ReelBob: ‘Camping Trip’ ★★½

By Bob Bloom

I could not fully appreciate “Camping Trip” simply because it tried to cover too many issues — the mental impact following a COVID lockdown, the self-indulgence of millennials, friendship, trust and greed.

You have the admire the perseverance of those who created the movie. Most everyone involved are multi-taskers, starting with brothers Demian and Leonardo Fuica, who co-directed.

Leonardo Fuica also wrote the screenplay, served as producer and executive producer, while Demian Fuica edited the movie and was co-director of photography.

Other Fuica family members were involved, including Alexandra Fuica, who was the production designer.

This low-budget affair was shot in 2020 in woodlands in Quebec, Canada, at the height of the pandemic.

The movie begins innocently enough: two young couples — Enzo (Leo Zola) and Polly (Caitlin Cameron) and Ace (Alex Gravenstein) and Coco (Hannah Forest Briand) — take advantage of the lifting of COVID restrictions by going camping in a secluded area known to Enzo.

Once there they swim, go canoeing, have sex and simply enjoy themselves.

But the outside world intrudes when they find a body — a murder victim. He was delivering money to two thugs — Orick and Billy — in exchange for some formula that is supposedly linked to combating COVID. Unfortunately, the script does not make this point very clear — and, in the end, it is a mere diversion.

It seems the dead man tried to double cross the two men and keep the money for himself.
Orick and Billy, discovering the camping quartet, soon realize that their dearly departed friend, had hid the money at their campsite.

Earlier, the four found the money and debated what to do with it. Enzo was for turning it over to the authorities while Ace, who has financial difficulties, wants to equally divide it.

The rest of the movie is easy to decipher.

But as the movie progresses, the air of menace increases, as does the threat of violence. And when it does happen, instead of being shocking, it is diluted by being presented in slow motion. This simultaneously emphasizes and tempers the horror of the brutality.

Afterward a cloud of suspicion and paranoia hang over the four friends leading to a conclusion that is not that surprising.

“Camping Trip,” at 105 minutes, needed better pacing. The shift in tone from jovial to thriller is too sudden. It seems forced.

The movie opens with a slow buildup and an air of unnamed dread. The shift into high gear is too abrupt as we are still learning about our four protagonists.

After the introduction of the bad guys, the movie seems to fall into cliched situations that are too easy to discern as well as a bit formulaic.

Overall, “Camping Trip” is a decent movie, but it tries to tackle too much seemingly wanting to be more social commentary and criticism than entertaining.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

CAMPING TRIP
2½ stars out of 4
Not rated, graphic and bloody violence, language, nudity, sexual content