The 63-day “wilderness therapy camp” and the person who created it, are the issues that are discussed in the documentary feature, Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare, now streaming on Netflix.
 
Steve Cartisano, a former military special forces officer and the founder of the Challenger Foundation, which was established in the 1980s, is the main subject of the 90-minute documentary, directed by Liza Williams.
 
Following the events that took place at the camp, Steve Castiano’s career, which had begun with the Challenger Foundation, became contentious and challenging.  The harshness of the camp’s operations, on the other hand, led to their widespread public exposure. 
 
In the year 1990, a young woman named Kristen Chase passed away, due to heat exertion, in the care of the camp authorities, which brought the facility into the spotlight of the public. In this documentary, which is altogether entertaining, edifying and disturbing, delves into this terrible catastrophe and the cultural and legal repercussions that it has had. It does this successfully by conducting interviews with some of the “survivors” of the camp.  
 
As a result of the fact that there are several camps, sometimes known as “rehabilitation clinics” or “therapy camps,” all over the world, including in South Africa, the lesson conveyed by the documentary is relevant all over the world. In most cases, investigations into several programmes that purport to aid in the rehabilitation of difficult children reveal that the individuals who are entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring the children’s well-being are, in reality, plotting the children’s humiliation and suffering. 
 
Despite the fact that it is rather straightforward, this documentary raises important questions about the legitimacy of such facilities and the underlying malicious purpose they serve.  
 
In order for all parents to have a better understanding of the goals of such organisations, they should view the documentary Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare, before entrusting their children to such establishments. 
 
-Dirk Lombard Fourie