freakboy on film: PANDEMONIUM (1982)

 

This post is part of The Fourth So Bad It's Good Blogathon, hosted by Rebecca of TAKING UP ROOM.  Be sure to check out the other wonderfully wacky and weird posts! 🤓 

Welcome to Bambi’s Summer Cheerleading Camp! 

FACILITIES: 

You will be trained to be a leader who cheers on the same field where local football hero Blue Grange (Tab Hunter) won the big game and where a group of snotty cheerleaders were skewered to death.  You will also have access to a state of the art gymnasium where exploding pom-poms and other unusual accidents have claimed the lives of numerous cheerleaders over the years.  Yes, the campus, with its endless opportunities and colorful history, will be your ideal home away from home.

FACULTY: 

You will train alongside Bambi (Candice Azzara), a professional cheerleader who refuses to close the camp despite its history of death and dismemberment.  

The inside of your megaphone will be cleaned and your body parts will be swept up by Pepe (David L. Lander), the maintenance man.  If you need to place a curse, shatter a mirror or simply require some extra fog, call upon Pepe’s spooky mother Salt (Izabella Telezynska).  

As a bonus, prepare yourself for culinary delights from a world-renowned French chef.  

STUDENTS: 

Once you’ve settled in and have changed into your sharp outfit, you will meet your fellow cheerleaders-in-training.  There’s Carrie, uh, that should be…Candy (Carol Kane), an innocent girl with a fanatical mother  (Eileen Brennan) and the power of telekinesis.  There’s Mandy (Teri Landrum), the perfect, dental-obsessed blond from a ready-for-television family.  There’s Sandy (Debralee Scott), a vainglorious young woman whose superficiality is matched only by her sarcasm.  There’s Andy (Miles Chapin) and Randy (Marc McClure), a couple of oversexed young men so prevalent in the 1980’s.  Oh, there’s also Glenn…Glenn Dandy (Judge Reinhold), who may be one of the only examples of a dumb male blond you will ever meet. 

FREE TIME: 

After a hard day of training to become a cheerleader and not being murdered, you may visit nearby attractions.  Warden June (Eve Arden) will happily give you a tour of the local prison and introduce you to new and interesting friends to become pen-pals with once the summer is over.  

Dr, Fuller (Gary Allen) offers shock and other cutting edge treatments at the asylum if the stress of becoming a cheerleader proves too much for you.

However you choose to spend your free time, remember curfew is at 10 p.m. sharp. 

SECURITY: 

If you’re worried a convict from the prison or an asylum inmate has escaped, just call the local law enforcement.  Sgt. Reginald Cooper (Tom Smothers), a Canadian Mountie transplanted to the U.S. is here to serve and protect with the help of his steady steed Bob and a somewhat unhinged sidekick Johnson (Paul Reubens). 

ADDITIONAL INFO: 

Writers Jaime Barton Klein & Richard Whitley and Director Alfred Sole will keep your time at Bambi’s Summer Cheerleading Camp moving at a steady pace.  They provide visual and very quotable verbal humor to entertain and amuse.  Not a single drop of blood is seen but they make sure a couple of deaths will somewhat disturb you even as you laugh. 

The cast really throw themselves into their roles, especially the women.  Candice Azzara, Carol Kane, Debralee Scott and Teri Landrum create fun and memorable characters.  Even in smaller roles, Eve Arden and Eileen Brennan really shine hilariously bright.  Though I must add that Paul Reubens steals every scene, especially when dealing with Johnson’s contentious relationship with Bob the horse.    

I didn’t raise you to be a cheerleader.

IN CONCLUSION: 

Deep down, I know this horror spoof is not a good movie.  The script is ridiculous.  The budget is low.  The acting probably didn’t win any awards.  However, I love PANDEMONIUM!  I watched it a lot on HBO when I was a kid and its delusional mayhem may have seriously influenced my sense of humor.  So, much like MYRA BRECKINRIDGE, my previous So Bad It’s Good contribution, I hesitate to call PANDEMONIUM bad.  

So, grab what dandy candy that’s handy and sit back for a nutty film that is definitely not for everyone.  

SIDE NOTE…

You can  find PANDEMONIUM on You Tube (which is where I got most of the low quality screenshots) and on  Vinegar Syndrome blu-ray.

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words. 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. my blog serial is coming to an end in a few days, so now is a good time to catch-up or to see what you’ve been missing…

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2021/08/haunting-sturgeons-prologue.html