Daily Archives: March 26, 2014

Teenage


It may seem difficult to fathom, especially given the degree to which so much present day pop culture resembles a fishing lure designed to catch their capricious attention, but there was a time when teenagers didn’t exist. Sure, there were actual people who were 14, 15 and 16 years old, but they weren’t a demographic entity, to be either pursued or pilloried. Director Matt Wolf’s fascinating new documentary Teenage, then, casts an eye backwards, to that time and the ensuing decades. The result — an engaging collagist work assembled from rare archival material, filmed portraits and voiceover lifted from early 20th century diary entries — is an impressionistic rumination on the birth and, well, development (let’s not say maturation) of youth culture. For the full, original review, from Paste, click here. (Oscilloscope, unrated, 77 minutes)

Happy Camp Filmmakers Won’t Be Going Camping Again Soon


The title Happy Camp conjures feelings of a comedy — either an ironically named satire, or perhaps some Pitch Perfect-type summer-getaway ensemble where Glee fans labor to upstage one another against a competitive backdrop. In actuality, though, this new found-footage-framed horror thriller takes its name from the real-life small town, nestled up against the California-Oregon border, which lends the movie its setting. I recently had a chance to speak to multi-hyphenate collaborators (and offscreen couple) Josh Anthony and Anne Taylor about the film, their inspiration and work together and the involvement of Drew Barrymore as an executive producer. The slightly spoilerish conversation is excerpted over at ShockYa, so watch the movie first on VOD if you want to remain surprised, then click here.