Camp

Emily (Zola Grimmer) had during her short life endured and just is just about coping with two tragedies. Running over a child as we see in grainy black and white at the start of the film then the death of her mother by drug overdose. She’s on suicide watch but stable so her father suggests that maybe using her counsellor skills at a summer camp may go some way towards a fuller rehabilitation.

It’s an interesting suggestion as US summer camp has a ring superficiality that gets the kids away from the house, the counsellors to earn some money and network with each other. All this is true here with the exception that it’s a Christian based camp, something Emily didn’t know.

Camp leader, the chaste Dan (Dan (Austyn Van de Kamp) is much as you would expect and aided by camp veteran Jo (Sophie Bawks-Smith). Emily is soon introduced to the rest of the team and find herself falling with a group who are decidedly left of centre and don’t quite follow the Christian guidelines set.

After the children arrive the camp settles down to activities. One of which is Emily’s group splintering off to booze and drugs, and seduce Dan. The latter goes according to plan virtually traumatising Dan at the same time setting other things in motion.

Avalon Fast’s second movie nods to The Craft in the collective bonding of the women and living by their own set of rules. The boozing is not the half of it with previous actions coming into play as the women seek to consolidate their power.

There is a coming-of-age element to Camp though there are hopefully precious few young adults who will ever have to go through the trauma that Emily does. That is atypical if the resolution isn’t. Emily’s evident disquiet with her new friends doesn’t prevent her bonding with them.

Camp only jumps down the horror witchcraft hole towards the end. For much of its duration it relies more on atmosphere and mysticism interspersed with dreams and animated sequences.

Camp had its German premiere at the Final Girls Fillm Festival Berlin, March 2026