When I was in High School, one of my teachers asked if I would like to take a trip to a local jail. The trip was not mandatory, but was recommended for some of my classmates. The program was designed to scare kids straight. While not all the kids with whom I went to school were troubled, there was a select few that were. The visit to the jail was one I’ll never forget, even though I was far from a bad kid. It was something I wanted to experience.
Sending a child to a place where their actions are reprimanded if they forget to tie a shoelace is a bit extreme in my opinion. Yet, throughout the world there are places where parents send their troubled or unwanted children to either receive help or simply to get the children out of their hair. In this film, we learn just how extreme some of these places are. The film is based on a true story and attempts to make its audience aware of what really goes on in disciplinary camps and schools around the world.
BOOT CAMP stars Mila Kurnis as Sophie, a rebellious girl who enjoys high school life. She is a party girl who likes to be where the fun is. Her boyfriend Ben (Gregory Edward Smith), is also a party animal, but knows his limits. Sophie recently has lost her father, and her mother has remarried a powerful politician who is not fond of Sophie’s presence. In one instance of rebellion, she ruins one of his important cocktail parties. Sophie does not know that her mother has been persuaded by her new husband to send Sophie away in an effort to tame her. He has her kidnapped and drugged at a party. Sophie wakes up to find herself part of a community of troubled kids living on an island off the coast of Fiji. The camp is run by Norman Hall (Peter Stormare), a man who claims to rehabilitate troubled kids. Meanwhile, back at home, Ben finds out where Sophie has been taken. He does research, and decides to feign drug addiction so his parents will send him to the same place. When they do, Ben finds himself face to face with Sophie. The boot camp, however is not a normal camp for troubled kids. The teachers in this camp take advantage of the kids, engaging in all kinds of behavior and maintaining a code of secrecy. Sophie and Ben plan to escape the camp and expose it for what it really is, but go though some hard times along the way
I really enjoyed where the filmmakers were going with this one. In the beginning and end of the film there are captions that tell facts about some of the boot camps throughout the world. Over forty kids have died in these camps worldwide. While the film is no masterpiece, the filmmakers did a great job in getting their message across. I was expecting a horror film with a lot of kids being tortured to death, but what I thought would end up being just another fantasy torture film like HOSTEL and SAW, actually turned out to be based on the real life horrors experienced by these kids. Some of these camps are in other countries where minors have no rights. While the script has some plot holes and lacks in certain areas, the filmmakers get the message across in the end, and that is all that really counts.
BOOT CAMP has some good production values. The sets really give the feeling that, while the kids are in paradise, they are also in hell. The camp itself looks very similar to Jonestown with Norman Hall as the Jim Jones character. The wardrobe, although simple, points out the caste system under which the kids live. They wear shirts of different colors to signify their growth in the community. The overall production values really compliment the feel of the film. The films has decent acting, as well. Some of the cast really don’t fit their characters, but all in all, the acting is not half bad, although the acting is not the film’s strongest point.
Although BOOT CAMP is not be the best produced film, it gets its point across. I enjoyed it’s story and got an education about what some of these places are really like. By watching the film, I can tell that the filmmakers were once affected by a similar experience in their lives and made this film to make others aware of the kind of things that happen in these places. It’s a warning call to parents who may be thinking of sending their children away, whether because they are troubled, overweight or having other problems. Giving the problem away to someone else is not always the best solution. In some cases, such as in the cases in this film, it is the parents who have the real problems. Some kids just need to be heard, not shut in some room never being allowed to say anything. It’s truly a film where problems are exposed by both parent and child, and I hope that this film is able to reach out to those families in need of help. It may not be the best film in the world, but it has a good message, one that many people chose to ignore.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
