Stars:Josh Anthony, Michael Barbuto, Teddy Gilmore , Anne Taylor
Director:Josh Anthony
Writers:Josh Anthony, Michael Barbuto, Anne Taylor
With a name like Happy Camp you might think this is a G rated version of ‘Meatballs’, and you would be wrong. The Happy Camp they are referring to is an isolated backwoods town in Northern California with the most interesting residents imaginable and a tragic past. For some unknown reason the residents keep disappearing. Written, Directed and Starring Josh Anthony. The upstart multi-hyphenate got the green light from Drew Barrymore’s flower films (Donnie Darko) to create the genre flick.
Mike was adopted and raised in happy camp for two years until his brother mysteriously vanished. Mikes girlfriend Anne is directing a documentary that will follow Mike as he travels back to Happy Camp to cathartically examine his childhood and to find out if revisiting his childhood home will stir up any memories. Together with friends Josh and Toby they jump in the RV and head out to Happy Camp.
Setting itself apart from the typical found footage genre films Happy Camp spends the majority of the film engraining you into the characters as well as the town. Wisely utilizing real town locals to discuss the town they call home and the alarmingly high number of disappearances in the town. These locals lend credibility to the film and are completely engaging. The town itself is almost a character as it slowly becomes clear what is happening in the woods isn’t quite right. The character development is not typical of the genre letting you become engrossed in the principals. The biggest issue I had was the same issue I had with ‘’ watching characters yell at each other in the wilderness wears thin quickly, less time bitching at each other and more time with the locals and the mystery of the missing people would have been welcome. Overall It’s a slow burn genre film with emphasis on more on the characters than expected, most importantly the film includes A not overly unexpected swerve at the end that you will either love or completely hate. That last fifteen minutes is what is going to make or break the film for you. Was the juice worth the squeeze. Does Happy Camp deliver a big enough payoff??
Grade-74
