Camp Brings Avalon Fast’s “Girl Horror” to Theaters June 26—Dark Sky Films Releases Festival Favorite
Here’s a horror film critics are calling a punk-rock masterpiece: Dark Sky Films proudly announces the June 26, 2026, theatrical release of Camp, a new horror/thriller from writer-director Avalon Fast (Honeycomb). The festival favorite follows Emily, a young woman haunted by traumatic past who finds solace as a camp counselor while navigating grief, witchcraft, and the power of female friendship. Starring Zola Grimmer, Alice Wordsworth, and Cherry Moore, the 111-minute film has drawn comparisons to The Virgin Suicides from RogerEbert.com while 25YL calls it “a punk-rock masterpiece” that showcases “the type of fearlessness few directors ever possess.” Fast refers to her unique style of filmmaking as “Girl Horror,” a term reflecting her focus on the eerie horrors of growing up, particularly with female influence.
The Premise
Camp explores guilt, acceptance, and the voices that won’t stay silent.
Emily is the root cause of two devastating tragedies very early in her life, carrying the weight of these accidents as though cursed. At her father’s suggestion, she takes a position at a summer camp for troubled youth to ease her guilt.
When Emily arrives, the other counselors welcome her, accepting her as she is and surrounding her with peace and forgiveness. Just as Emily begins to believe in a new kind of life, she starts to hear a voice whispering from deep in the woods—one that urges her to go home, and one that may be impossible to ignore.
The setup positions Camp between psychological horror and supernatural threat, Emily’s internal guilt potentially manifesting externally or something genuinely otherworldly calling to her. The ambiguity apparently serves the film’s exploration of trauma and healing.
The Girl Horror Approach
Avalon Fast has coined “Girl Horror” to describe her filmmaking philosophy.
The term reflects her focus on the eerie horrors of growing up, particularly with female influence. The approach apparently positions coming-of-age anxieties, friendship dynamics, and gendered experience as horror territory, the fears specific to young women translated into genre framework.
Her debut Honeycomb, shot in 2019, traveled the festival circuit including Slamdance 2022, Boston Underground, Calgary Underground, Etheria LA, and Fantasia. That film established the sensibility Camp continues, Fast building a body of work with consistent thematic and stylistic concerns.
The Vancouver Island filmmaker brings Pacific Northwest sensibility to material that explores female community and its complications, the support and the danger that intimacy creates.
The Critical Response
Festival screenings generated enthusiastic critical reception.
Projected Figures calls Camp “a dizzying, unnerving examination of the strength and power that women can use to uplift each other, even if someone else must pay the price for their hedonistic escapism.”
25YL describes it as “a punk-rock masterpiece,” praising how “Fast elicits the type of fearlessness few directors ever possess, shocking us with contrasting imagery of witchy vengeance through pitch-perfect irony that is sure to cause a divisive reaction between camps.”
RogerEbert.com offers perhaps the most literary comparison: “Camp becomes something more like The Virgin Suicides using amorphous elements like grief and mourning as storytelling tools instead of easy answers.”
The critical consensus suggests a film operating outside conventional horror frameworks, using genre elements to explore emotional territory that drama alone might handle differently.
The Ensemble
The cast brings Fast’s vision of female community to screen.
Zola Grimmer leads as Emily, carrying the guilt and potential redemption that drives the narrative.
Alice Wordsworth and Cherry Moore join the counselor ensemble, the female friendship dynamics that the film explores requiring chemistry and complexity.
Supporting cast includes Lea Rose Sebastianis, Ella Reece, Austyn Van De Kamp, Izza Jarvis, and Sophie Bawks-Smith, filling out the camp community that surrounds Emily with acceptance she may not deserve or may desperately need.
The Production
Camp is produced by Taylor Nodrick, Jacob Glickman, Jackie De Niverville, and Martin Cadieux-Rouillard, the team supporting Fast’s sophomore feature after Honeycomb established her voice.
The 111-minute runtime suggests a film that takes time to develop atmosphere and relationship rather than rushing to scares. Dark Sky Films handles distribution, the label’s horror focus ensuring Camp reaches audiences who appreciate genre filmmaking with artistic ambition.
The Divisive Potential
25YL’s note that the film is “sure to cause a divisive reaction between camps” suggests Camp takes risks that won’t please everyone.
Fast’s fearlessness apparently produces imagery and narrative choices that challenge comfortable viewing. The “witchy vengeance” and “hedonistic escapism” referenced in reviews indicate the film doesn’t sanitize its exploration of female power and its costs.
The divisiveness likely serves the material. Films that provoke strong reactions, positive and negative, often demonstrate more artistic vitality than those designed to offend no one.
Who Should Watch June 26
If elevated horror with coming-of-age elements appeals: Camp apparently operates in territory between genre and drama that films like The Virgin Suicides defined.
If female-focused horror interests you: Fast’s Girl Horror approach centers experiences and dynamics that male-directed horror often ignores.
If festival favorites signal quality: The screening history at Fantasia, Slamdance, and others validated Camp before theatrical release.
If you appreciate directorial fearlessness: The critical emphasis on Fast’s boldness suggests a filmmaker unafraid to challenge audiences.
If grief and healing as horror framework intrigues: The amorphous emotional elements apparently serve storytelling rather than providing easy answers.
June 26 Welcomes You to Camp
Camp opens in theaters June 26, 2026, from Dark Sky Films.
A young woman haunted by tragedy. A summer camp offering acceptance. Counselors surrounding her with peace and forgiveness. A voice whispering from deep in the woods, urging her to go home.
Avalon Fast’s Girl Horror. 111 minutes of grief, witchcraft, and the power of female friendship. A punk-rock masterpiece. A divisive reaction guaranteed.
June 26. Camp is in session.
