I only use Tubi to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Wynonna Earp reruns, so the only reason I stumbled upon Glamping is because a friend of a friend of a friend mentioned it. See, word of mouth does work, folks. I went into my viewing with an open mind because it is Halloween season and everyone needs a good “cabin in the woods slasher” this time of the year. Unfortunately, Glamping was a boring romp in the woods that failed to deliver any of the scares and suspense depicted in the trailer featured below and promo poster pictured above. I generally don’t like trashing anyone’s project because, as a filmmaker myself, I understand how much time and effort goes into a production of any size or budget. Glamping was just… uninspiring and time consuming, and maybe it deserved to exist solely as the short story that inspired the feature film which premiered on Tubi this October 24th.
From Megamind Media and Flower Ave Films, Glamping depicts a narrative that’s only appealing to the “cool kids” or an audience that finds modern problems and hipsters to be something enviable. I’m 37-years-old and watching the characters in Glamping had me thinking, “dear god, I hope I wasn’t anything like this when I was younger.” Basically, a young woman loses her job and her social media following, so she takes her boyfriend and best friends to a cabin in the woods for some relaxation and regrouping. Yes, the hardship that causes the series of events that leads to a bunch of deaths is defective make-up and the desire for more followers on Instagram. Sigh. Anyway, only once night falls on the cabin do the small group of friends realize they’re being stalked by an unseen predator. Glamping stars Rosemary Idisi, Joseph Purcell, Geffen Aviva Chris Angelis, David Hernandez, Isabella Ward, Annie Grant, Angelique Chapman and Ian Mellencamp.
Glamping is written by Alexa Garster and directed by Niki Koss. It was produced by Sade Oyinade and Deshawn Plair with executive producers Rosemary Idisi, Donte Lee and Tressa Azarel Smallwood. It features cinematography by Angel Barroeta and editing by Nico Alba. Listen, from a behind-the-scenes standpoint, I have absolutely no qualms with Glamping what-so-ever. Camera and sound quality is on point, and the picture is well lit, even during the outdoors at night scenes. Editing is flawless. Casting did a good job. Glamping is just… boring and predictable. For me, personally, watching a bunch of cool kids getting merked in the woods doesn’t do anything to make me excited. Especially when all they do is complain about how “hard” their lives are. The only great point worth mentioning is the inclusion of David Hernandez on the cast. Folks may remember him for his 12th place finish during American Idol’s 2008 season. I’m glad he’s still working in the entertainment industry in any capacity.
Since Glamping is being marketed as a horror film, I wanted to end my review my taking a deeper look into what that means. Again, going back to how I say this one is boring multiple times. 40 minutes and no one has died. 60 minutes and no one has died… Hello? Killer, are you there? The first on screen death takes place around the hour mark and that’s just way too long for a horror flick to expect its demographic to stick around. Glamping only features five kills and I’m pretty sure two of them happen off screen. Sorry, I wasn’t always paying attention to this snoozefest. While I did enjoy the mastery of the special effects, they were used too sparingly. The other “horror” elements in Glamping include the killer ransacking someone’s bedroom, barbie doll torsos hung in the woods, and a few shots of the killer stalking his prey. So, yeah, not a lot of scary content to sink your teeth into.
Rating this one slightly higher than I would have if not for the appearance of David Hernandez. He’s very easy on the eyes. Watch this if you’re an American Idol junky, otherwise avoid – avoid – avoid. Final Score: 4/10.
