Title – The Plague (2025)

Director – Charlie Polinger (feature debut)

Cast – Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin, Kenny Rasmussen, Joel Edgerton

Plot – Sent to a water polo training camp for Summer, teenage boy Ben (Blunck) finds the pressures of adolescence increasing when his fellow group members, including the confident Jake (Martin) begin to target him and speak of a dreaded “plague” that could infect him at any time.  

“I think there’s something wrong with me”

Review by Eddie on 14/05/2026

Making a splash (please forgive me pun police) on the festival and indie scene in 2025, including at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and awards such as the Independent Spirit and Directors Guild, Charlie Polinger’s intense and suffocating debut feature The Plague isn’t an easy watch but this flawed exploration of male adolescence and the horrors of teenagerhood suggests Polinger is a director to keep a very close eye on.

Enlisting the support of Australian ex-pat Joel Edgerton, here playing water polo coach Daddy Wags after Polinger refused his offer of directing the film, The Plague has perhaps been wrongfully billed/advertised to some as a straight down the line body horror type exercise where it’s something far different, as we are thrown into the water with Everett Blunck’s Ben in the early 2000’s as he endures a summer camp at a water polo facility filled with other teenagers.

Touching on many a familiar theme and relatable awkward early teen scenarios such as childish pranks, complicated friendships, self-discovery and outright bullying, The Plague has elements and ingredients of countless other forms of media that have delved into similar territories but with a possibly real, possibly fake plague angle and some unique delivery, Polinger’s impressively made debut has a whole flavour of its own, differentiating itself from many of its peers.

It’s not a film for everyone, those that may’ve been hoodwinked into the film from expertly designed marketing or false expectations are likely to find the films slow pace and unnerving delivery too much to bear and there’s some underdeveloped and underutilised angles of Polinger’s film and its characters that leaves much to be desired but there’s also a lot of power to be found in this examination of the human condition amongst everything else.

An undeniably impressive facet of the film is the performance of its leading man Blunck.

Tasked with the tricky role of Ben, a shy boy who also isn’t afraid to stand up for himself and others, Blunck is fantastic here and as Ben finds himself at loggerheads with popular fellow participant and teenager Jake (an impressive Kayo Martin) and the possible plague infected target of the bullies Eli (another solid turn from Kenny Rasmussen), Blunck is more than up for the task and takes us along for a complex and unpredictable ride during this time of Ben’s life.

Not a film you would expect to break out majorly amongst casual audiences much like it struggled to do so during its limited theatrical run, The Plague is likely to find a small but passionate fanbase as one of the better and more unique examples of adolescent drama in recent times.

Final Say –

A slowly paced drama with unnerving angles and themes, The Plague doesn’t always stick the landing but it’s a hugely promising debut from writer/director Charlie Polinger, who you would expect is soon to move onto bigger and greater things in the coming years.

3 1/2 cardboard cutouts out of 5