Monday, November 7, 2011

Camp Hell Review



I always get fooled into getting horror movies that have cool covers. Once again, I was fooled into getting one all based on the cover. This time around, I’m going to try and talk about Camp Hell, even though it wasn’t anything like the cover made it out to be. The cover has a picture of Jesse Eisenberg from “Zombieland” fame, and it’s rather disturbing how much he is NOT in the film. This is classic post-Hollywood career marketing. It happens a lot in horror film re-releases. If you’re looking for more of that actor, you’ll get nothing for your trouble here, so stay away if the only basis of your viewing is in regards to this.

The film revolves around a community of Christian campers that are out in the woods. They are separated by male and female, and they are just enjoying the fun. That is until one of the campers starts having weird dreams, and then starts to see manifestations of satanic influence. As the movie progresses, our main character with the dreams has sex with a girl camper, and then all hell breaks loose. There is a sequence of demon possession, blood flowing from odd areas, and a nice little sewn up ending to boot.

If ever there was a way to make “Christian” horror movies, it’s this one. The majority of the film is a very “preachy” kind of cult film, that tries to manifest itself as right, then when the horror sets in, talks about how maybe it’s not for everyone. It’s a dichotomy that makes the tension work for the title. The film isn’t terrible, but it’s not that great either. There are some moments that are genuinely interesting, but with so many subplots, weird cameos, and lackluster production, the film suffers from bad pacing, too much going on, and lackluster results in the end. I’m not sure whether to cheer or to hate the characters, but one thing is for sure, Camp Hell is nothing more than a cash grab for the fame of the star of “Adventureland”. I don’t recommend this film, but then again, I don’t recommend much these days.

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