‘Camping Trip’ VOD Review
Stars: Leonardo Fuica, Caitlin Cameron, Hannah Forest Briand, Alex Gravenstein | Written by Leonardo Fuica | Directed by Demian Fuica, Leonardo Fuica
The events around us shape a lot of the entertainment we see on television and in movies. Camping Trip is a movie that shows this is exactly the case. Taking place while the stresses of Covid shapes the world, a camping trip should be a welcome escape.
When two couples decide to go on a camping trip, the thoughts of leaving Covid behind offers them some hope. When a shady handover though near where they are camping goes wrong, they find themselves implicated in a crime that could tear their friendships apart.
One thing that is very obvious about Camping Trip is that it is set under the shadow of Covid. We have characters that are obviously sceptical about such things as wearing masks, but also ones that are following the rules. Feeling spied upon by their neighbours and just wanting to escape, it’s a movie that a lot of us can relate to.
What the movie actually does well is take Covid and make it a presence but does not offend those who actually see it for the risk it is. Yes, there are people who aren’t as strict with their handling of such things as wearing masks, but we live in a world where we are free to make our own decisions.
When it comes to the actual events around the Camping Trip, things get more formulaic, but this is not a bad thing. We see tensions grow in the group and their reactions to the dangers around them which start to grow. The fights that take place are interesting because they are done in a way as to not just be an all-out action fest, but at points things go into slow motion to pull every action out into a slower more dance-like style.
What this does is impress and in some ways lessen the effect. It is interesting to see how each character makes moves to suppress their enemy, but it also makes their actions at times very slow. One character for example appears to lay on the floor forever before he attacks, and it would have been a lot less time-consuming had the action been at regular speed. It is an interesting move though to slow things down, and does make what could be a very quick fight into something longer lasting and more effective.
One thing that makes Camping Trip work is the acting, the ensemble cast all does a good job of creating characters that we both love and hate. There is time taken to learn their traits, before the violence starts, and it makes sense based on these traits that they do what they do.
Camping Trip is an interesting movie based in a time of hardship that many of us now relate to. More movies where Covid-like events shape the themes that we see are likely to come out in the next few years, and it just shows how movies are affected by the world around us. An interesting take on a camping movie, Camping Trip is an entertaining watch, made effective by the world events around us.
*** 3/5
Camping Trip is available on Digital Download now.
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