Marshmallow

Vampire Owl: We have been the people of the marshes.

Vampire Bat: I am sure that there is no talk about vampires of the marshes in this movie.

Vampire Owl: Aren’t we vampires part of everything we meet?

Vampire Bat: You mean to say that vampires are like Ulysses.

Vampire Owl: Yes, we strive, seek and find while never yielding.

Vampire Bat: There is nothing left for the vampires to find in this world.

Vampire Owl: There have not been enough centuries to learn the world.

Vampire Bat: Well, it is enough to understand our realm well.

Vampire Owl: Dr. Frankenstein talks about different realms at the same time.

Vampire Bat: There is nothing more ridiculous than Mr. Frankenstein’s researches.

[Gets a chilli porotta and three cups of Ooty tea].

What is the movie about? :: Morgan (Kue Lawrence) is a young and lonely child who has regular nightmares which never seems to stop, and he also remains a kid who has almost no friends at all in the neighborhood or the education institution where he studies. Despite his grandfather Rot (Corbin Bernsen) passing away, his parents decide to send him to a summer camp in which they had already booked a place for him. There he meets the highly supportive and friendly young woman Rachel (Giorgia Whigham) who leads the camp and also welcomes Morgan with a happy face and promise of full support during the programme. Two other employees of the camp Kazswar (Pierson Fodé) and Laurie (Samantha Neyland Trumbo) are comparatively mean to the kids, and it is revealed that they are secretly having a sexual affair at nights in one of the selected cabins in the woods. Collins (Paul Soter) oversees things while Franklin (Maxwell Whittington-Cooper) maintains a friendly approach to kids and provides them with the much-needed emotional support.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Morgan ends up sharing the room with the son of his father’s friend CJ (Sutton Johnson), who remains mean to him, and even pushes him into the river almost having him drowned. Another boy Raj (Winston Vengapally) who questions him is also brutally beaten up by him until Rachel and Collins manage to pull him back. Morgan is consoled by his newfound friends Pilar (Kai Cech), Dirk (Max Malas), Caroline (Jordyn Raya James) and Sam (Dylan Friedman) who are also tired of CJ’s attitude. Morgan finds a masked man in a strange clothing at night and remembers that the people-in-charge at the camp had told them a spooky story about a doctor who kidnaps children who stay in their bunks at night and performs terrifying experiments on them in the basement of his building, and the camp itself was built over his house and clinic. He tries to escape, but realizes that the man has full control over the area, and some of the youth who controls the camp also seems to be helping the man. Can the children escape from the situation or atleast survive until dawn?

The defence of Marshmallow :: Instead of going through the standard campfire slasher tropes, the movie uses nostalgia and familiar setups to create a world which surprisingly diverts and brings a twist which is rather unexpected – the deviation from the original slasher idea to which the setup was already built, brings a science fiction side to the whole thing and has us thinking and hoping for a sequel which would establish a classic background. There is a fine use of classic woods, cabins and lakeside settings, a classic serial killer costume and creepy campfire folklore to build an unsettling old-style aesthetic which could keep us interesting right from the early moments in the camp; one can remember that the signs were already there. The surprises surely work and building twists on the unpredictable with red herrings acting well, has us interested. With the length only at one and half hours, the movie assures a smooth passage. With the evil spreading around here by the end of the movie, we can expect that sequel to come soon enough.

The claws of flaw :: The teenage camp cliches and teenage drama make it difficult to get going for the movie, as the initial moments can make one feel that the movie is not of that strength, and is not that interesting. The central mystery surely takes a little too much time to start and keep moving. The kids’ elements do not work that well in the beginning stages either, and it is not that easy to connect with the kids early enough. The big science fiction revelation happens a little too late too, and that feeling gets cut very soon. Despite often mentioned as a slasher, this has not much of blood and gore, and the science fiction taking over as genre only comes rather too late. You see the type of movie changing as you keep watching, and it is quite strange a feeling indeed, as you are left with no slasher to take home as science fiction seems to completely take over here. The idea that children are inherently evil is not that well-explored here, as a Lord of the Flies feeling was there to be taken, but never really takes off.

The performers of the soul :: The kids surely come up with some interesting performances, and Kue Lawrence who leads them clearly stands strong, and brings the introverted, grief-stricken 12-year-old outsider who cannot get out of trauma as he gets bullied, and the vulnerability remains believable throughout the movie. Max Malas provides some fine support to the main character and even brings some humour to the same. The friendship between the two remains interesting right from the moment they meet. The other children also add nicely despite the two boys standing out with the performances. Among the adult actors, Giorgia Whigham as Rachel does the best, and seemingly blends as if she is looking for more horror movies to add to her pocket – it is a joy to watch her around. Samantha Neyland Trumbo would suit as a scream queen in another flick, as she seems to have that special horror charm. Paul Soter as Collins remains a strong presence in the movie while Maxwell Whittington-Cooper and Pierson Fodé comes in from two sides showing different attitudes towards situations really well.

How it finishes :: The movie succeeds as a divergent slasher as it refuses to be just another usual summer camp slasher. It goes through different genres nicely and effectively, and the twist in the end makes the movie’s world even more interesting, with the scope for sequel left wide open with more science fiction being possible – the sharp turn taken by narrative comes when least expected. But it is to be said that one would still wonder if the best is explored here. The ending has some of the momentum disrupted as the revelation just happens as if it was rushed through the act. There is some world-building which comes in the end, and that is just quickly done though, and people are left waiting for the sequel to learn things more clearly. The slasher horror fans would also wonder where all the blood and gore have gone missing. Despite the initial doubts, the movie is still one interesting horror that chooses to go for the twists above everything else. This is one movie about which most us knew thing, and this is a case when the lesser known strikes.

Release date: 11 April 2025
Running time: 93 minutes
Directed by: Daniel DelPurgatorio
Starring: Kue Christian Lawrence, Max Malas, Kai Marie Cech, Giorgia Alice Whigham, Pierson Dane Fodé, Corbin Dean Bernsen, Alysia Whitney Reiner, Paul Gregory Soter, Cullen Douglas, Michael Park