The shocking Netflix documentary Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare covers the true story of a notorious outdoor facility that opened in the late 1980s to help so-called “troubled teens” become better people. The camp would use strict military rules and a “no nonsense” approach with the attendees, and horrifically in 1990, one young participant died while in their care. The Netflix feature takes a deep dive into the whole affair and has testimony from people who had come into contact with the facility and the often shocking practices that occurred there.
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What’s the true story behind Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare?
The camp was established by ex-military man Steve Carisano, who became known as “the Godfather” of wilderness therapy. With the US struggling with the wayward teens of the time, Carisano would offer a sixty-three-day program, designed to mold those who attended into better people.
However, despite the huge success of the camp, which came with a price tag of just under sixteen thousand dollars per person, those that attended would soon describe some of the horrific ordeals that they had been through. In 1990, a death in the camp would expose just how extreme some of the procedures were. Sixteen-year-old Kristen Chase had been sent to the camp by her mother, but during a hiking expedition, she would repeatedly complain of headaches and eventually pass out. It would take over two hours for medical emergency teams to get to the young girl, and Kristen would die after collapsing. The autopsy would report her death was caused by “exertional heat stroke.”
The documentary uses this event as the center of its narrative and follows the collapse of the organization and the legal issues that arose in its wake. Although Carisano would never be charged with any offenses, it led to a flurry of civil cases against the business, which would eventually be closed, with its founder being banned from running any similar programs in Utah where he was based. However, it was reported that he would try again to run a similar facility in Hawaii, under a different name, but this too would eventually be closed.
Carisano would be left bankrupt and died in 2019.
Steve Carisano, Founder of Hell Camp | Image via Netflix
Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare Documentary Explained
The Netflix feature Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare covers the story in depth, with former attendees of the camp taking part in the film and explaining their experiences while they were there. It has footage from the camp, and testimony from people that became involved in the case and explores the issues that occurred after the death of Kristen.
The official synopsis on IMDb reads:
Out-of-control teens across America were sent to a therapy camp in the harsh Utah desert. The conditions were brutal, but the staff were even worse.
Who directed Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare?
The documentary was directed by Liza Williams. Liza is a well-respected documentary maker and her previous work includes projects for the long-running BBC documentary series Panorama.
In 2019, Liza would produce a TV insight into the horrific case of The Yorkshire Ripper. The UK serial killer, Peter Sutcliffe, somehow managed to operate for over five years in an area around England, before finally being captured, and this three-episode series by Liza would show how a series of mistakes by law enforcement allowed his murderous spree to continue for so long.
Is Paris Hilton in Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare?
Paris Hilton is featured in clips of the show as she publicly spoke out against these types of camps after her own experiences in one. The entrepreneur would be interviewed on the US news magazine program Good Morning America and talk of her trauma during her stay at Provo Canyon School in the 1990s. Paris would say she was “physically abused, yelled at, restrained, locked in rooms, forced [to take] medication.”
Paris would go on to support legislation in several states, including Utah where The Challenger Foundation was based, that have since passed laws regarding congregate care facilities.
