A new member at a tween water polo training camp deals with the terror of popularity and bullies in The Plague, writer-director Charlie Polinger’s terrifying horror-drama.
The horrors of navigating and surviving (metaphorically in most cases) complex hierarchies of society and social circles are something many of us can never truly understand. In Charlie Polinger’s The Plague, Ben, a new recruit to a summer water polo camp, is thrust into the world of bullies and the bullied, of the powerful, those grasping for it, those under the thumb of it all, and for Ben, trying to figure out where he belongs on the ladder.
This one hit me in so many personal ways. Look, I’m a weird guy, and I was a weird kid. To say I was not popular in middle school is an understatement. I was never happier than when my dad said we were moving from Pittsburgh to Charleston, SC, between 8th and 9th grades in 1996. It was a savior. I really get these kids in The Plague. It’s scary how close Polinger, writing as well as directing, speaks to middle schoolers. I work with middle schoolers. I see it in snaps and bursts. It seems better than it was back then, but we all know it shifts and changes, and as an adult, I know I might not be seeing the worst of it.
The Plague is set in 2002 to deftly avoid online bullying, keeping tight ot the location of the here and now of the camp. However, what’s effective is that this whole situation can be easily adapted to any social setting, time, or character age. It’s all too familiar, especially for those on the victim end; I can imagine actions and moments within will spark uncomfortable memories for many viewers; Bowie knows it did for me.
I know I was more often Eli: the strange kid with the titular “The Plague”, a large rash (okay, I didn’t have a rash), different interests, more internal, and not on the same page with anyone else. He’s ostracized for his differences, becoming the punching bag for the rest of the group. But I fear I could just as easily be our lead. The dynamics are complex and hard to work through. Where do one’s realities and allegiances lie? Ben has an in with the more popular kids, quickly assessing and choosing to try to slide in before he becomes the new The Plague, the Freakin’ New Guy. He sees an in and grabs it, but he plays his uncertainty and discomfort well. As it seems, Ben might want to actually hang out and connect with Eli in the real world. However, The Plague asks you will betray yourself not to get the brunt of the stick? What do we play to keep ourselves from drowning (heh, pools)? Do you place yourself in harm’s way for 4 weeks to be true and protect someone, or slide into conformity?
People will shy away from the word in films like The Plague, but no doubt to me, it is a horror film. Psychological horror, the sort that digs deep into uncomfortable topics and how we approach them. The Plague, as noted for me, will resonate with the bullied. Bullies are often not a single big swing with a machine, but a hundred papercuts. Often, not always, but that’s the scary part. How does someone like Ben place themselves? That’s the crux. How do you navigate Lord of the Flies? The William Golding book we all read in middle or high school is an extreme example, but it remains resonant and relevant by its explorations of social structures, especially when distanced from adults. Sure, these boys have a coach, Joel Edgerton, in his second astounding performance this year, more supporting than the lead in Train Dreams, but the adults are distant. They are oblivious, in their own worlds, or they approach “minor” bullying as character building or goofing. Hell, sometimes they are the bullies themselves. Edgerton is not himself; he’s more of the “keeping it at a distance” until it crosses too far. (Unlike my 8th-grade science teacher, who laughed when my bullies slammed a cupboard shut on my arm, causing a gash. That ass wouldn’t even let me go to the nurse.
It’s a fascinating dichotomy of the world, the rough and tumble of the boys chipping and eating away at one another in the competitiveness, opposed to the girls of the same age in synconism. Anyone who deals with kids, hell, people, knows the actions of boys are not gender specific, but it makes a good comparison for the need for the film.
Polinger has gathered an impressive set of boys in a year of amazing kid performances (referring to 2025). Everett Blunck is phenomenal, wearing everything on his face. For our lead bully, Kayo Martin, that kid sells the “what, no me? You’re misunderstanding… I’m just kidding” bullshit through and through. Kenny Rasmussen is the titular character, bringing pathos to the bullied. We all know kids like him, hate that he’s bullied, and in some ways know he knows he might be leading. But why should we change to avoid bullying? It’s a fascinating concept to drive the film, and these kids ground it with the perfect casting and performances.
I’ve talked a lot about the content of the film. But it’s shot beautifully, highlighting the world we’re in. The open spaces, the depth, with a sickly watery blue tint. The mindset in the mise-en-scene. I loved the matter-of-fact sound use, slightly muted, which is uncomfortable. It’s all brutally efficient.
Polinger brings an unrelenting tension to the real. As the dread builds and Ben is further pushed to make choices, the audience is led into the deep end of all too real horror of the interactions, growth of Golding-like splits of society and socials. And, for the physically squeamish: a heavy dose of body horror.
The Plague is a terrifying film of social issues and working through them. It’s a complex sort with layers and depth. Every ounce is relatable, sadly so. As one of the bullied, it was all too real, bringing up buried memories and feelings. Charlie Polinger creates a fantastic film of psychological terror and some body horror, led by a fantastic set of kids, especially Everett Brunckt.