Review of White Water Summer (1987) by Archibald T — 03 Nov 2012

What a bizarre little movie. Camping films seem to have permeated the film masses in the 80s. Something about summer camp was meant to be entertaining. It can be. Take 'Meatballs' for example, but by the late 80s these camp movies kind of went off the cliff. This film is one such example of the genre.

A sadist guides a small group of campers that consist of mainly four boys on a wilderness hike. He bullies the youngest, Alan, who is from the city. His mission is to teach these boys lessons in the wild. Funny thing happens. He goes berserk and aggressively tries to force the boys to accept his ideology. Then he gets his leg broken and has to rely on the boys for survival. Also there's some white water rafting scenes and a mountain climbing scene that was well photographed.

John Alcott who was the cinematographer died before the films release and to give this film any kind of credit whatsoever it'd have to go to Alcott. The cinematography is just beautiful. The story does have a few elements of interest in terms of two opposing forces that are in some way alike can't come to a certain understanding of one another when it comes to teaching moral lessons in the wild. Alan and Vic are these two opposing forces with different ideals. The way Kevin Bacon and Sean Astin play off each other is one part of the film that is worth looking at, but the whole meaning of the film is subjective in the end since we, the audience, can't find one point of entry that makes this film worth your time.

Splicing together new footage of Sean Astin "explaining" the story as the story is being told is just pointless. It contributes nothing to the enterprise. Also the abrupt ending will make you groan, but also make you think in terms of the genre. If there was ever a camping movie to end all camping movies, it'd be White Water Summer.