‘Marshmallow’ (2025)

‘Marshmallow’ is a horror sci-fi film that follows Morgan (Kue Lawrence) an awkward boy who finds it hard to fit in. Following a traumatic experience involving his grandfather, Morgan is sent away to summer camp to help him clear his head. Part and parcel of a classic sleepaway camp story, dark antics ensue and the young boy is drawn into a sinister conspiracy surrounding the camp.

With a fantastically suspenseful opening, Morgan is portrayed as a shy boy who finds it hard to make new friends after his family moves to a new home. Encouraged by his grandfather Roy (Corbin Bernsen), the two are natural allies who confide in each other.

The unexpected grips the dining family one night as Morgan and his parents witness Roy collapse to the floor and die. Remembering Roy’s words of encouragement however, Morgan endures and goes away to summer camp.

Quickly forming a handful of connections, Morgan befriends fellow campers Dirk (Max Malas) and Pilar (Kai Cech). Easing into the camp, the children sit around the campfire and are regaled with a scary story of a doctor who used to summer in the woods and carry out monstrous human experiments, ultimately sacrificing his family for his work. Discerning that the story is likely told to keep the campers in line and abide by the curfew, the kids brush it off.

Out of his cabin one night, Morgan sees lights flashing from a cabin. Following the source, he uncovers the story to be true, even being chased by a masked ‘doctor’ figure. Unexpectedly the film delivers a twist, - the hidden ‘doctor’ figure is much more than just some serial killer lusting after innocent lives.

‘Marshmallow’ is revealed to entail a massive conspiracy, involving the entire group of campers. Uncovered as a sort of tune-up facility, Morgan and Pilar find files of themselves, noting a date of death. When queried, one of the camp counsellors, revealed to be the ‘lead programmer’ disclosed that the campers are children who had died and have been ‘recreated’ as an aid for the grieving families. Visiting the camp serves as a facility where the children ‘grow’ and are programmed before being returned to their families.

All of the re-tuning work is carried out at night, after the kids have had cocoa laced with sedatives to knock them out, ensuring the work carried out is undetected. Offering Morgan and Pilar a choice, the lead programmer explains to them what they are and offers them a choice to not be wiped of these memories.

The following morning camp resumes as normal, with all the children seemingly unaware of the events of last night, where Morgan is able to reference the night. An unexpected phone call to the camp manager reveals that there is a fault in the program and the subjects are beginning to exhibit signs of divergence from their personalities, lashing out and displaying severe episodes of violence. The film concludes on the head of the program facing a blood covered Pilar as she jumps to attack him.

Gripping from inception, ‘Marshmallow’ delivers a terrorising nightmare sequence – a terrifying recurring nightmare for Morgan, with him recalling a drowning incident that ultimately is revealed as his cause of death. Unrelenting, soon after the film delivers the unexpected and intense departure of Roy. All accompanied with a soundtrack that delivers a fully realised immersion into the scene, the film places the viewer squarely in the middle of the anxiety filled action.

Leading the feature, Lawrence’s Morgan delivers a cautious young boy doing his best to find a place to fit in, eventually forming a reliable network of friends who help him along in discovering who he is. Conversely, the culprits of the film, revealed to be the counsellors, Giorgia Whigham, Pierson Fode, Samantha Neyland Trumbo, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper along with Paul Soter form the antagonists of the feature.

A little one note, the workers running the camp do their best to keep the conspiracy under wraps but ultimately fail as the children are roused by Morgan and their scheme is uncovered. Playing their part aptly, the film doesn’t provide much depth to the villains of the story, resulting in a slightly flat culmination of the story. Save for a few stereotypical caricatures of a camp counsellor, the antagonists are by no means a prominent feature of the adventure.

Novel, the movie deceives with a very familiar set up – a camp ground that promises blood, gore and jump scares. Diverging towards a more nuanced concept, the film intrigues even if the scares may fall flat. Keeping a strong hold over the mystery behind the camp for most of the duration of the feature, ‘Marshmallow’ endures and amazes as the plot thickens and succeeds in enhancing an immersive and fascinating story.

With a big conspiracy and a few scares, ‘Marshmallow’ serves to prove that a good mystery can go a long way. Faltering when it comes to effectively sustaining tension, the film is best presented as a science fiction story, even though it may hide under the guise of a horror film. Perhaps underwhelming to viewers seeking horror, the movie works wonders with the story its got and delivers an unexpectedly gripping tale.

Score: 3/4