Title: Camp Hell (AKA Camp Hope)
Directed by George VanBuskirk
Starring: Bruce Davidson, Dana Delany, Andrew McCarthy and Jesse Eisenberg
Running time: 99 minutes, Rated R
Camp Hope is place where Christian children can be amongst each other to find friendship and learn more about their religion. It’s also a place where dark and evil things lurk and attack those children who are questioning their faith and don’t adhere to the strict rules of the camp.
Hate is a strong word. I hated this movie. They put Jesse Eisenberg’s name on everything just to cash in on his recent fame and Oscar nomination for The Social Network, yet he has only 5 minutes of screen-time playing a troubled teen at the camp. I was kind of confused as to whom this film was aimed at; it seemed like a propaganda film for either Christian extremists or bitter atheists.
Yeah most of us are aware that in most religions masturbation and pre-marital sex are frowned upon, but there’s a scene where two kids dry-hump in the woods, and they each get followed by some sort of evil spirit afterwards because they’re a couple of “dirty” sinners. Seriously? The girl touches the guys pants and says, “Ew, sticky.” Yep, they went there; I smacked my head against my coffee table over that one. You don’t even get to see a monster or devil, just hear a lot of whispering and see what looks like a Jawa in some kid’s dream; there’s no payoff. Nobody even dies in this movie – how the hell can you market this as a horror movie when there’s no death? I’m not even a religious person though I found this movie to be really offensive; not just because of the heavy Christian overtones, but because the script is just incredibly stupid.
The DVD extras include deleted scenes and trailer.
I can’t think of anything positive about this movie. The music was horrible, the story was stupid and it was just a big waste of my time having to sit through this garbage. Ugh, just watching this film made me feel dirty and shameful.
Total rating: F
Reviewed by: JM Willis
