DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Monster Camp

Monster Camp

Rated NR
Running time: 1 hr 22 mins

Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating: **** out of *****

Subject matter:

A deep and engaging look into an emerging subculture of those immersed in a realm of fantasy.

MY REVIEW

Have you ever been curious to know what those "nerdy" young adults or older adults who play World of Warcraft (WOW) and Dungeon's & Dragons (D & D) do on their "spare" time? Well Monster Camp provides that answer. The documentary focuses on a large group of gamers who divulge in a real life version of their favorite role playing games in a weekend event called NEURO. They dress up like dwarves, knights, plant creatures, the works. They participate in scripted battles and have to deal with real life "hit points" and magic potions and whatever else is involved in games like WOW and D & D.

Quite frankly, after watching this movie I am ashamed of myself. Ashamed that I ever judged one of these people for being "weird" or "nerds". These types of people, in my opinion have more self respect that people like you or I. This group of people do not swallow their pride, they love letting the world know what they are all about. Yes usually you can pick one out of a crowd just by their appearance, and thats they type of person featured here. This movie just reiterated the point, "Never Judge a Book by it's Cover". Some of the characters shown prominently in the film are very good people who are constantly put down because they love games.

I learned a few things about life while watching this movie, it actually opened my eyes. We are all the same, we are all humans co-existing on this Earth. Why do we judge eachother based off one anothers personal interests? One scene towards the end almost made me cry. One of the guys was saying how he has no friends outside of this weekend event, and that NEURO has brought all these same people together and they have learned about true friendship. These guys and gals are very intelligent people with a lot to offer. But just because they wear glasses and have long hair and play role playing games, means we have to make fun of them?? How sad. I admit, I used to, but that's going to change.

Monster Camp is an excellent documentary thats not just about a group of gamers coming together, its about a group of people who are socially rejected and come together every few months to feel what its really like to be looked at like you are worth something. And that to me, is awesome.

To view this films trailer, click this link: Monster Camp

*This is the 109th new film I've seen and reviewed this year.

*This film is now on DVD.