Film Review — "Camp Twilight"

Felissa Rose is an icon of horror cinema. There is no disputing that. So when I was offered the chance to watch and review her latest star vehicle—which she also co-wrote—I immediately and graciously said abso-fucking-lutely! Unfortunately, while Camp Twilight ends up being an admirable enough showcase for Rose’s idiosyncrasies as a performer, it is a lackluster effort as a whole. It’s not just the uninspired script or the wishy-washy ensemble, the film, to put it simply, needs work; it should not consider itself “done.” 

Camp Twilight plays like a rough cut—an unfinished and unpolished assembly of shots that form a story that’s only coherent-adjacent... and pretty raggedy. 

The sound mix leaves a lot to be desired. One of my video production instructors used to assert that audiences are more willing to forgive poor picture quality than they are bad audio. That claim always sounded counterintuitive, since film is a visual medium. But he was right. There are moments in Camp Twilight where the “wrong” track appears to be playing. A track from another shot that is being carried over in the edit maybe? Or a take recorded MOS (meaning soundlessly) that required subsequent looping? What’s even stranger are the shots that are completely devoid of audio. Like when the killer is moving in on a character whose lips are definitely moving—whose vocal cords are definitely making noise—though no cries of mercy can be heard.

Although not quite as stupefying as the sound, Camp Twilight has some shortcomings in the picture department as well. The color grading from shot to shot is occasionally inconsistent, almost as if color correction was inexplicably deemed unnecessary for certain shots. In the course of a scene, the film will, for instance, cut in for a close up and the hues throughout the frame are noticeably different—usually drearier and less vibrant. Given that this movie was supposedly “finished” for two years before its release, it seems odd that such wrinkles weren’t ironed out in the meantime. 

But, sadly, this film’s faults are not limited to the technical aspects...

You know those memes where someone will claim that they forced a bot to watch a thousand hours of, say, The Jerry Springer Show or Bob Ross videos and then “forced” the so-called bot to pen the first page of a hypothetical script? Well... Camp Twilight’s flat, generic approach reminded me of those. I understand that this was produced with an extremely meager budget, so that explains why the moderate kills are underwhelming, but that does not excuse the kills being so painfully unimaginative. 

So too is the aesthetic of the killer, whose look is fairly basic. Realistic in the sense that it’s probably what a modern killer in the woods might wear while handling his business, sure, but I don’t watch slasher movies for the realism. The all-black jogging getup does possess a giallo-esque flavor in a sensible and practical fashion, which I can appreciate to an extent, but that’s me reaching for potential artistic intent. One teeny-tiny detail regarding the killer’s wardrobe that completely took me out of it is the blurring of the Nike (?) logo on the shoes in post. A crude Greeking on set with gaff tape would’ve been a more condonable choice. 

Someone on set clearly had a modest Greek kit, at least. I’m not sure if this production had an official on-set dresser, but the crew got to have fun with contact paper and tape rolls. Almost anything within the frame that could even vaguely be perceived as a recognizable brand name is covered up or obscured. Or just turned around—which is honestly a big pet peeve of mine. Convenience store scenes where all the chips on the shelf are backward-facing, for example. I understand that indie producers tend to have a semi-irrational fear of being sued by a big corporation, but such decisions just end up making the final project look unconfident and cheap.

I get it, money is a huge hurtle in indie filmmaking, no doubt. And it’s evident that Camp Twilight did not have much. But what’s also evident is that this is a passion project of sorts. 

Felissa Rose is a staple within the horror community, undeniably. She has virtually 100% name ID with horror diehards, and she will likely always be employed in some capacity. I suspect that this particular endeavor was meant to provide Rose with an outlet to flaunt her photogeneity and strut her on-screen charisma. Camp Twilight does succeed in that regard. As co-writer and as co-producer, Rose built a pedestal for herself. Case in point, her raucous monologue at the film’s climax. 

Without question, Felissa Rose deserves another career-defining turn, but, to be perfectly frank, Camp Twilight is not going to be it.