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Jacquelyn Bradley, Kelly Bradley, Cassandra Pearl Moselle

"Monster Camp" is a rare and fascinating glimpse into the world of live-action role playing ("LARPing"). In this award-winning documentary, gamer stereotypes are simultaneously shattered and confirmed...( read more  read more... ). For 48 consecutive hours--there are no breaks, not even for sleep--immerse yourself in a world completely unlike our own. A world built upon fantasy, chivalry, and imagination; a place where you can be anything, dress however, have almost any power. A world where software engineers, department store managers, and high school students live as warriors, sorcerers, and villains. It's a place that lets you transform yourself, perhaps becoming the person you wish you really were. Welcome to "Monster Camp", the true story of NERO Seattle, one of more than 60 LARPing franchises with thousands upon thousands of members (belonging to either NERO International or Alliance LARP) in North America.

Flixster Users

55% liked it

388 ratings

Critics

62% liked it

13 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 21 min.

Directed by: Cullen Hoback

Release Date: May 30, 2008

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DVD Release Date: September 2, 2008

Stats: 74 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (74)

  • Beefy
    April 25, 2009
    Beefy
    Some laughs, sure, but not as involving as Darkon was.
  • lewiskendell
    January 10, 2009
    lewiskendell
    I was completely fascinated with LARPers after seeing the excellent Darkon, and once I learned that there was another documentary about the subject that had been made, I wasted no time tracking it down so I could watch it. Unfortunately, Monster Camp is inferior to Darkon in ever...( read more)y way. Even hardcore fans of documentaries may choose to skip this one.

    A documentary is only as good as its subject matter, and Monster Camp simply fails in this regard. I'm not a judgmental person. I liked all the different people that Darkon focused on. There lives were interesting for the most part, and I empathized or identified to a degree with all of them. For the most part they were normal people. Monster Camp, on the other hand...

    I hate to say this, but there was very little to like about the participants of Nero Seattle. They weren't endearing or quirky. Mostly, they were just plain weird. The movie makers made no attempt to portray them as three-dimensional individuals. They all came off as losers or super-geeks who had nothing in their lives except their monthly hobby. And I hate to see people depicted in such a negative way.

    There's no incentive to get emotionally involved in Monster Camp. Darkon was so well made, that everything that was important to its subjects soon became important to the viewer. All I feel after watching Monster Camp is that most of those people would benefit from focusing more of their attention on the real world.

    In a nutshell, I recommend Darkon to everyone and Monster Camp to no one.
  • her69eyes
    September 11, 2008
    her69eyes
    Although many people would be quick to make fun of the grown men and women running around with foam swords in "Monster Camp", I find it completely awe-inspiring and delightful. We all have some sort of escapism - and there's something that's just so charming about people who don'...( read more)t care about being "nerds" and they just do what they feel is fun. How is it not admirable? I guarantee you that many of us would never have the balls to participate in a game like this and readily admit it to your friends. The men and women of this film are completely self aware and intelligent, and the fact that even in the worst of times they can still embrace the power of imagination makes this documentary infinitely charming.

    Along with "Darkon", these two documentaries have really introduced this subculture to a very wide audience. While "Darkon" was fascinating and provided me my first look into what a real LARP game is like, I felt that it focused too heavily on the game itself and not the people involved. "Monster Camp" solves these issues and deals with the people just as much as the game - and rather than focusing on storyline, they focus on the stress and dedication it takes to put this game together... even at points providing great insight into romance and real human emotion. While "Darkon" put effort into trying to make these LARP battles seem legitimate and epic to get a few laughs, the laughs that Cullen gets aren't at the expense of anyone. It feels like you're hanging out with a group of friends. Cullen doesn't judge these people, and I feel as though he certainly admires them.

    Trying to express what NERO is to your average person looks to be no easy task. The players tend to compare it to "Dungeons & Dragons" (most of the players used to play D&D themselves), however it allows you to move out from the familiar old basement surrounded with Mountain Dew and Cheetos. These people have devised an elaborate 200-page rule book creating a real life fantasy world - and it's very similar to what you'd expect out of a typical role playing game. There's hit points and spells, and you even loot your foes once you slay them. Cullen Hoback frequently goes back to showing a young man by the name of Matt who is still new to the game and in over his head. "I don't think i'm undead", he exclaims.

    Something this film does that I haven't seen expressed in film yet was talk about video game addiction, using World of Warcraft as the primary example in this case. There's a touching moment when a father explains how he used to spend more time with the game than he did his daughter. His compromise? Fix up and old computer and let her play with him. While some people would be quick to call him a bad father, we understand that he loves his daughter and we still respect him - who doesn't want to get away from this mundane existence? A character late in the film admits that LARP'ing, especially as a PC (the good guys), makes him feel cool... which is something that he doesn't get to do outside of NERO.

    The personalities of this film are all people you've met before. There's one man who has been a senior in high school for 4 or 5 years. His life consists of playing World of Warcraft during the day, and then moving over to the television once his roommate arrives at home. While the film doesn't judge him, and he certainly is one of the more charming and humorous personalities of the film, Hoback makes it clear in the last scene that although escapism is wonderful, there comes a point where you need to figure out what you want of your life. Hoback loves these people and doesn't want to see them secluded in a basement forever.

    My one problem with "Monster Camp" is the vast amount of characters were introduced to. I'm dying for one of these films to focus on the weekend of 3 or 4 people who we get to know quite well. There were some people in here that didn't get much more than 10 minutes and were ultimately forgettable, and I think it'd be far more compelling to see the effects of NERO on an individual rather than studying these "outcasts" as a whole. That being said, however, this is a film that's infinitely charming and just as fun to watch as an outsider as i'm sure it is for the people involved. It doesn't mock it's subjects and it embraces their truthfulness. These are wonderful people who are able to let go and literally battle their demons away with swords and spells. Their swords may be foam, but you can't deny that these men and women are truly heroes.
  • acenate
    October 12, 2009
    acenate
    Not a bad documentary, its focus on the internal politics of a group of LARPers provides a nice little reminder on human nature, or something. The meat of the movie, though, should be the characters that populate this subculture. They are a colorful group, to be sure, but here to...( read more)o much attention is paid to the logistics of the game itself. That does serve as a means of characterization, as it exposes some of this practice's absurdity, but by the end of the movie I felt like I knew too much about NERO and not enough about LARPing.
  • superclerk25
    October 14, 2009
    superclerk25
    It's a good documentary but I would have liked to get a little more into how the game is played and seen more of that than people talking about what a pain it is to play the game.
    It's well made and the people are interesting enough to sit through but they all come off a little o...( read more)ut of touch with reality. Something none of them are afraid to admit.
  • HarleenQuinzel
    August 5, 2009
    HarleenQuinzel
    Monster Camp is a fascinating look into the world of LARP -- Live Action Role Playing. It's fascinating to witness the kind of people who live for this kind of thing, an activity which most people I'm sure would find completely foreign and detestable. It's not a doc made to pick ...( read more)fun at these people, however, but to explore the dynamics of the group, the reasons why they do activities that are so widely thought to be a social stigma, and explore the management of a LARP camp. It's hilarious, entertaining and even a little sweet. I recommend it, definitely.
  • jscottcorley
    July 2, 2009
    jscottcorley
    The director failed on 2 counts: He thought the politics of the camp was interesting and he didn't tell anyone's story. Boring after the first 15 minutes. For a better doc on nerds, see Trekkies.
  • drumpappyhq
    October 12, 2008
    drumpappyhq
    This was a nice little documentary. The film was well done and (all in all) quite interesting. Also unusual, but I do believe that's a given. My kinda documentary.

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Critic Reviews

April 4, 2008
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Monster Camp introduces us to several of its cheerful practitioners, letting what first seems odd slowly make sense to the uninitiated. full review

View more Monster Camp reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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