Camping Fun

by Thomas Burke

REVIEW

 

“If in Act One you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act.”

                                                                                                         Anton Chekhov

               

               Found footage is a sub-genre of films in which all or a substantial part of a fictional film is presented as if it were a movie or video recording. On-screen events are usually seen through one or more characters' cameras, often accompanied by off-camera real-time explanations. The movie Camping Fun offers us a very successful example of this movie genre. It tells about the horrible picture that four young people encounter in their family home, where they go to spend time, through completely realistic video recordings.

                In the opening of the film, a very detailed information is provided for the audience. Director Thomas Burke creates an infrastructure about who the characters are, where they are going, what will happen to them. We have to say it's a clever presentation plan. Especially in short films, it is the right choice in order to get into the scene and not to bore the audience with unnecessary details. It's nice to use Glitch as a transition effect between some scenes. It fits the horror movie theme as well as supports the atmosphere. We carefully watched the credits section and saw director Thomas Burke starring in the film as Tommy. Sometimes it is an advantage to have a passionate employee of the film crew in the film. Because doing his job lovingly, his determination and faith affect other players as well.

                We waited until the very end of the movie, but there was no other surprise. However, the Credits episode gives the tension that will soon be another event. Maybe an unexpected scene could have been added to the end. Still, the Credits part is very successful. Briefly, Camping Fun is a very good "found footage" short film. The atmosphere is very tense, the acting is great, the editing is quite successful. The only thing the film lacks is that it has an ordinary finale. We think the director will solve this problem in future films.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           AIFF