The Axeman Cometh

Open on a hilltop in Vermont, where a giant Swede is cutting wood. His irritated wife scolds him into helping her remove the lid from a mason jar, whereupon he chops her head off with an ax. His attorney pleads leniency, informing the judge it was an accident. Cut to the last day of classes at Whittier High in Westchester County. Eight class members -- four male, four female -- are taking part in a camping trip to Vermont chaperoned by their homeroom teach, Mr. Stevens, and another teacher, Miss Rodriguez. Bjorn, the Swede with the errant ax referred to earlier and now working for Svensen Tours, will act as their guide. They bus off to Vermont, pitch tents by a lake, and the carnage begins. Screams are heard, as two tourists camping nearby are axed to death. Two of the kids go to investigate, find suspicious signs, and are convinced something bad is going on. And when someone's disembodied head is pulled from the lake, suspicions increase. The cops are called upon to investigate, and fall victim to the maniac’s ax. The movie culminates in a 60s dance in the main lodge which is disrupted when the maniac crashes the party and the bloodshed truly begins. The kids are forced to defend themselves when the cops are overwhelmed by the maniac. By the end of the film, the body count reaches eleven -- four cops, Bjorn himself at the hands of a psychopathic murderer named Logan, Joe and Betty (a pair of campers), Mr. Stevens and Miss Rodriguez, and two of the students. Despite the gore, the script has some very funny moments.