The Plague (2025)

Verdict

A tense, sharply observed summer-camp pressure cooker that turns adolescent hierarchy into something close to horror. The performances and sound design sound especially strong, and the film seems to balance dread, humor, and empathy rather than relying on bullying as a simple metaphor.

Best for

• Viewers who like psychological coming-of-age stories
• Fans of social dread and escalating tension
• People interested in realistic teen behavior and group dynamics
• Audiences open to genre-flavored drama with horror energy

Skip if

• You want a light or uplifting camp movie
• You dislike intense bullying or social humiliation
• You prefer straightforward thrillers over character-driven discomfort
• You are sensitive to anxiety-heavy depictions of adolescence

Overview

The Plague looks like a summer-camp nightmare built from very ordinary cruelty. Its setup is deceptively simple: a socially awkward tween gets trapped inside the status games of a water polo camp, and the film lets that social pressure metastasize into genuine psychological terror. That premise gives it a strong emotional hook, especially if you respond to stories that make adolescent embarrassment feel life-or-death.

Worth noting

What stands out most from the response is the film’s control of tone. It apparently knows when to be funny, when to be gross, and when to go fully nerve-shredding, without losing sight of the boy at the center of it. The praise for the performances and sound design suggests a movie that works as much through sensation as through plot, using style to make exclusion feel physical.

Bottom line

This is the kind of film that can feel brutal if you’ve ever been on the wrong side of a group dynamic. But that brutality seems purposeful rather than exploitative. If you like coming-of-age stories that understand how cruelty becomes culture, this should land hard.

Top Letterboxd reviews

itscharlibb (5★) · 5964 likes

literally sat in the car leaving the screening of this movie feeling like i’m reeling. sound design on point, undeniable performances and the transition from charming boyhood to total fucking chaos left me shook. it’s so confusing sometimes to be a BOY.

davidehrlich (3.5★) · 2468 likes

sometimes i'm so fucking glad that i never have to be young again.

TheGraduate75 (5★) · 1463 likes

Ok. I am biased. So biased that I had come on here and write my first review (maybe. I don't recall writing others)Up front: my son is one of the boys in this film. I won't say which one. Of course, I'm new to this, so maybe my name is visible and I'm stupid. Either way... As an actor, my son gets auditions. And I am the one who usually reads scripts. Over a year ago, he… more

cob (4★) · 1213 likes

boys are fucking terrifying

James (Schaffrillas) (4★) · 1014 likes

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH, and I cannot stress this enough, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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Topics

psychological thriller, coming-of-age, bullying, teen anxiety, summer camp, social realism, body tension, horror-adjacent, male adolescence, indie drama