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the plague movie review

“The Plague” is a psychologically intense coming‑of‑age thriller set at a boys’ summer water‑polo camp, using a rumored contagion as a metaphor for bullying, masculinity, and social cruelty. It is stylish, well‑acted, and often devastating, though its heavy themes and ambiguous horror elements mean it is not a feel‑good teen movie.

Quick Scoop

  • Genre & vibe: Psychological drama‑thriller with horror shading, more “Lord of the Flies at summer camp” than standard camp comedy.
  • Setting: Early‑2000s all‑boys water‑polo camp where status, humiliation, and group dynamics rule everything.
  • Core hook: A boy labeled as having “the plague” becomes the focal point of fear and ostracization, blurring the line between rumor, illness, and collective hysteria.
  • Big themes: Bullying, toxic boyhood, peer pressure, the terror of not fitting in, and how rumors spread like infection.
  • TL;DR opinion: Visceral, well‑crafted, and emotionally rough; impressive debut filmmaking, but deliberately uncomfortable and occasionally schematic in its final act.

Story & Themes

  • Plot basics: Socially anxious 12‑year‑old Ben arrives at camp and desperately wants to belong, but the ruthless hierarchy quickly forces him to choose between siding with the popular boys or standing by Eli, an ostracized kid rumored to carry a mysterious “plague.”
  • The “plague” idea: The supposed disease is described as turning a person’s brain into “baby food,” becoming a schoolyard‑style urban legend that justifies cruelty and exclusion.
  • Deeper meaning: Critics highlight how the contagion functions as a metaphor for stigma, gossip, and the way adolescent boys police each other’s bodies and status.

Performances & Direction

  • Acting: Everett Blunck (Ben) is singled out for a raw, inward performance that captures panic, shame, and moral conflict, while Kayo Martin’s Jake is a disturbingly charismatic bully whose casual sadism drives much of the film’s tension.
  • Ensemble: Reviewers consistently praise the young cast for naturalistic, often painful interactions that feel alarmingly close to real adolescent behavior.
  • Direction & style: Charlie Polinger’s debut is described as confident and visually sharp, with subjective camerawork and sound design that pull the viewer into Ben’s anxious headspace.
  • Tone: The film leans into chanting, gasping vocal elements in the score and horror‑adjacent framing, turning cafeteria seating and showers into social horror set‑pieces.

What Works Best

  • Psychological accuracy: Critics note how convincingly the film portrays the bewildering, high‑stakes emotional world of adolescence, where minor slights feel life‑or‑death.
  • Moral tension: Much of the power comes from watching Ben wrestle with whether to preserve his fragile social standing or defend someone who clearly needs help.
  • Atmosphere: Several reviews highlight the camp as a contained pressure cooker, with minimal adult oversight, amplifying the sense that kids are left to govern themselves with often brutal results.

Weak Spots & Caveats

  • Emotional difficulty: This is a harsh, often punishing watch, particularly for anyone with experience of bullying or social exclusion.
  • Third‑act choices: Some reviewers feel the film’s eerie, body‑horror‑tinged climax and growth arc for Ben slide into something slightly more conventional after a more mysterious build‑up.
  • Ambiguity: The movie never fully resolves whether the “plague” is literally real or entirely imagined, which many find thematically rich but some may find frustrating.

Forum & “Latest News” Flavor

  • Recent buzz: As a 2025 release with a festival presence, it has been generating discussion for its unflinching look at “the monstrosity of boyhood” and the ethics of depicting cruelty among kids.
  • Discussion points: Online conversations frequently focus on whether the film goes too far, how it compares to other dark teen dramas, and whether its portrayal of masculinity feels incisive or overly bleak.

Bottom line for “the plague movie review” seekers : This is a striking, unsettling, and largely successful psychological camp thriller whose strongest assets are its performances and atmosphere, even if its bleakness and late‑game narrative choices may divide viewers.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.