The Plague
After moving from Boston, a shy twelve year-old, Ben (Everett Blunck, "Griffin in Summer"), is enrolled in a water polo camp to help him adjust to new surroundings. But after befriending a pimpled boy named Eli (Kenny Rasmussen), Ben is astonished by the cruel social pecking order the other boys have established, Eli's skin condition called out by ringleader Jake (Kayo Martin), the group shunning him for having "The Plague."
Laura's Review: B+
Writer/director Charlie Polinger makes a stylish feature debut that will remind many of 'The Lord of the Flies' filtered through psychological body horror. The fledgling filmmaker has assembled an outstanding cast of twelve and thirteen year olds, breakouts Martin and Rasmussen never having acted before.
Ben tries to fit in by keeping a low profile but when he encounters Eli alone in the locker room, the outcast dazzles him with a severed finger trick. Eli, who is possibly autistic, is full of quirky personality, dancing maniacally and appearing quite confident in himself despite the rejection of his team and he and Ben become friends. But when Ben witnesses the painful looking rash on Eli's back and offers to rub cream on it ('I don't want to infect you' is Eli's reply), Jake seizes on Ben's act of kindness to turn the others against him as well with a lie about a backrub. Ben subsequently breaks out in a rash himself, and, horrified, furiously tries to scrub it off, asking Eli if maybe the plague isn't 100% fake. Now convinced there is something wrong with him, he'll begin to self harm, picking at a hangnail until he draws blood.
Polinger achieves an extreme sense of sinister discomfort, Johan Lenox's moaning, disturbing score accenting such scenes with staccato violins. The film is also visually stylish, cinematographer Steven Breckon's 35mm lensing capturing crystal clear underwater shots, his use of color striking, such as when young girls in red one pieces suddenly dominate the boy's black and blue domain. The filmmaker also increases his overall atmosphere of menace by dropping such details as how Olympic swimmers bite long fingernails into points.
As the boys' coach, Joel Edgerton ("Train Dreams") at first appears oblivious to his team's dynamics, an adult willing to allow some questionable humor into his training material, seemingly taking on a 'boys will be boys' attitude, but he will call out Jake's treatment of Eli, asking 'Have you ever been shamed in front of a group?' and take a compassionate interest in his shy newcomer. But "The Plague" largely keeps within its adolescent realm and while the more experienced Blunck anchors the film, it is Rasmussen and especially Martin who stand out, the former the film's underdog hero, the latter a consummate and sly manipulator. Martin has the type of cocky grin that he controls enough for it to be mistakenly attributed while wanting his victim to know what he's up to.
"The Plague" is an unsettling portrait of the cruelty inflicted by children trying to carve out their positions in society and Polinger's stylish debut makes him a filmmaker to watch.
Robin's Review: B
12-year old Ben (Everett Blunck) is newly arrived at a boys’ water polo camp. He wants to fit in with the group but another boy, Eli (Kenny Rasmussen), who has a bad rash, is ostracized by the others because he has “The Plague.”
First-time feature writer-director Charlie Polinger navigates through his story of teen cruelty with Ben, an anxious kid, the newcomer to the camp. He just wants the other kids to like him and notices outcast Eli. He is warned by the alpha male in the adolescent pack, Jake (Kayo Martin), to stay away from the social pariah.
Ben tries to be aloof and cruel toward Eli, just like the rest of the kids. But, he has compassion for others and, when alone in the locker room with Eli, he asks about the rash and does it hurt? Ben volunteers to put ointment on the boy’s back, which turns out to be a big mistake. Ben’s faux pas is found out by Jake and the rest and now Ben is also the subject of rebuke and ostracism by the gang.
As I watched “The Plague,” I was drawn to the fact that it reminded me, strongly, of director Peter Brook’s adaptation of William Goldman’s story, “Lord of the Flies (1963).” In that tale, a group of English schoolboys are shipwrecked on a deserted Pacific island without an adult. A hierarchy of the strong over the weak develops and, of course, the weak suffer the abuses of the strong.
With “The Plague,” we also have that strong versus weak as Jake establishes himself as the de facto group leader and, likely, the instigator of the abuse against Eli. Poor Ben makes the mistake of showing kindness and compassion for someone in need of help and is rejected by the pack.
Something that bothers me about the story is the lack of adult supervision these kids have. Joel Edgerton, as the coach, is oddly missing when the abuse takes place. As a matter of fact, the coach seems to be the only adult present, which does not sound right for our American sensitivity to our over-supervise kids.
But, this is about the adolescent society and the status of those within. Children can be cruel to others because they appear different to themselves. It is a good study of kids and group behavior. It is also a study of kindness, represented by Ben, who comes across as a really good kid.
Independent Film Company releases "The Plague" in select theaters on 12/24/25, expanding on 1/2/26.
