Good concept, poorly executed.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Although, this documentary movie directed by Cullen Hoback isn't as complex and as good as his other film, 2013's Terms and Conditions May Apply; it still shows how much hard work for the participants & collaborators enthusiasts to developed a complicated world to bring their ideas fantasies to life. Also, while I'm not the biggest fantasy fan, I do find the concept of live-action-role-playing games or LARPING, somewhat interesting. It looks worthy to partake. Indeed, it's looks like it's time to slay some normalcy! Without spoiling the movie, too much, I have to say, that one of the appeals of this film to me, is how the Seattle, Washington chapter of NERO Alliance (New England Role Player Alliance), now known as Alliance LARP, allows their players to create their own identities selecting from a variety of races and classes, similar to other role-playing fantasy games, like Dungeons and Dragons. Participants dress up and are involved as either player characters, non-player character, or plot members. It's here, that they gather themselves up for events such as Monster Camp to play out their fantasies for the sake of escapism. It's nice to hear, how real friendship and relationships can be forged between the participants; but it's also sad to hear, that some people take it, way too serious to the point, that they have literally no personal life or destroying what's left of it. I think, the most disturbing part of the film, is when one of the participants is ignoring and abandoning his child to make these type of games, his obsession. That's horrible! Watching it, remind me of 2006's other LARP documentary, Darkon. However, the movie never goes way too dark or political like Darkon; instead, showing more of the good side of Live-Action-Role-Playing. Yes, there were lots of scenes of people going through intense stress, due to complex rules and time, guidelines; but the majority of what shown, looks fun for the most part. Still, a part of me, would had, love to see one of them, have a serious mental breakdown, because how much, time it takes, and how it doesn't allow for much sleep or satisfaction. Indeed, it really looks like a thankless job. I would love, to see the film tackle some serious issues such as Fantasy prone personality disorder or maladaptive daydreaming, through some of these people. Regardless, it wasn't a big deal, because the simpleton nature of the film, even if it's a bit dull at times was alright with me. At least, they didn't presented it, in a way that looks like, they were mocking or ridicule, these people are, what they were doing. There was no bias opinion from the filmmakers. They show the good side and the bad side of people. Honestly, some of these people, they shown, seem very normal people to me. However, there were some things, I thought, the movie could had done better, like focusing more on the people that been doing it for years, rather than ones that been doing it for a year or two. The movie really wasted time, interviewing certain people that had little to do, with Seattle Chapter of Alliance LARP success. Even those older gamers, who they spotlight. They really didn't spent, too much time on them. It sucks that film doesn't show any previous years of Monster Camp, through archive footage or photos. It's a bit jarring for the audience, to have people such as Shane Macomber, talks about one year having a cool Dragon costume for Monster Camp, and not being able to show it on the film. Clearly, it would had been nice to see, what it once looks like. Another thing, since the game had very complex rules and fantasy elements; why didn't the filmmakers add, some subtitles or a narration on certain scenes. I was really confused, on what's going on, in certain areas of the film. Nonetheless, the worst thing about this film is how much the film serve as an advertisement for the World of Warcraft game! Gees, the film makes it, seem like anybody interested in fantasy should, buy that game. I thought, this movie was, about LARP, not W.O.W, Hoback!!! The movie somewhat lose focus, there, when they started to interview people on how much World of Warcraft, they played. Some of them, were really disturbing, like the guy who plays 40 hours, a week. WOW, get off of W.O.W, (World of Warcraft) dude! Still, the movie is funny and engaging enough, to watch, pass through those certain scenes. With a run-time of under 90 minutes, the movie was well-paced. Overall: This insight look at an emerging subculture of those immersed in fantasy was well-worth watching. In my opinion, anybody interested in Society for Creative Anachronism, Renaissance Fairs, or Massive Multiplayer Online RPG games, should check this movie out. Indeed, Be All That You Can't Be!

In Cullen Hoback's documentary Monster Camp, we examine the lives of several members of the Seattle chapter of NERO, the New England Role Playing Organization. The members participate in weekend long events every few months where they go into combat as a character of their choosing, or the game's choosing. There are humans, elves, trolls, and even something called a "Death Moth" that can eat your brain and control your mind.NERO is essentially a culmination of Dungeons & Dragons, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, and any other role playing game (RPG) you can think of. There are PC's or player character, which are the people who chose to play as a character with a name, history, and special powers. There are also NPC's, or non player characters. These are the monsters, goblins, and other baddies that try to take down the PC's.The group consists of several members, including some who travel hundreds of miles to take part in the huge event. Over the course of a weekend, members fight at all hours of the day and night, depending on what the plot members conjure up. The folks behind the scene take care of the monster costumes, plot lines, and schedules for the events. They are basically the gods of the game and what they say goes.What I like about this film is that we are not shown the game from a specific angle or particular bias. We are shown the truth and nothing but the truth. For the majority of audience members, these people will seem like social misfits and nerdy outcasts. I see a group of people who share a common interest and an understanding for their desire to become someone else.The film consists of mostly in field reporting during battles and the time in between. There is no narration but some some title cards fill in some information not told to us through the footage. It's nothing glamorous like a Michael Moore documentary, but it's still exciting nonetheless.I found this to be a very enlightening film. It's not everyday that you get to see such a select group of people doing what they love; role playing. There are millions of people around the world that play games like World of Warcraft or Dungeons and Dragons, but only a handful of those play these games in real life. This is a light, informative, and nonjudgmental film. With a run-time of under 90 minutes, I think you all can spare the time to watch these people in their element.

So I was also a participant in this documentary when it was shot, and I've played at a few different chapters across the country.Actually, when I saw the film I was surprised at how even-handed it actually was. There's a lot of drama queens that LARP, and there's no way any film made about a NERO chapter would have appealed to all of them. I mean, there's so much drama in the NERO universe that there's controversy over who started NERO in the first place.Some of my family members have watched this movie and now finally have a grasp on what it is I actually do with some of my weekends. More importantly, they came away from the film with a greater sense of understanding.Another NERO member said that the lizard guys in the photo quit shortly after shooting, which is true. To that point, oddball types float in and out of the game all of the time, and they usually play the monsters who don't know the rules well. The film covered the die-hards and the more pathetic participants (even though they really do get a chance to speak for themselves).NERO is a community. It attracts all types. Sure the film doesn't follow the in-game plot; but come on fellow Larpers, that stuff is only interesting to us. This film seems to have been crafted to appeal to people besides just us. It focuses on real drama that comes with trying to make our fantasy work! That's probably why it was more than just another you tube video showing people hitting each other with padded weapons.Of the characters profiled in the film, I knew about 40% of them. While they are more complex than the film reveals, I didn't think that they were misrepresented. I thought it did a better job at providing an even-handed perspective for them than King of Kong did for Billy Mitchell. Additionally, those I have talked to who were in the film by and large were satisfied with how they were portrayed.I'm glad I was documented in this project. If nothing else, I'd say watch it and see for yourself.

I absolutely loved this movie! Not only does this film open your eyes to a world of gaming that you never knew existed, but it provides hours of comedy. You can't help but enjoy hearing and experiencing the out of this world realms where people pretend to be characters and battle to see who the winner will be. If you are familiar with World of Warcraft this film takes you to a whole new level of game play.The movie meets a dual purpose: broadening one's intellect and tightening their stomach muscles.