Body count is clearly very derivative of successful American slashers such as Friday the 13th, as it takes place in a backwater location and features a seemingly unstoppable madman murdering his way through a load of useless teenagers. However, Ruggero Deodato's film elevates itself above the barrage of rip-offs with some great scenes of slaughter and a fitting music score courtesy of former Goblin, Claudio Simonetti. The film takes in the common supernatural slasher themes, and focuses on a legend of an old Indian shaman that used to live in the woods where all the screaming takes place. Naturally, most of our main characters are dumb, horny teens that have made the silly decision of going camping in a van. It's not long before they meet a young kid from the army, and they decide to go stay over at his parent's house; a couple who are having marital problems. Oh, and there's the small problem of a maniac in the woods...could it be the same Indian shaman? Ruggero Deodato isn't a director that likes to leave you wondering what his films are about, and pretty soon after the film has started, we are treated to a delicious double murder scene. From there, the murder scenes are all memorable and although they're mostly committed with a knife, Deodato makes good use of the weapon and scenes that see a young girl coming through a door with a knife in her head ensure that this is slightly more than the usual eighties slasher. My only real complaint where weapons are concerned is the fact that there's a chainsaw in the film, which isn't put to best use. Body Count benefits from a great cast of Eurohorror regulars, including David Hess; who isn't put to best use, Mimsey Farmer who has worked previously with Italian masters Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, and cult luminary Ivan Rassimov as the sheriff. It's true that none of the stars are given roles that allow them to shine; David Hess' role even seems to be a parody of his usual strong performances. Body Count won't be a must see film for fans of Italian horror, but slasher fans shouldn't be disappointed and I rate this as a success for the overpopulated slasher sub-genre on the whole.