The Plague

The Plague
Starring Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin, Kenny Rasmussen, Joel Edgerton
Directed by Charlie Polinger

Sometimes you hear about a movie and think it's going to be something, but when you watch it you find it's something entirely different. Rarely does it help the movie, and with "The Plague," it definitely didn't for me. The trailer, word of mouth, and all of that seemed to point to a body horror movie and an intense psychological thriller, but instead it's a dark coming-of-age tale that has a hint of body horror but really just personifies what it feels like to be an outcast in the most formative time of your life. If you go into the movie expecting to see this type of movie, then you'll have a favorable outlook on it - for me, I was bored, waiting for the body horror or psychological thriller to take hold until it ended, and I was left wanting. Yet, if I knew what it was going in, I would've appreciated it so much more.

Ben (Everett Blunck) is a 12-year-old from Boston who attends an all-boy water polo summer camp led by Daddy Wags (Joel Edgerton), and he's immediately ostracized for being from somewhere different, especially by Jake (Kayo Martin), the young ringleader of a group of mean boys. Ben wants to be accepted by them and finally manages to integrate himself into their world when he discovers they alienate another boy named Eli (Kenny Rasmussen), who has "the plague" - a rash that, if any boy comes into contact with, results in their brain turning to mush unless they clean themselves off. The boys shun and flee from Eli, and Eli acts strange around them, but Ben doesn't have the same callous feelings toward Eli which threatens to alienate himself from the group as well - a fate worse than death.


The Good:
If you go into the movie with the right expectations, you'll find "The Plague" to be a truly horrifying experience, and not due to the body horror - of which there is none. Instead, the horror lies in something more real: the memory of the time when you were the most vulnerable, the most yearning to be accepted by a group and the traumatizing effects of when that group turns against you. It's a modern-day "Lord of the Flies" without the violence, but that doesn't make it any less terrifying.

The cinematography is exquisite, with the scenes being shot in dark blues and grays, further enveloping the viewer into the dark world of a 12-year-old seeking approval. The music as well is extremely eerie and creepy, which to my end meant I was expecting something gross to happen but never does.

The movie does a great job at encapsulating the most unsteady time of our lives, before we enter our teens and the wants, needs, worries, fears, and desires of that. Ben wants to be accepted so badly. He doesn't want to be alone. He fears it, and will do almost anything to get into the popular crowd, but realizes he can't turn his back on the good person he is, which threatens his already fragile reality. Young Everett Blunck is born for the role, as you immediately find yourself drawn to his story and character and really feel for him, even as he balances his good nature with a desire to fit in with the popular group.

Likewise, Kayo Martin gives an awards-worthy performance as Jake, the leader of the bad boys group who is a little sociopath. He's psychotic in his methods, he rules his group with an iron fist, and does so with a charming, disarming smile that deftly hides his underlying psychotic nature. He's the human epitome of a horror villain like Freddy or Michael, but all the more terrifying because we've all known kids like him growing up.

Rounding out the trio of young actors is Kenny Rasmussen as Eli, the ostracized kid who, for all intents and purposes, reads like a future school shooter. He's incredibly strange, a loner, and talks about dark, unsettling things. He doesn't seem to care about the other boys and what they think of him, as evidenced in the numerous times he dances literally to his own beat with a cardboard cutout of a girl. He has a creepiness that oozes with his performance, but also a broken soul that you can't help but feel sorry for. He has a rash all over his body that prevents him from swimming (which begs the question as to why he attends a water polo camp) that personifies his exclusion from the group, and it's pretty gnarly to look at. Through and through, Rasmussen gives a compelling performance far wiser than his years.


The Bad:
Like I said earlier, if you go into this movie expecting a body horror psychological thriller, you'll be left wanting. I was waiting for this "plague" to do something, but in reality it's something that a lot of people go through - body rashes that aren't necessarily contagious and aren't certainly deadly, but here it serves as the physical manifestation of separation from the norm. You won't see a body slowly bleeding away or disgusting puss or anything like that, and the whole marketing campaign for the movie seemed to point in that direction.


The Verdict:
Sadly, I went into "The Plague" expecting something it wasn't, and it soured by feeling for it. I haven't had the desire to re-watch it, but if you go into it with the right expectations you'll discover the darker coming-of-age tale than you're used to seeing.


The Score: B