CAMP HELL: FALSE CAMP

There are a number of things a DVD manufacturer can do to entice a viewer to watch their product. They can pay out the nose for advertising. They can use viral teasers to get people talking. Or they can take a name star that is in a movie made long ago, paste his/her face on the cover and pretend that this is who stars in their film. Such is the case with CAMP HELL.

Look at the cover and what do you see? Jesse Eisenberg front and center. Having risen to star status with the films ZOMBIELAND and THE SOCIAL NETWORK, he has become a marketable commodity. And even though his scenes in this film are perhaps less than 10 minutes tops, its his name and image that will sell the picture. When these sorts of things happen it doesn’t bode well for what the final product actually is and while this movie does raise some interesting questions, it seems more determined to be a hatchet job than a give and take film concerning religion.

The film opens by letting us know that there is an extreme religious group known as the Community. Its members won’t allow others to leave and if they do so continues to hound them. These few written words depict the group as a cult and the rest of the film continues to do so. Would I join them? No but then this depiction is as extreme as it can be.

We meet the Leary family headed by strict and stern father Michael (Andrew McCarthy) and mother Patricia (Dana Delany). Their oldest son Tommy is about to go to church camp. Hitting that golden age of puberty, he is beaten down emotionally and mentally to follow their rules.

The camp is a mix of boys and girls that are kept separated but within sight of one another. They mingle during select events. And all the campers are told that it is a sin to simply ogle a member of the opposite sex. Which made me wonder the whole time, if they’re so concerned about them meeting in the dark or getting together then why have them all at the same location during the same week? Why not boys one week and girls the next? But then that wouldn’t have led to any confrontations moving the film along.

Tommy and his friends joke around, make fun of the slow witted kid and can’t stand their cabin counselor, a stick in the mud who displays a holier than thou attitude from the start. Given the rules you know that eventually one of these guys is going to break them and since Tommy has a thing for Melissa most bets would land on him. Those best would have paid off if you placed one.

At the same time all of this is going on, Tommy is having an inner conflict when it comes to faith. He’s questioning his faith as most teens do at this age. But rather than discuss this conflict, the man in charge, Father Phineus McCallister (Bruce Davison) continues to tell the kids to think impure thoughts is a sin and to repent. Masturbation is a constant theme that he talks about and tells them all to avoid. The way these kids behave you know his plea is falling on deaf ears.

But Tommy’s case is more than just jitters. There is the possibility that there is a demon determined to possess Tommy. And this demon is not new to Father McCallister. Tah dah! This is how Eisenberg fits in. Earlier in the film we saw him talking to the good Father from a mental institution, filled with fear for McCallister. Drawing images of black soulless looking creatures they look the same as things Tommy has drawn.

And here’s where the interesting part comes into play. As the movie progresses we’re never quite sure if there truly is a demon involved here or if it’s just psychological turmoil inspired by the preaching that is going on. By the end of the film we’re still unsure.

While some will think this is a horror film by the looks of the cover, don’t be misled. It’s more a religious film. And the depiction of anyone who believes in God is a negative one. Believers are to be mocked as extremists. Are there such groups? I don’t doubt it. But this is never the case here and we’re made to believe that this is the norm for fundamentalist Christians rather than the exception. Only those who turn their back on this group seem well adjusted.

It does raise some good questions about faith and beliefs but rather than take a route where these are discussed, questioning is forbidden and leads to excommunication. Had they taken that route, perhaps the movie might have offered a better balanced view of beliefs, convinced viewers that there are extremists out there. Instead by painting all with one shade of black, it makes you wonder about the beliefs of those behind the film instead.

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