “have you seen us billboard” that fades to present time, where a new group of bros are stopping at the same bar, and the bartender is a very alive-looking Star. 

Was It Any Good?

There’s a lot to like about Deer Camp. The cinematography is gorgeous with some really well-framed sequences that deserve more attention, and the acting is solid. Everyone is believable, even the characters I don’t particularly like or like to dislike. The script leans into relatable archetypes and that works for the simplicity, for the most part. Egbert is hard to take and Karlos is over the top. I think a lot of people would know a Buck and sadly probably a less murdery J.B. 

Where it gets a little messy is in the world-building and message. The inclusion of the sheriff as a character could be seen as a problem or part of the larger theme. With him there, it’s the story of a society that is content to deal with the issue of the missing indigenous women only when they have an impact on the non-indigenous population. After all, if the sheriff knows about all these cases, what is he doing to prevent them instead of just playing clean up? He confuses the issue, as does the final scene. Is Star now a spirit, or was she always? It doesn’t totally detract from the rest of movie, but it could have been clearer. 

Punishment Should Fit the Crime

Another area that could have used some revision and may have both helped thematically and smoothed the rough edges of the tone, is the kills themselves. Since the hunters are paying for their sins, their deaths should reflect that, and they do to an extent. The cowardly Egbert physically has his guts spilled since he metaphorically failed to or lacked guts. His death is great and works on a lot of different levels. I think he also has his tongue pulled out, which, good on him.  Karlos has his heart removed and is strung up like the deer he illegally hunted. I would have liked to see him suffer more. Same with J.B. His crime was the inciting incident and part of a larger pattern of violence against women.  Not to be sadistic, but he got off light in comparison to the terror we saw him inflict.  

End Major Spoilers

I’m willing to give low-budget horror a bit more leeway than big studio pictures. Even more so when you can see the love and care that went into the film. I think Deer Camp is the perfect example of that. It’s a well-shot, decently acted movie with some rough parts to the script. The creature and practical effects are nicely done, especially the creature design which uses the budget effectively. It’s not terribly scary, but it’s fun.  IMDB lists it as a “horror comedy”, and it definitely has more of that vibe.  I’m not entirely sure why it’s set in ’86. Nothing about the language used or styling really speaks to the late 80’s.

Final Thoughts

Socially conscious horror can be tough to pull off, but Deer Camp ‘86 does a lot with a little, attempting to deliver a big message in a supernatural thriller.  I’ll keep an eye out for future work from the director and rest of the cast and crew. 

Deer Camp is available to stream on Amazon Prime

Check out my other horror reviews here:

• Suitable Flesh
• Thanksgiving