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Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Camping Trip’

8/16/2022

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘Camping Trip’.

One thing that we can all agree upon, is that the past couple of years, taught us a great deal about ourselves. Because being locked away for a better part of a year, and then isolating heavily until a vaccine came forth… forced us to spend a lot of alone time. The kind that allowed for us to reflect and improve upon who we are. While helping us to perhaps understand what we want and what we need out of life. Because staring down a potentially crippling illness or even death, really does put life and our machinations within it, in perspective, and it is a fair to say a great deal of us came out of this mess, thankful for a second chance at life and ready to seize the day.

But that is of course, a personal journey. One that doesn’t reflect the greater whole and well, we often hope that our lessons extend to others or are part of a collective journey, and that hope has left all of us wondering… has that been the case? Did the world learn from Covid and find new direction in doing so? Or was this just another inconvenience that people will quickly move on from? And it just so happens, that there is a brand-new thriller on the market that takes the time to examine that question, and that makes Camping Trip quite the fascinating motion picture. One that offers up some sobering commentary on our world and what did indeed come out of Covid, and it accomplishes that feat… by taking us back in time just a little bit.

For in this motion picture, we are introduced to four friends at the end of the first lockdown, and they are beyond eager to see each other and enjoy life once again by going on a grand weekend camping trip. Where they can catch up, resume their unique polyamorous connections, and rejoice in the fact that the worst is behind them. But it doesn’t take long for this trip to take quite the turn. For a botched, backwoods deal near their camp, leads to the brutal murder of the money man, and now those responsible for that death, expect to be paid with the money that was hidden in the tent belonging to the group. Making this a weekend grounded in desperate survival when greed comes calling to their camp, one that will leave this group transformed in ways they never thought possible.

So, before we dig deep into the grit and grime of this movie, we need to make it clear… that this is a supremely bleak motion picture. One that is slow burning in nature so that it can properly explore the horrors that these close-knit friends experience in this story. Which means that this movie is going to make you uncomfortable often, but that is of course the point. However, not everyone is good with sitting through extreme dread and slow cooking terror, so, if you can live with that… you’re in for a treat. A brutal film that holds nothing back in its exploration of the darkest parts of humanity and how easily people slide into that and embrace it when the moment is right or when the opportunity presents itself.

But why do that? Why show us the worst of us in a story that is designed to answer the questions in question? Well at it turns out, the brutality of this story is the answer that we seek. For this movie postulates the theory, that we learned nothing from the pandemic. That it only taught a handful of people valuable lessons about life and its meaning and what’s important, while it instead struck fear into everyone else, leading to more strife and leading to more anger and fury and well… that’s some bleak commentary to find, the kind that is sadly backed up by the state of the world. Since we’ve seen some genuinely concerning moments play out after the timeline of this movie. But of course, not everyone will agree with that message or like the film’s ending.

For they genuinely believe we are better than this and can be better than this, but that’s what good a story does. It stirs a debate, and it asks us to really think upon the topic and that’s exactly what this motion picture does, in the most brutal fashion of course. For this is a story that really does put the horrors of mankind on display and is sharp in its analysis and opinion, and the best news of all… is that if you’re in the mood for a bleak and powerful story, one that definitely leaves you thinking long after its come to an end… then you can check out Camping Trip via Video on Demand right now and we here at NTG hope you do. Simply because this really is a bold and angry film, one that genuinely challenges each and every one of us.

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