Review: Camp Camp ”Arrival of the Torso Takers”

My favorite episode of “Dark Reflections” was the one where the UK Prime Minister was killed by Reddit downvotes in a VR simulation.

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Max, Nikki, and Neil sneak out to Campbell’s old bomb shelter to watch a scary sci-fi anthology series about aliens disguised as humans but are caught by an especially peeved David. Max swears he sees something off about him, but everyone else blows it off. The suspicions only heighten as David calls for personal counseling sessions with each camper, so Max snoops around to find some evidence and overhears David talking about a “feast” and removing his eyes. But it seems this was all just the result of a kid watching horror movies since everyone else is just having snacks. Humbled, Max goes to have his counseling session.

David starts with getting oddly personal, asking Max if he hates him or if he’d like a different counselor, but when Max mentions the eye thing, he reveals they were actually contact lenses. David is actually the cult leader Daniel, seeking revenge against David for accidentally poisoning himself! DUN DUN DUNNNN. Chasing ensues, leading Max to find the real David and defeat Daniel with his new lactose intolerance, trapping him in the bomb shelter…for now.

OUR TAKE

Did Michael have a cold while recording this? I dunno, Max’s voice just sounded a little scraggly in the middle part.

But otherwise, another right and proper Halloween special, and one that I actually misread upon first viewing. I initially thought that David would be using the frights of the movie Max watched to mess with him and maybe lead to a bonding moment, so I just ended up counting the minutes to when the “reveal” would happen. Though now that I think about it, David isn’t really capable of being that underhanded, even with good intentions. Using Daniel was a pretty good reuse of characters the audience (or at least I) wouldn’t expect to show up again any time soon. There was even some subtle hinting at the reveal with David’s mention of one on one counseling, given the nature of Daniel’s NOT so subtle parody of people in a certain Tom Cruise-associated cult. Being a side episode in between seasons, obviously nothing is going to happen to change the status quo, but being surprised by that twist did manage to make things fun for me.

This is actually the third “scary” episode, including last year’s “Night of the Living Ill” and the first season’s “Journey to Spooky Island” (which I may have been a bit too harsh on…like I know that season was rough, but GEEZ 2016 Dave…). While “Night” was mainly a neat little zombie infection through a cold, “Journey” is still kinda bare bones to me, since it was mainly about pushing Max’s buttons about what it would take to scare him without going any deeper. This time, Max and his fears are front and center, as his usual level-headedness and cynicism leave him for growing irrationality and paranoia that’s both relatable as a kid and adults. I’m admittedly not a viewer of a ton of horror flicks, but it’s pretty common practice that your central character’s state of mind needs to feel relatable, especially if we’re watching them lose their minds.

I think Camp Camp is really getting the hang of these holiday specials. Each year brings new opportunities to tackle the many potential topics these times of year provide, as well as being forced to be more clever and original to top the last one. Treehouse of Horror it is not, but it’s the sort of TV tradition that I’m glad is being kept alive in these times.