One of the most curious family holiday experiences to be enjoyed/endured is the camping trip.

The notion of leaving the comfort and safety of your own home, only to travel a significant distance, navigate the construction of a paper-thin plastic tent, which you proceed to sleep in however bad the weather might be, all under the pretence of fun is difficult to comprehend.

And yet it is a pursuit that most families experience at one point or another in their lives, that nearly always results in a memorable holiday, for good or bad.

It is the groundsheet for the directorial debut of India Donaldson, that sees a father and daughter take off for a hiking weekend.

Just loading up the car with their camping gear is 17-year-old Sam (Lily Colias) and her dad Chris (James Le Gros). They have just one stop to go before heading into the Catskills; they’re picking up her dad’s best friend Matt (Danny McCarthy) and his son, but when they arrive at their house, they do so during a row between the two, that sees Matt end up joining them on his own.

The three of them then make their way to park, where they take out their backpacks and start to make their way on their hike through the woods.

Now as the only teen in the group, the dynamic has shifted somewhat, as Sam finds herself witness to the occasionally strained relationship between the two old friends.

Donaldson, daughter of Kiwi director Roger Donaldson (1988’s Cocktail, 1997’s Dante’s Peak), has delivered a debut that is unmistakeably indie in all senses of the word. It is simply shot, with no technical thrills and spills whatsoever, with the intention of offering a simple tale in the process.

Unfortunately it’s the narrative that’s just too much on the mundane side.

The first hour or so is just so ploddy, like the script itself is on a hike and doesn’t quite know where it’s going. It’s achingly slow, and although the scenery is admittedly pretty, it’s not enough to hold your attention as we follow the three characters meander through the woods.

Sam at one point is keen to interact with her phone in the wilderness, which will no doubt be a trigger response to all those watching it to do the same, amongst the non stop tedium.

And then, finally, some drama, that comes by way of one line, that certainly strikes a chord, but as it arrives so late, there’s very little fallout from it. The US director might argue that it’s the very crux of her film, but the fact of the matter is that despite it being a major bombshell, it implodes rather than explodes, and with it occurring in the dying embers of the film, it makes little to no emotional impact, which isn’t ideal.

The performances are satisfactory from all three players, giving no doubt what was asked of them, but Donaldson’s film overall is a lacklustre affair, and is much like the idea of camping itself – with far more interesting things to entertain you, why bother.