Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare | All you need to know about the acclaimed Netflix documentary and the tragic real-life stories
Documentary name: Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare
Platform: Netflix
Country of origin: USA
Date of Release: December 27, 2023
Genre: Crime
Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
What is 'Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare' about?
'Hell Camp' is the appalling story of a 'wilderness therapy' camp for troubled teens out in the Utah desert. Sent there with the consent of their parents, teens were subject to at times horrifying abuse and 'torture' at the hands of Challenger camp employees. After one girl died, the subsequent investigation revealed a tragic tale of systematic abuse that blew open the secrets of the Challenger camp.
Who directs 'Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare'?
'Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare' is directed by the BAFTA-winning director Liza Williams. Williams won her BAFTA for the outstanding documentary 'The Yorkshire Ripper Files: A Very British Crime Story'. She also directed 'Catching a Predator' based on the Reynhard Sinaga case.
Who founded the Challenger 'wilderness therapy' camp in Utah?
Former special forces operator Steve Cartisano founded Challenger in 1988. It was an immediate hit and grossed $3.2 million in its first year. A number of powerful Utah families sent their children to the camp at the height of its popularity, paying as much as $15,900 for a 63-day program.
Who was Kristin Chase?
In 1990, Florida teen and Challenger camp attendee Chase died after it took camp officials over two hours to call for medical help when she collapsed during a grueling hike. Cartisano and Challenger were charged with negligent homicide and nine misdemeanor counts of child abuse. Chase's death and the ensuing investigation would sound the death knell for the Challenger Camp (it would later file for bankruptcy under pressure from a mountain of debt caused by a flurry of civil lawsuits) though not necessarily for its founder Cartisano.
What happened to Steve Cartisano?
Cartisano was never criminally charged in the death of Kristin Chase. After Challenger shut down, Cartisano was banned from operating a child treatment center in Utah, he was later similarly banned in Hawaii where he had started another Challenger Camp -- which also shut down. Cartisano would go on to open a number of 'therapy camps' across the US and the territories -- all illegal and all ill-fated. His last reported job, according to High Country News, was as "supervisor of a dormitory for American Indian students on a reservation in Oklahoma". He was fired from here too. Cartisano died in Durant, Oklahoma on May 4, 2019 aged 63.
Have there been deaths at other 'wilderness therapy' camps?
'Wilderness therapy' is still extremely controversial with vocal support and dissent. But over the years the number of deaths and injuries reported due to what may be considered negligence has grown. Here is a non-comprehensive list of the fatalities.
Summit Quest
In 1990 California teen Michelle Lynn Sutton died while on a hike north of the Grand Canyon. She was in a Summit Quest-sponsored program. The Los Angeles Times stated that the autopsy report by the Mohave County medical examiner indicated that the girl’s heart stopped as a result of dehydration and heat exposure. Summit Quest paid Michelle's parents $345,000 in exchange for their withdrawal of a lawsuit.
North Star Wilderness Program
In January 1995, 16-year-old Aaron Bacon died from acute peritonitis from a bleeding ulcer while at a North Star Wilderness Program in the Escalante River Basin. In 1998 Craig Fisher, the only North Star employee to stand trial (five others pleaded guilty to misdemeanors) for the death of Aaron was found guilty of abuse or neglect of a disabled child and sentenced to a year in prison.
Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Expeditions
In 2002, unbeknownst to 15-year-old Erica Harvey, her parents had signed her up to the Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Expedition allegedly in an attempt to get her off drugs. Erica collapsed during a hike and according to the Phoenix New Times, it took 45 minutes for staff to call for help and hours till it actually arrived, by then Erica was dead. Harvey's death prompted a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into "thousands of cases of alleged abuse, from 1990 to 2007, as reported by state agencies, the federal Department of Health and Human Services, pending and closed criminal and civil cases, and allegations posted on the Internet," according to a report in Education Week.
Skyline Journey Wilderness therapy program
In July 2002, 14-year-old Texas teen Ian August died on a hike in Nephi, Utah while attending the Skyline Journey Wilderness therapy program. An investigation into his death led to a court case in which the judge revoked Skyline Journey's license to conduct wilderness therapy programs. The judge said in his ruling that Skyline had "failed to comply with one of the most critical rules governing wilderness programs". The judge slammed Skyline Journey and its owners Lee and Mark Wardle over the fact that Ian's doctor never determined if the teen was physically fit enough to undergo the rigors of wilderness therapy.
On Track wilderness program
Seventeen-year-old Charles 'Chase' Moody died after he was restrained by staff of the On Track wilderness program run by the Brown Schools -- it is claimed that Chase became aggressive towards staff hence the action. It is alleged that the restraint position used by a member of staff on Chase has been outlawed due to its prospective lethality. Chase died before the paramedics arrived. In a cruel twist, it had been Chase's father Charles Moody who had earlier defended the Brown Schools in a lawsuit brought by the mother of Brandon Chandler who died in their care. Years later it would be Charles Moody on the other side of the court, grieving the death of his son Chase. Charles would launch his own investigation against the Brown Schools into his son's death, an investigation that would open a box of horrors and tragedy. Weeks after Chase's death the state cancelled its lease with On Track and the Brown Schools closed the program. Just like Judy Chandler who he fought against in court, Charles would settle his case against Brown Schools. Years later Charles and Judy finally met, and bonded through grief and loss, on Dateline. The Brown Schools filed for bankruptcy in 2005.
Sagewalk Wilderness Therapy Program
Sixteen-year-old Sergey Blashchishen collapsed and died during a hike in northern Lake County organized by Sagewalk. Preliminary autopsy results concluded that Sergey had died from heatstroke. In an affidavit filed by Lake County Sheriff's Deputy Chuck Pore, he wrote: "Not one of the staff questioned if Sergey's walk was one of these [symptoms for heatstroke]. This appears to be the first sign Sergey was entering heat exhaustion. Sage Walk may have taken children to the precipice of disaster and been lucky. On Friday August 28, 2009 this luck ran out." Sagewalk, which was owned by the Aspen Education Group, would shut down weeks later.
Is 'Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare' worth watching?
Absolutely a must-watch. But it's not for the faint-hearted because while there's no overt murder, the tragic tales tell a story of ignorant parents, sadistic camp staff, and truly troubled teens.
MEAWW Watch ranking
4 out of 5