Seattle Times: ‘Monster Camp’ Live-action role playing is confusing but grin-inducing

“Monster Camp,” a documentary from Portland-based filmmaker Cullen Hoback, is an unexpectedly sprightly experience. The film follows a group of Northwest practitioners of a rather unusual hobby. They love to LARP — live-action role playing — as lizard people, mysterious monsters and medieval-ish heroes and heroines.

“I didn’t die, which is a plus for me,” says a cheerful young man to the camera. Well, yes.

That brand of making-the-best-of-it optimism runs throughout Portland-based filmmaker Cullen Hoback’s documentary “Monster Camp,” making it an unexpectedly sprightly experience. First seen here at the 2007 Seattle International Film Festival, the film follows a group of Northwest practitioners of a rather unusual hobby. They love to LARP — live-action role playing; sort of like Dungeons and Dragons but on your feet (rather than sitting around with “potato chips and Mountain Dew,” as a disgruntled player describes it), outdoors in costume and makeup, under the guidance of a 200-page rule book.