Netflix viewers have been left queasy after tuning into the new documentary Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare, which tells the harrowing true story of a “wilderness therapy camp” and the man who founded it.
Former military Special Forces officer Steve Cartisano founded the Challenger Foundation in the Utah desert in the 1980s, charging parents $16,000 to tame their wayward teenagers by supposedly tying them to trees, taking away their rations and forcing them to carry bags of manure.
The 90-minute film delves into what really happened during the camp's 63-day program, which saw a teenager die during a 500-mile desert hike in unbearable heat.
Some viewers warned others not to watch, describing it as “insane” and “absolutely crazy” as they questioned how the “pure evil” camp was allowed to appear.
Former military special forces officer Steve Cartisano is the main subject in the new Netflix documentary Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare
Cartisano founded a “wilderness therapy camp” and promised to straighten out wayward teenagers
The 90-minute documentary was released on Netflix on December 27 and is described as 'insane' and 'sickening'
“I highly recommend that everyone NEVER watch 'Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare.' This is disgusting on too many levels,” one viewer wrote on Twitter.
Another person said: 'Oh my word!!! What a sickening documentary.'
A third said: 'This Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare documentary on Netflix is insane.'
Another described it as 'completely crazy' and wondered 'how did this happen', while a fifth added: 'I've finished it now. What the actual f*ck. Pure evil.'
Someone else posted: 'The #HellCamp documentary on Netflix is wild. I never knew about these “camps,” but there was no way my parents would pay thousands of dollars to send me away to be abused and tortured. This sh*t is sad.”
Throughout the documentary, viewers heard firsthand experiences from men and women sent away by their parents to attend the military camp.
Cartisano, who believed in intimidating rebellious children into submission by surviving outdoors, is seen in the film through throwback footage and can be heard declaring, “These kids need this, we're saving so many more lives.”
It was said that the strict rules involved “strip searches and military haircuts” as Cartisano “adopted a drill-sergeant style of speaking that shouted 'Yes sir!' required. answers,” said Highland News.
There were also severe punishments for children who did not follow instructions properly, including having their rations taken away and being forced to carry heavy loads of cow dung in backpacks all day.
Parents paid $16,000 to send their teens on the 63-day program in the Utah desert
Viewers expressed their shock at the 'sickening' documentary
The documentary shows images of Cartisano with some teenagers in the camp
Lance 'Horsehair' Jaggar worked as a field director at the Challenger camp and is featured in the documentary
Parents seemed to make do with high-profile and wealthy people signing up their children, including two teenagers from the Winthrop Rockefeller family.
Dozens of families paid the high registration fee, with the program reportedly raising $3.2 million in its first year.
Cartisano's wife Deborah Lee Carr plays a major role in the documentary, commenting on the wealth they have experienced through the success of the program.
“I just know that we had sufficient income and so there was a lot of money coming in… I think,” she says, before defending her late husband: “But there was also a lot of money going out. It was very expensive to run these programs.”
The couple's daughter, Catie, also speaks up and defends her father, whom she describes as “brilliant” and “the smartest person I've ever met.”
The mother and daughter duo also addressed the death of 16-year-old Kristen Chase of Florida, who was enrolled in the camp in 1990 and died just three days into the program after collapsing in the desert.
“Steve was devastated,” Deborah claimed. “I'm sure part of him saw it as his fault because it was his program and he was the one who brought kids into the program, but he also knew he had no control over it.
“He didn't actually spend that much time in southern Utah, you know, at that point, so I think he realized there wasn't really anything he could have done that could have changed the outcome.”
Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare features several first-person interviews with Challenger Camp survivors, including Nadine (pictured)
Cartisano's wife Deborah Lee Carr is featured in the documentary, commenting on the “adequate income” they had thanks to the camp
Cartisano's daughter Catie becomes upset when she talks about her “brilliant” father in the film
Cartisano and the program were charged with negligent homicide and multiple counts of child abuse stemming from Chase's death and allegations that other teens were starved and physically abused.
The allegations included children being “tied to trees” and “physically dragged along the ground.”
During the trial, Kane County Sheriff Max Jackson testified that Cartisano, then 38, had been “flippant” when told about Chase's death, according to Tampa Bay Times.
He also said the Challenger Foundation does not have adequate procedures in place to deal with medical emergencies, adding From the moment the girl became ill, it took almost two hours for professional medical help to arrive.
The camp filed for bankruptcy and was closed in the aftermath, and Cartisano was ultimately acquitted of all criminal charges but was civilly sued.
He was subsequently banned from operating any child treatment program in Utah, but later set up offshoots in Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Netflix viewers were disgusted by his actions and also unimpressed by the comments made by Cartisano's wife and daughter.
“The whole Cartisano family is just so horrible! The wife and daughter do nothing but make excuses and hero worship that monster Steve Cartisano! What disgusting people,” someone said angrily.
Kristen Chase from Florida collapsed and died at the age of 16, just three days after enrolling in the program
Cartisano and the program were charged with negligent homicide and multiple child abuse offenses, but he was acquitted of all criminal charges
Deborah confirmed that Cartisano died of a heart attack “three years ago” after battling colon cancer for years
“Steve's wife is clearly an idiot,” another person claimed, while a third said, “So Steve Cartisano's wife and daughter think he's a great guy? Holy sh*t. Please call for help.”
Someone else commented, “Steve Cartisano with his daughter (Catie Cartisano) and wife still being brainwashed is beyond comprehension. ALL THIS sick stuff happened before your husband and father, you're sick.”
Another person wrote, “I can't believe his wife and daughter are trying to make us sympathize with Steve Cartisano. He kidnapped and abused children…
Cartisano died of a heart attack “three years ago” after battling colon cancer for years, his wife said.
Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare is now available to stream on Netflix