When they stop for a short break, Gayle says her feet hurt and boyfriend Greg tells her she should have broken in her new boots before the hike. Gayle is not amused. However she is obsessed with how she looks and opts to stay behind to continue brushing her hair rather than leave with the others.
When Gayle catches up too group, she says there was something in the woods following her, but the others don't believe her. Sadly Gayle’s boyfriend pays the price for not protecting her, even though she’s the one who told him to leave while she finished her hair.
The first night they sit around the fire telling stories and eating marshmallows. After they go to bed. Gayle hears a noise in the woods and Greg thinks it may be Skip pulling another prank. Gayle isn’t sure since she heard noises earlier in the day. You’d think that Greg would check to see if Skip was at the campsite, but instead he tramps off into the woods.
At day break, there is no sign of Gayle, Greg or their belongings. Nancy is concerned but the others think the couple either went back to the ranger station, or will catch up with them later. They pin a note to a tree and move out.
Cut to Rangers Mark and Lester having lunch Lester tells Mark that fifteen years ago there was a horrible forest fire in the mountains. Some gypsies living in the caves were burned to a crisp. When Lester went up to help with the reseeding, he saw a burned boy who scampered away into the forest. Lester has never told anyone about this, but he really should have. Maybe get him some medical attention? So we know where this is headed as Ranger Mark goes out the door to see if he can find the animal that killed two middle aged campers.
Apparently there are two versions of this movie. The one I saw was the theatrical release which was 80 minutes. There was a home video version that clocks in at 97 minutes. It cut out some scenes and added an origin story and gypsy back story.
The theatrical version has a ton of padding. I would not be surprised if almost half of it was nature stock footage. There are also plenty of scenes with no dialogue and one cut away to the ranger playing a banjo. Why?
Gayle should not be on this trip. Combing her hair is more important then hiking with the group. Later she puts on lipstick and cranks her radio up while Greg asks her to turn it off and appreciate nature. At one point Skip mentions that Gayle must be dating Greg because his father is rich. Because a pretty girl like Gayle could never like a geek wearing short shorts.
This is a slow paced movie. It’s nature shots, the group walking, occasional dialogue, and the only deaths in the first hour are the two campers at the beginning. The most interesting thing about the movie is that Lester is played by Jackie Coogan, who played Uncle Fester on the Addams Family tv show.
Amusing dialogue
Stop it, you octopus!
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| Look girls, it’s hunky Ranger Mark |
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| Gayle choosing to stay behind for her hair |
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| Popeye |
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| Why did we cut to the Ranger playing a banjo? |
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