July 2022: Straight Camp
Remember movies about camp? They were really fun back in the 20th century. Here are some of our favorites.
Chris’ Rec
Heavyweights (1995)
“It’s a fat camp!” What more do you need to know? Maybe that this is an ensemble of the biggest (no pun intended) child stars of the 1990s, including Kenan Thompson and Goldberg from the The Mighty Ducks. Maybe that this is Judd Apatow’s first feature film writing credit. Maybe that this is Ben Stiller’s best villain portrayal…yes, even better than White Goodman. If you were fat or fat-adjacent as a young teen, this kids cult classic will hit home in a very cathartic way. Plus, there’s a food orgy.
Stephanie’s Rec
The Babysitter’s Club (1995)
I have no idea how 7 thirteen-year-old girls get it together and open a summer camp for their babysitting clients and community, but they did it - even amidst the classic preteen girl drama! The Babysitter’s Club has peak 90’s camp vibes; starring Rachael Leigh Cook, Larissa Oleynik, and Schuyler Fisk…and I can’t listen to The Cranberries “Dreams” without thinking of the trailer. Please ignore the romance plot between the thirteen year old girl and seventeen year old boy.
Dylan’s Rec
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The Blair Witch Project has a reputation amongst some that it’s overrated, boring, and actually not scary. While taste is subjective, those people are, uh, wrong. It’s an experimental film about the absolute worst camping trip of all time with three of the most annoying people of all time. And there’s nothing scarier than that.
Kirk’s Rec
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
What starts off as a low-budget Friday the 13th knock-off turns into one of the more memorable camp slashers of the 80s. Sleepaway Camp has everything you could want from a camp movie: middle school bullies, horny camp counselors, and ridiculously short shorts. However, vicious kills and perhaps the most insane ending to a movie of all-time makes Sleepaway Camp more than just a camp movie… it’s a *camp* camp movie.
Jesse’s Rec
Suspiria (2018)
There will be trepidation over whether this is a camp movie—and the fact I chose the newer version—but in my opinion, Suspiria nails a specific urban sleepaway camp mood. As someone who grew up very much a city boy and rarely went camping, this movie oddly enough fit my metropolitan experience of adventurous adolescence. In one building that contains multiple emotional environments, Suspiria brings together campers, counselors, scary stories (that happen to be more or less real), and at the end of it all a life-changing experience that leaves all the participants deeply changed. I landed on the newer one because it felt more focused on the ‘campers’ themselves as opposed to the more generally vibey original, and you’d be hard-pressed to find another movie where the coming of age story leaves the central cohort further from their initial selves than our brave little troopers at the end of the film.