Avalon Fast’s Camp sends grief to a witchy summer retreat

Avalon Fast’s new feature “Camp” turns a summer job for troubled kids into a grief-soaked spell circle, according to Variety critic Carlos Aguilar.

In the review published July 20, 2026, Aguilar writes that the film follows Emily, played by Zola Grimmer, after a party game pushes her to admit she once accidentally caused someone’s death. The same night, another person dies while she is present, setting up the emotional burden that drives the story.

Emily then arrives at a summer camp for children with problems of their own, where she is hired as a counselor despite being in crisis herself, Variety reports. Aguilar notes the irony of Emily being asked to support younger campers while carrying her own damage.

A sisterhood with spells attached

At camp, Emily is taken in by girls who already know the place well. Variety identifies Rosie, played by Cherry Moore, and Clara, played by Alice Wordsworth, as especially important to her new circle, with Clara described as the group’s unofficial leader.

Aguilar says “Camp” draws on witchcraft, trauma and friendship, with the occult becoming a route toward Emily’s self-possession. The review compares the film’s mood to “The Craft” and points to a forest-fairy style that Aguilar associates with Florence + the Machine, while stressing that Fast gives the material an indie-film edge.

The film’s visual world is also a major focus of the review. Aguilar credits Fast and cinematographer Eily Sprungman with creating a heightened space between reality and dream, using starry images, artificial-looking backdrops, moonlit dances, fire rituals and memory fragments.

Grimmer’s performance earns strong praise from Variety. Aguilar writes that Emily’s movement through sadness, despair, acceptance and empowerment feels convincing, especially as the character first enjoys the group’s wild nights and closeness without revealing everything she has been hiding.

The campers fade as Emily’s story takes over

Variety notes that most of the children at the camp remain in the background. One exception is Eden, played by Izza Jarvis, whose instability unsettles Emily, according to the review.

The review also says the film gives little sympathy or centrality to its male characters. Aguilar points to Dan, played by Austyn Van de Kamp, as the camp’s religious leader, and writes that his drunken sexual encounter with Nev, played by Lea Rose Sebastianis, becomes a sacrifice tied to the young women’s supernatural power.

Even with witchcraft in the frame, Aguilar says the movie does not lean on graphic violence. The review describes the supernatural elements as a way of clearing Emily’s emotional pain and rebuilding the girls’ confidence, rather than as a conventional horror showcase.

Variety also compares “Camp” to Jane Schoenbrun’s “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” saying both films use horror and supernatural tools to explore human concerns through a gender-conscious lens.

Release and credits

“Camp” was reviewed online July 16, 2026, according to Variety’s listing. The film runs 111 minutes.

Variety lists “Camp” as a Canadian production released by Dark Sky Films, from Téléfilm Canada and Marginal Mediaworks. Fast directed and wrote the screenplay, and edited the film with Taylor Nodrick. Max Graham composed the music.

The listed producers are Taylor Nodrick, Jacob Glickman, Jacqueline de Niverville and Martin Cadieux-Rouillard. Executive producers are Michael Peterson, Peter Kuplowsky, Hamza Ali, Baddie Ali, Sanjay M Sharma, Milan Chakraborty and Paul Cadieux.

This story draws on original reporting from Variety.