Horror Movie Review: Campfire Tales (1997)

Released in that less than stellar period of horror, the late 90s, Campfire Tales is notable really for one thing and that is its cast. Many of whom have become household names. The film stars the likes of James Marsden, Christine Taylor, Amy Smart, Ron Livingston, and Christopher Masterson.

Directed by Matt Cooper, Martin Kunert, and David Semel, Campfire Tales has three individual stories shared by a group of teens while they wait for roadside assistance following a crash. The early presentation of the film feels so very mid to late 90s and the similarities in style to the likes of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer is easy to see.

The set-up for the anthology is fine, if a bit boring and extremely predictable (you can see the ending coming a mile away). Alas, whereas the shorts should be where the entertainment is found in an anthology, Campfire Tales’ lack of imagination results in an overall film that is surprisingly forgettable. As it goes on, a strong sense of boredom begins to set in, and come the end, the realisation that it has left no impact at all arrives with full force. Putting it bluntly, Campfire Tales is so unremarkable that it is almost completely forgotten about the moment it ends.

Out of the three stories, each a play on a popular urban legend, the best one is ‘People Can Lick Too’. Here, the babysitter and phone part of the urban legend is swapped out for a kid and the internet. Which, when you consider the infancy of the internet at this point in time, is quite something. Especially as, at its core, this short is a cautionary tale about the dangers of the internet. It’s an enjoyable tale with a dark ending.

The worst of the three stories is ‘The Honeymoon’ and it sees a couple attacked by a monster while on their honeymoon in their RV. It really doesn’t get anymore interesting than that.

Whereas the third and final story is ‘The Locket’ and it tells a story about a drifter seeking shelter at an isolated farmhouse where he meets a beautiful woman, who just so happens to be mute. She allows him to stay, but as the night goes on, he realises that something very strange is going on in this house, something supernatural. Can you guess who might be a ghost?

Sure, it’s so damn predictable, but this one does play out in mildly entertaining fashion and unlike most of the film, at least has some creepy vibes.

It’s just all so ‘meh’ though, and it really shouldn’t have been. It has a strong cast, money behind it, and enough of an idea (the modernised urban legend thing) to be something more. Alas, it’s not and what we have is a completely forgettable anthology horror. It’s funny too, that a year later, this modernised urban legend idea would remerge in slasher fashion with the first film in the Urban Legend franchise. At least that film left an impression.