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Title: Happy Camp Director: Josh Anthony Starring: Michael Barbuto, Anne Taylor, Josh Anthony, Teddy Gilmore An indie horror movie that makes decent use of its outdoor, real-life setting, but otherwise runs aground fairly early in its already concise running time, unable to come up with enough incidents to generate any legitimate sustained suspense, ”Happy Camp” represents one of the particular perils of a low-budget, calling card-type film. Piecemeal, the scene-to-scene work of young multi-hyphenates Josh Anthony, Anne Taylor and Michael Barbuto is fine. But absent a story that generates any sort of clearly defined stakes or rooting audience interest, the movie elicits more of a yawn than any lasting impression. “Happy Camp” [ Read More ]

The post Happy Camp Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Don't let the title fool you, because Happy Camp isn't the bright and cheery movie you might think it is. This found footage thriller centers on Michael Tanner (Michael Barbuto), who goes back to Happy Camp, visiting his hometown nearly 20 years after his brother mysteriously disappeared. His brother's disappearance is just one of hundreds over the years, 628 to be exact, making the town world-famous for these unsolved absences. He brings his friends (writer-director-producer Josh Anthony, co-writer-producer Anne Taylor and Teddy Gilmore along for the ride to document everything on camera, as they soon begin to realize that the town of Happy Camp holds several secrets. Ahead of this thriller's release on VOD outlets such as iTunes, Time Warner, Comcast, DirecTV and other platforms starting March 25, I had the chance to speak with writer-director-producer-actor Josh Anthony about the production, how this story came together, shooting in the actual town of Happy Camp,...

And the hairy monster in the woods found footage train continues — The Lost Coast Tapes, The Woodsman, Bigfoot County, Exists, Willow Creek — with the latest film to hop aboard coming, inexplicably, from producer Drew Barrymore‘s Flower Films. All the ingredients are here, from the small town wary of outsiders to the Rv filled with outsiders who come rolling into town with digital cameras filming their every move, from the deadly mystery to the cheesy denouement, from the endless bickering to fill screentime to the questionable camera footage. Welcome to Happy Camp. The opening onscreen text tells us that Happy Camp, CA has reported over 627 missing people in the past 25 years, the highest number in the continental United States, and clearly that’s more impressive than simply saying there have been 628. One of the missing is a young boy named Dean Tanner who disappeared in 1989 while playing with his adopted brother Michael. Twenty...

I am reminded of growing up in the late-80s, watching Unsolved Mysteries on prime-time television. Intrigued by commercials for Time Life’s Mysteries of the Unknown, an encyclopedic series of books about everything supernatural, extraterrestrial and any other unproven or unexplained phenomena, I recall begging my parents to buy me the books about alien abductions, Stonehenge, and mythical creatures that live in our backyards. Sadly, they never did, but I did manage to find the random torn and battered volume available at the local library.

Happy Camp, directed by first-timer Josh Anthony, stirs these nostalgic memories of an era defined by the weird, abstract and unusual. The film is about a man named Michael, played by Michael Barbuto, who returns to his small home town 20 years after his brother went missing as a child. Michael is accompanied by his girlfriend Anne, played by Anne Taylor, and two friends named Teddy (Teddy Gilmore) and Josh,...

Deep within the Klamath National Forest is a backwoods trailer park community called Happy Camp. This is where Michael came to live when he was adopted at the age of 9 by Walt and Sandy Tanner. Two years later, when Walt and Sandy's biological son disappeared mysteriously, Michael was the only eye witness but had no recollection of what happened. The Tanner family quickly disintegrated and Michael was shipped off to yet another foster household. Two decades later, Michael (Michael Barbuto) has agreed to return to Happy Camp with his girlfriend, Anne (Anne Taylor), and her two-man documentary film crew, Josh (Josh Anthony) and Teddy (Teddy Gilmore). They pile into a rickety old Rv that barely makes its way to Happy Camp, making it pretty clear that the foursome will not be driving away from Happy Camp in this vehicle.

I’ll never be one who joins the ranks of haters ranting and raving about how “found footage” horror is single-handedly destroying horror cinema as we know it, because for every atrocious, microbudget genre cash-in blindly praying to be the next Paranormal Activity, we have a Cloverfield or [Rec]. “Found footage” shouldn’t go away because someone is always willing to reinvent the wheel eventually, as a movie like V/H/S did – but Happy Camp isn’t that film. Coming from Drew Barrymore’s production company Flower Films, we’re given a simple rehash of typical genre norms, stringing us along for what feels like an eternity’s worth of mockumentary filmmaking only to end with a weightless payoff. There are hints of originality and vision, teases of something wicked coming our way, but ultimately our investment goes unwarranted – like going to band camp and not coming home with an awesome flute story.

You never know who, or what, is waiting for you during the opening of ‘Happy Camp.’ The horror-thriller is set to open nationwide on March 25 through such On Demand platforms as Time Warner, Comcast and DirecTV, and on iTunes. ‘Happy Camp,’ which was executive produced by Drew Barrymore and Nancy Juvonen, will be distributed by Gravitas Ventures. The film was directed by first-time filmmaker Josh Anthony, who wrote the script with fellow actors Anne Taylor and Michael Barbuto. The thriller also stars Teddy Gilmore. Gravitas Ventures has released the following synopsis for ‘Happy Camp’: In the vast wilderness of the Klamath National Forest lies the small logging community of [ Read More ]

The post You Never Know What’s Waiting For You During the Opening of Happy Camp appeared first on Shockya.com.

The weekend is finally in sight, and you know what that means, right? It's time to head to Happy Camp with an exclusive clip for you horror-loving cats who appreciate your carnage served up warm and bloody.

Happy Camp is produced by Drew Barrymore's Flower Films banner, and it's helmed by first-timer Josh Anthony, who stars in, wrote, and directed the flick. Michael Barbuto, Anne Taylor, and Teddy Gilmore also star.

Look for the film on VOD March 25 via Gravitas Ventures.

Synopsis

In the vast wilderness of the Klamath National Forest lies the small logging community of Happy Camp. With a population consisting of only a few hundred souls, this mysterious mountain town has become world renowned for its staggeringly high number of Missing Persons Cases.

Walt and Sandy Tanner adopted a young boy named Michael at the age of 9 and brought him home to Happy Camp, where the...

Happy Camp will be released on VOD Tuesday March 25 2014. This found footage film is about a man that the returns to the childhood town where his brother was abducted 20 years earlier. Check out the trailer below but my guess is you wont want to go to Happy Camp. The film is produced by Drew Barrymores Flower Films and stars Josh Anthony Michael Barbuto Anne Taylor and Teddy Gilmore.

One thing is for sure... when it comes to the new horror flick Happy Camp, the kids are anything but all right. Check it out, and if you have a little bastard in your life that's in need of some learnin', sign 'em up!

Happy Camp is produced by Drew Barrymore's Flower Films banner, and it's helmed by first-timer Josh Anthony, who stars in, wrote, and directed the flick. Michael Barbuto, Anne Taylor, and Teddy Gilmore also star.

Look for the film on VOD March 25 via Gravitas Ventures.

Synopsis

In the vast wilderness of the Klamath National Forest lies the small logging community of Happy Camp. With a population consisting of only a few hundred souls, this mysterious mountain town has become world renowned for its staggeringly high number of Missing Persons Cases.

Walt and Sandy Tanner adopted a young boy named Michael at the age of 9 and brought him home to Happy Camp,...