Director: Daniel DelPurgatorio
Screenplay: Andy Greskoviak
Starring: Kue Lawrence, Kai Cech, Winston Vengapally, Miya Cech, Giorgia Whigham, Max Malas, Maxwell Whittington-Cooper, Pierson Fodé, Alysia Reiner, Corbin Bernsen, Paul Soter
Country: United States
Running Time: 93 min
Year: 2025
BBFC Certificate: 15
In the 1980s horror films set in American summer camps were hugely popular and it felt like they were a sub-genre in their own right. Heavy hitters included the Friday the 13th franchise beginning with the 1980 original, The Burning (1981), Sleepaway Camp (1983), and Madman (1981). The movies made going to an American summer camp seem like a terrifying experience and were huge hits in a decade when the slasher film came into its own.
Fast forward to 2025 and a time when it feels like there is nothing fresh that can be done with summer camp horror films, and enter Marshmallow. Directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio, the film is certainly memorable and adds its own modern spin on the summer camp horror movie, building to some genuinely jaw-dropping twists.
Marshmallow follows Morgan (Kue Lawrence) who is beset with a recurrent nightmare that leaves him with sleep paralysis as his bedroom floods from a wound on his body. This nightmare also him a fear of drowning. Morgan, who is very shy, witnesses his grandfather die but is not allowed to grieve, instead being sent to a summer camp by his parents.
Morgan goes through rites of passage at the summer camp, making new friends, meeting a girl called Pilar (Kai Cech) and getting bullied. Yet, this being a horror film, it’s not too long before strange shenanigans ensue.
The horror elements at camp are fuelled by the staff telling a scary story about a doctor who targets children who leave their bunks at night and takes them to the basement of a building where he performs unspeakable operations on them.
Morgan sees strange flashing coming from a building and goes to check it out, discovering a person he thinks is the doctor in the basement conducting experiments.
Morgan tries to convince everyone he’s telling the truth and the doctor in the camp fire story is real, whilst the doctor stalks the camp, targeting children and zapping them with an electrically-powered wand.
There is a lot I liked about Marshmallow, not least the fact that it is a very atmospheric film from the outset. The recurrent nightmare sequence is beautifully shot and pretty terrifying and sets an ominous tone that continues in the real world, with everyone seemingly out to get Morgan and no-one having his back or considering his wants, until he makes friends and meets a girl at summer camp.
The cinematography is striking. Cinematographer Filip Vandewal keeps the camera moving, using a drone for some scene establishing aerial shots, as well as plenty of depth in some scenes, with foliage used to give a 3D feel and sense of place, helped by location filming in Kentucky.
The score by Nicholas Elert has a very 1980s synth style to it which is also quite pulse-pounding at times, and helps no end with the atmosphere and elevating scenes. There’s also a strong use of sound design – with a great example being one of the earliest scenes, when Morgan witnesses his grandfather collapse and die in front of him. Sound effects, music and speech are all heightened.
It’s not perfect, the script is at times great and at others serviceable, and some of the elements in summer camp don’t all feel fresh – there’s some tropes and archetypes here. There is also some less than stellar acting at times. I found some of the adults a little wanting in the acting chops stakes, but the children are uniformly good, particularly Lawrence as Morgan who goes through the ringer.
It at times feels like a made for TV or streaming service movie [there’s definitely a bit of a Stranger Things (2016-2025) vibe, and that of 80s set movies led by children like The Goonies (1985) and Stand By Me (1986) and the book series Goosebumps], yet the elements I enjoyed elevate it at other times.
However, as well as the likeable lead and Pilar, two elements made this one stand out for me. First, is the doctor who has very interesting character design, masked with a torch light on their head and a cattle-prod like weapon. Secondly, an element I don’t want to spoil – the twists, which add a sci-fi element to proceedings. I certainly didn’t see them coming and it made me want to rewatch the film to re-evaluate what I’d just watched. For these elements alone, I’d recommend giving this one a watch.
Marshmallow is a very interesting and fresh take on the summer camp slasher film. It’s not perfect by any means but what it does well, it does very well. It had me hooked from opening dream sequence to truly memorable third act twists that made me look at the events of the movie through new eyes. If you’re a horror movie fan or slasher fan that fancies a fresh take on a well-worn sub-genre, Marshmallow may be for you. The film ends on a cliffhanger and a sequel has been announced. I’m certainly intrigued to see where director DelPurgatorio takes the story and the characters next.
Film: 
Marshmallow is released on Blu-ray on 14 September 2026 by new Arrow sub-label Toy Robot Video as one of their first tranche of releases. The print is clean with fine detail shining through and colours looking natural. Sound design and music is key to the film, and the audio serves this well with everything sounding very clear and at the right level of balance.
Special features:
- Audio commentary with director Daniel DelPurgatorio and actors Kue Lawrence and Kai Cech
- Deleted Scene
- Filming the Dream Sequence
- Two short films directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio: Other (2012, 15 mins); Body(s) (2015, 18 mins)
- Storyboards
- Video Podcast interviews
- Behind-the-scenes stills gallery
- Script Pages
- Teaser trailers and theatrical trailer
The disc opens with two trailers that autoplay for other Toy Robot Video releases, The Guyver: Dark Hero (1994) and, slightly oddly considering it’s a US-only release from the label, Masters of the Universe (1987). It’s a neat way to open the disc and gives it a 1980s or early 1990s video rental vibe. The menu is neat with an animated robot, the striking poster for the film and a pink and black colour scheme.
I liked the overall presentation a lot, and that continued into the extras, which begin with an audio commentary, found in the audio section rather than bonus features, with director Daniel DelPurgatorio and actors Kue Lawrence and Kai Cech, who play Morgan and Pilar respectively. It’s an entertaining commentary with plenty of background about the making of certain scenes.
Up next is a one-minute deleted scene showing the doctor light up a cabin. It’s a nice inclusion.
Next, we have a three-minute look at the dream sequence filming, which is essentially behind the scenes imagery and several of the takes from the recurrent nightmare.
Two 10-minute video podcast interviews with Matt Orozco for Macabre Daily follow. The first features director DelPurgatorio who talks about the coming of age story and why it resonates with him as a father, as well as what it was like to work with the children, a look at the music and more. It’s a fun interview. The second sees writer Andrew Greskoviak share some interesting recollections including comments on the child actors, in another interesting interview which also touches on ‘those twists’.
A third and final video podcast interview for The Radpack Podcast sees DelPurgatorio pops up again for an interview alongside one of the child actors Dylan Friedman, who plays Sam. It’s a warm interview that makes filming the movie feel like it was a fun experience.
Two short films directed by Daniel DelPurgatorio are included. Firstly, Other (2012) which runs for 15 minutes. This one follows a doctor who has a terminal illness and is obsessed with finding a cure. He discovers a potential chance but it leads to some dark territory. This is an intriguing little short, well shot and which looks like more money was spent on it than probably was. It’s also an intriguing premise.
The second short film is Body(s) (2015) which runs for 18 minutes. This one follows a man who has Dissociative Identity Disorder, who has a side of his personality surgically removed. It’s similar to the other short in that it looks at the consequences of potential medical interventions. Again, it’s a well put together short film. Both shorts have interesting sound design, similar to the main feature.
Three galleries are included, which autoplay and can be self-navigated. The first features around 10 images showing storyboards for a fight, the second a behind the scenes gallery of around 30 images, and the third features just under 50 images of the script, with two pages on screen at a time. All are a welcome inclusion.
Two teaser trailers, each running for 30 seconds, and a 90 second trailer close out the disc, all selling the film well.
In conclusion, Toy Robot Video have provided a very solid package for one of their first releases, Marshmallow. Picture and sound are good and the extras include a fun audio commentary, two short films by director Daniel DelPurgatorio, and half-an-hour of entertaining video podcast interviews. It’s a good start for the new Arrow sub-label.
Disc/Package: