Director: Andy Palmer
Writer: Alex Carl
Meet Jack. A struggling father of two; a bit pressed for cash. His paranormal reality television series Haunt Squad has been cancelled. Pleading for another shot at the brass ring, he convinces his boss (Courtney Gains) to allow one more go around. If the special episode of Haunt Squad is a ratings hit he and his team get another season. If not, his show is gone for good.
Non-believer Jack (Chad Michael Murray HOUSE OF WAX) chooses Camp Cold Brook in rural Oklahoma to make their final stand. A choice that just might make a believer out of him.
Assembling the team, Angela (Danielle Harris), techie Kevin (Michael Eric Reid THE FUNHOUSE MASSACRE) and new comer to the team Emma (Candice De Visser THE FUNHOUSE MASSACRE), Haunt Squad sets up at the remote camp. The camp was abandoned years ago by the church group that owns it after a woman poisoned and drowned twenty eight of the camping children. The residents of the nearest town shun the place, whispering about a grieving mother who turned to witchcraft committing the heinous crime.
We all know the place is haunted, right?
It would be easy to dismiss CAMP COLD BROOK as yet another low budget 'people get more than they bargained for while looking for ghosts' film. The tropes are all here on display. Cell phones not working. The group splitting up. Odd noises in the night. Characters doing something stupid in the face of adversity. But amidst the jump scares there is something a bit better that elevates CAMP COLD BROOK above the crowded ghost sub-genre. At points the film is creepy and scary. The filmmakers are able to wring tension from the rote script. Sadly, the sparks are few and far between. There's no mystery to be had as the script telegraphs what we are about to see, right down to the 'shock' ending. The acting is solid and it always is a joy to see genre stalwart Danielle Harris on screen but the cast is let down by the script. One of the characters takes long naps during the day for no other apparent reason than the script needs it be be night time so the spooky stuff can happen. Two other characters join him in napping as if it were a preschool class.
Seeing 'Joe Dante Presents' at the beginning of the film's credits gave me hope that I'd be watching something different. That was not to be the case. Which made me wonder, and I didn't want to think this, was it Dante's mentorship or input that kept me from hitting the fast forward button? As in, was he responsible for the better parts of the film. I'll go with no, and give credit to the director and editor Andy Palmer and cinematographer Filip Vandewal.
CAMP COLD BROOK is slightly better than most of the ghost stories out there but that isn't saying much.
** out of ****
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