Snow White: A Deadly Summer - 2012
By The Bottom Reel Editorial Team ·
Snow White: A Deadly Summer (2012) – The PG-13 Slasher That Put Snow in Boot Camp
Plot
Widower Grant Eric Roberts remarries Eve Maureen McCormick. His daughter Snow White Shanley Caswell and new stepmother instantly clash, competing for Grant’s attention.
Eve, who talks to her own reflection in the mirror like the Evil Queen, convinces Grant that Snow is delinquent and should be sent to a rehabilitation camp for troubled teens. Snow is abducted and taken there.
At the camp, the other delinquents are killed one by one, and Snow has psychic dreams showing the murders. The staff seem to be hiding something – the camp has a history of mysterious deaths.
It’s revealed Eve is behind the killings. After killing Lyla Eileen Dietz, who went to school with her, Eve tries to kill Snow, ranting that she supported Grant after his first wife died and that Snow is selfish. Eve dies in the final fight.
Then the twist: everything was a nightmare caused by a drug overdose. Grant tells Snow that Eve actually committed suicide by jumping off a building after Grant told her he wouldn’t abandon Snow for her.
Cast & Crew
Snow White – Shanley Caswell
Eve (stepmother) – Maureen McCormick The Brady Bunch
Grant (father) – Eric Roberts
Hunter – Tim Abell
Bob – R.J. Cantu
Cole – Chase Bennett
Lauren – Chelsea Rae Bernier
Dr. Beckerman – Carolyn Purdy-Gordon
Director / Cinematographer – David DeCoteau
Screenwriter – Barbara Kymlicka
Producers – David DeCoteau, John Schouweiler
Music – Harry Manfredini
Production Co. – Hybrid / Rapid Heart Pictures
Distributor – Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Budget: $1 million
Runtime: 85-90 minutes, Rated PG-13
DeCoteau said he cast McCormick for her first starring role in years; she said her only problem was pretending to hate Shanley Caswell.
Social Impact & Reception
No social impact. It was one of five Snow White films in 2012 and the cheapest, made to grab shelf space.
Critics: Panned. The film was critically panned, chief criticisms highlighting the incomprehensible plot with a cheap twist, bad acting, and cheap production values.
Dread Central: “The Snow White aspect seems more a gimmicky marketing ploy for what is really just a no-budget remake of that Mila Kunis movie Boot Camp... crossbred with a PG-13 tweener slasher flick. The result is a barely competent barebones non-horror horror movie that is barely coherent and barely watchable.”
7M Pictures: “If I didn't know the director was responsible for dozens of movies like this one, I'd have thought this was made by high school kids when they didn't want to take shop class.” 1/5
DVD Verdict: Panned it for failing any expectations viewers may have from Snow White being in the title.
Audience reviews: “HORRIBLE HORRIBLE acting & directing... Only good things about this were the twist @ the end & the hot actresses,” “Shot like a porno with all the sex removed,” “This low budget hybrid of Snow White and Friday the 13th... builds to a stupid cop-out ending.”
Audience niche: Became a late-night Tubi / Peacock filler for DeCoteau completionists and “so-bad-it’s-good” fans who enjoy that night scenes are shot day-for-night and the sheriff’s only uniform is a plastic badge clipped to his own jeans.
Budget vs. Box Office
Production Budget: $1,000,000
Box Office: $0 – No theatrical release. Direct-to-DVD / digital.
Video Release: March 20, 2012 by Lionsgate. DVD in widescreen Dolby 2.0 with commentary and production photos.
Profit: No reported profit. With Lionsgate distribution and streaming on Peacock Premium, Tubi, and Peacock free, it likely made back its micro-budget in licensing, but no figures were released.
Ratings
IMDb: 2.3 / 10 from ∼800-1,000 votes
Rotten Tomatoes: 7% Tomatometer from 1 critic review, Popcornmeter 50+ ratings (no score, audience ∼24% liked)
TMDb: 3.9 / 10 from 27 votes
Reelgood: 34/1009
Bottom line: Snow White: A Deadly Summer uses the Snow White name because the main character's name is Snow and her evil stepmother wants her dead. It’s a PG-13 teen rehab camp slasher with a drug-dream cop-out, not a fairy-tale horror. Watch only if you’re tracking David DeCoteau’s 100+ film filmography or Maureen McCormick’s post-Brady career.