CAMP CALYPSO (SHORT FILM)

Directed by: Hannah May Cumming, Karlee Boon

Starring: Ruby Cumming, Derek Sweet, Billy Titko, Savanah Raye Jones, Misha Kemp, Caitlyn Sparkman

It’s 1978, and Camp Calypso welcomes a new bunch of teen campers for the Summer.  When fifteen year old Margot arrives, she's perturbed by both the misogynistic male counselors and the overbearing camp director, who won't allow discussion about either the camp's tragic past nor the myths that have sprung up since. However when counselors start to go missing, Margot and the other campers learn that the past - and the myths - are catching up to them…

With Camp Calypso, writer/director Hannah May Cumming and co-director Karlee Boon cast a modern feminist gaze at the classical Summer camp/Slasher setup and condenses the tropes into a digestible 20 minutes.

Our entry point is Margot, a fifteen year old who has just arrived at the camp and is welcomed by Heather, one of the counselors, who points out for us who the main players are. This includes Cherry, who seems a little bit wiser than the rest, and who immediately has to tolerate the boorish behaviour of the three male counselors, Richie, Dean and Floyd. Heading up the whole camp is Pete, the new camp director, who used to be a camp counselor himself.

There are rumours abound that the camp is haunted/cursed, and that some form of ghostly siren lives at the bottom of the nearby lake, luring people to their deaths. This local myth seems to have sprung up from the camp's own tragic past when a young counselor called Lorelei mysteriously drowned…an even that happened the same year Pete was a counselor…

With such a classic set-up, the movie couldn't go too far wrong if it tried. Hell, even Camp Death III - In 2D!, which was intentionally silly, still managed to entertain. And the thing is here, the directing duo understand not only the tropes of the genre, but also its sexual politics, which they able to subvert without distracting from the main premise.

A lot of slasher movies, and for that matter teen movies, will show that horny attractive guys are often rewarded with sex, regardless of what might happen afterwards. Offer to share a joint with a girl? Going to lead to sex. Offer to "help out with the lifejackets"? Girl's going to get naked and lead to sex. Not so much at Camp Calypso, however, as the girls (both campers and counselors) have their own sexual agenda which doesn't involve trading themselves for small favours, regardless of whether there's a monster on the prowl.

There is a catharsis in the kill scenes throughout the film, as each victim of the monster is killed immediately after displaying some downright creepy behaviour. In fact one such victim was on the verge of committing sexual assault, so it's actually a relief, for the viewer, when the killings occur. The only true innocent victim in the film is Lorelei, whose tragic fate we witness in flashback. This sets up the best and most outrageous kill scene of the film, which reminded me of the final kill from Day of the Dead…

My only real criticism with Camp Calypso is that it could have used a minute or two spent on Pete to show his deteriorating mental state, as his appearance at the end of the film is a little jarring from what we'd seen earlier.

Camp Calypso is technically very well made, with a talented crew behind the camera. The costumes and styles evoke the 80's perfectly (especially the "short shorts"), while the film's lighting also contributes to making it feel like a throwback to the classic slashers. The synth score by Rudy Klobas is also a standout. The cast is really good, with the principles all being very believable in their roles, both sympathetic and despicable by turn, with Derek Sweet probably having to do most of the heavy lifting as camp director Pete. His sense of self-loathing at having to return to Camp Calypso is etched in his every expression.

THE VERDICT

With Camp Calypso, Hannah May  Cumming and Karlee Boon have produced a decent Slasher movie which can be enjoyed on different levels. On the surface it's a very entertaining homage to the classics such as Friday the Thirteenth, but beneath that the film is infused with a feminist perspective and subverts the traditional male/female dynamic of the genre.

8 out of 10   RECOMMENDED

MikeOutWest

CAMP CALYPSO IS STILL BEING SHOWN AT THE FOLLOWING FILM FESTIVALS:

Out For Blood Film Festival in Cambridge, UK, October 28th-31st (which will now be online)

Crypticon Seattle Sep 18th-20th, which will be a hybrid online and drive-in festival.