Camp Wedding is a clever take on the camp slasher genre as seen in films such as Friday the 13th and Sleepaway Camp that has the parodic elements of Scream mixed with the girlish excitement of wedding movies.
Director and writer Greg Emetaz along with co-writer Cara Consilvio uses the horror-comedy genre to comment on society’s overbearing obsession with social media that transforms us into zombies so preoccupied with our reputation and online presence that we forget to live our real lives to the fullest.
Emetaz portrays modern technology in a unique way by having texts or emails show up in speech bubbles that hover above the characters' phones to show how we are never in the moment and always distracted by other conversations.
The film’s setting, a deserted campground-turned-Airbnb, is a creepy space shrouded in darkness. It has poor reception so only texts can be infrequently sent. The lore of Camp Pocumtuck is fascinating, more deranged Jesus Camp and less Wet Hot American Summer; not only does it sit atop the bodies of immolated witches and massacred Indians, but it was also where a young girl was mysteriously struck by lightning and drowned. She attended a strict religious camp where the counselors punished young children for their sins; they would shame the campers publically for their indiscretions by displaying polaroid photographs on a board with their transgression written on the bottom, a practice that comes into play later in the film.
Kelley Gates shines as the persnickety bridezilla Mia who orders her bridal party to decorate the sprawling venue before the wedding. Her calm fiancé Dalvero (David Pegram) leads the groomsmen who are more concerned with having a good time than ornamentation. Inevitable pre-wedding squabbles, hijinks, and romantic liaisons occur amongst the diverse friend group before they start disappearing one by one and receiving strange text messages.
The ensemble is fantastic, but standout performances include Wendy Jung as bridesmaid Eileen, an overbearing old friend of Mia’s who hopes they can rekindle their friendship—or at the very least, become friends on Facebook. Jung is loud and quirky, and her dorky, infectious energy masks her character's inner loneliness that evokes pity. Sean Atkinson delivers a witty performance as the best man named Gore who is in search of the man of his dreams on various dating apps.
This kooky horror-comedy is light on gory scares and heavy on sharp humor. The real horror in this film is how our over-reliance on modern technology impedes our ability to truly connect with one another. Emetaz’s Camp Wedding is a splashy throwback to 1980s slashers with a contemporary twist that features an inclusive cast. It has a frothy spirit and theatrical aesthetic that makes it a truly enjoyable watch.