Introduction
The Plague is a haunting film. It caught me off guard in the most unsettling way. I sat down to watch it knowing only that it had played well at Fantastic Fest 2025. But I was not prepared for how deeply Charlie Polinger’s film would dig into memories I would rather leave buried. This film brought back some genuinely painful recollections of being bullied as a kid, and the realism with which it handles that experience is what makes it so disturbing.
Synopsis
The setup is deceptively familiar. Ben (Everett Blunck), a new boy, arrives at a summer water polo camp and begins the awkward but hopeful process of fitting in. He is initially accepted by a group of boys who have already formed their hierarchy and social rhythms. Everything feels normal enough. There is joking, bonding, and the unspoken pressure to belong.
It does not take long, however, before Ben learns about another boy at the camp, Eli (Kenny Rasmussen), who has a severe skin condition. The other kids cruelly refer to him as “the plague” and warn Ben not to touch him unless he wants to “catch it” too.
Ben, being a decent and empathetic kid, feels sorry for Eli, especially when he sees him struggling to apply medication to his skin. When Ben helps him, the punishment is swift and merciless. Ben is branded just like Eli and becomes the new target of relentless bullying. From that moment on, the tone of the film darkens considerably, and the emotional pressure begins to tighten.
Discussion
Written and directed by Charlie Polinger, The Plague is an impressively controlled and deeply uncomfortable film. Everett Blunck is excellent as Ben, capturing the essence of a pre-teen boy desperate to fit in while still clinging to a basic sense of kindness. Ben is not heroic or naïve. He is just trying to survive socially, which makes what happens to him feel all the more cruel.
The group is led by Jake, who is played with chilling effectiveness by Kayo Martin. Jake is snarky, manipulative, and clearly enjoys his power over others. Once Ben is pushed outside the group, Jake makes sport of tormenting him.
What feels especially authentic and painful is that Ben never confides in the adult supervisors. Instead, he internalizes everything, allowing the humiliation and anger to fester until it inevitably explodes. Watching this unfold brought back a flood of emotions from my own childhood, and Polinger captures that psychological pressure so well that I found myself genuinely uncomfortable while watching the film.
Further Analysis
The performances across the board are very believable. The film almost feels like found footage at times, though it is really more of an intimate, first-person narrative. The camera work, often handheld or Steady-Cam, keeps everything feeling raw and immediate. Many scenes take place at night, and the overall look of The Plague is slightly disorienting.
I could not quite place where in the United States the story was supposed to be set, and it often felt more European than American. While that was mildly distracting for me, it remains a minor flaw in an otherwise very effective presentation.
What truly makes The Plague work as a film is its viscerality. This is a brutally honest depiction of the nastiness of growing up. The interactions between the kids feel painfully genuine. I could feel Ben’s anxiety, shame, and confusion radiating off the screen. I could also feel the unsettling joy Jake takes in cruelty. The emotional realism is so strong that I would not be surprised if Polinger intentionally limited off-camera interaction between the actors to heighten that sense of isolation.
Conclusion
Would I recommend The Plague? Yes, but with a caveat. This is likely a one-time watch for me. It touched a raw nerve and took me to a place I don’t wish to revisit. Anyone who has experienced this kind of childhood bullying may find the film triggering.
Polinger has crafted something far more disturbing than many modern horror films. This is real horror. It is grounded, mean, and uncomfortably familiar. It hits you straight between the eyes and does not let you look away. I think Charlie Polinger has a bright future as a director, and I am very interested to see what he does next.
