WATCH: An all-boys summer camp goes feral in this shocking Mexican thriller
The Hole In The Fence, Mexican filmmaker Joaquin del Paso mines the dark side of summer camp, framing a particular religious all-boys retreat as a breeding ground for hate, homophobia, and toxic masculinity.Supposedly based on real events, the film takes audiences to Los Pinos, an elite camp in the Mexican countryside where wealthy families send their sons for “physical, moral, and religious training” meant to shape them into high-achieving young men.From the jump, there’s an eerie vibe to Los Pinos (aided by the film’s sparse, electronic score from Stranger Things composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein), which is run by enigmatic adults who hold the kids to a strict code of moral conservatism and ominously warn them from stepping outside the bounds of camp.But things get stranger still when a mysterious hole appears in Los Pinos’ chainlink perimeter fence, causing panic that someone—or something—has broken in.While The Hole In The Fence unfolds like a horror movie, it’s clear the real monster is what’s been inside the camp all along.
Stoked by fear and goaded on by traditionalist counselors, things quickly devolve into a Lord Of The Flies scenario, as the boys turn on each other, terrorizing fellow campers who they suspect to be gay, or who come from less well-to-do families.With summer in full swing, there’s no better time to visit these unforgettable queer films set at camp.Working with a cast of non-professional actors, Del Paso holds no punches, taking on the way a conservative, patriarchal society breeds toxic masculinity in our youth.
