Sleepaway Camp
Starring: Felissa Rose, Jonathon Tierson, Christopher Collet
Written & Directed By: Robert Hiltzik
Released: 1988
Grade: B+
Plot
Our story begins with a young girl named Angela (Rose). She loses her family in a horrible boating accident. So she is sent to live with her aunt and her cousin, Ricky (Tierson). Her aunt always wanted a girl and soon becomes very protective of her. When Angela turns 14, her aunt sends her and Ricky to Camp Arawak, where Ricky has been before. Ricky fits in very well with the other kids unlike Angela. She is shy and awkward. Many of the other girls are very outgoing and especially flirtatious towards the boys. Angela is pretty much the exact opposite and so is an easy prey. So she gets picked on quite a bit. Ricky does try to look out for her as much as he can though. There is one other person who seems to like her, one of the boys named Paul (Collet). He is a nice boy who is taking an interest in Angela. She likes having someone there who isn’t against her. The two of them get closer through out their time at camp. This just makes the other girls jealous and makes Angela more of a target. Plus, Paul is getting mixed signals. It seems like they have a connection, but Angela won’t even let him touch her or get anywhere near her. He gets confused with one of the other girls. It doesn’t help matters that during their whole time at camp, people have been getting killed. There is a murderer in the area, but the head of the camp doesn’t want anyone to know this. He knows that everyone will just want to go home if they think they are in danger. Who knows, no one may ever want to come back to the camp if this gets out. As the bodies start stacking up though, it gets harder and harder to hide.
Analysis
Sleepaway Camp could easily be mistaken for a rip off of Friday the 13th. They both take place at a summer camp, in which murders take place by a killer in the woods. However, it is not the same film and the quality it possesses on its’ own is something to recognize. It is thoroughly entertaining. While all the characters aren’t likeable the ones you‘re supposed to like are. You care about Angela, Ricky, and Paul. Those that are meant to be nasty characters succeed in their goal; causing conflict and in turn relief when they are killed.
One of the best things about this film is the deaths. They are very brutal, just watching them almost causes you pain. When I first saw this, the first death was especially painful for me. The first one includes the essential burning of a body to the point of death. When I watched that man get burned to death, it was too much for me to watch. Most deaths, as gross as they may be, are easy for me to view. This one really got to me though and served as a very brutal way to start out the deaths. They continue down this path. One of the worst ones is with one of the girls who tends to get around with the guys. The killer shoves a curling iron inside her. What really makes Sleepaway Camp such a good movie though is the ending. The ending is a complete shocker. It is a terrific twist and goes against all common suspicions.
Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers
Starring: Pamela Springsteen, Renee Estevez, Tony Higgins
Directed By: Michael A. Simpson
Written By: Fritz Gordon, Robert Hiltzik
Released: 1988
Grade: C+
Starring: Pamela Springsteen, Renee Estevez, Tony Higgins
Directed By: Michael A. Simpson
Written By: Fritz Gordon, Robert Hiltzik
Released: 1988
Grade: C+
Plot
A new movie: a new camp. Now we go to sleepaway camp at Camp Rolling Hills. Things went badly enough with Angela (Springsteen) as a camper just imagine how things will go wrong when she is a counselor. She has changed her last name so no one knows just who she is. She seems to have a problem with everyone. As soon as she has any conflict with anyone that is pretty much the end of them. The one person she actually seems to like is Molly (Estevez). Molly even comes to Angela for help at times. Most of the campers just make fun of her. This is understandable since Angela seems to be extremely strict with the campers. She tries to stop any nudity and the boys and girls getting very close at all. Molly is one of the less outgoing girls though. Her and one of the nicer boys of the bunch, Sean (Higgins) start spending a lot of time with one another. The only problem is that Molly isn’t the only one who likes Sean. The most flirtatious of the girls likes him too. She is worried about it because Molly is pretty inexperienced sexually and this other girl is very experienced. She really likes Sean a lot and the two of them have a connection. Turning to Angela for advice was a mistake though. Involving Angela is just asking for trouble. It isn’t long before everyone at camp sees the true side of her evil ways. She even captures Sean and Molly when they find all of the bodies she has hacked up.
A new movie: a new camp. Now we go to sleepaway camp at Camp Rolling Hills. Things went badly enough with Angela (Springsteen) as a camper just imagine how things will go wrong when she is a counselor. She has changed her last name so no one knows just who she is. She seems to have a problem with everyone. As soon as she has any conflict with anyone that is pretty much the end of them. The one person she actually seems to like is Molly (Estevez). Molly even comes to Angela for help at times. Most of the campers just make fun of her. This is understandable since Angela seems to be extremely strict with the campers. She tries to stop any nudity and the boys and girls getting very close at all. Molly is one of the less outgoing girls though. Her and one of the nicer boys of the bunch, Sean (Higgins) start spending a lot of time with one another. The only problem is that Molly isn’t the only one who likes Sean. The most flirtatious of the girls likes him too. She is worried about it because Molly is pretty inexperienced sexually and this other girl is very experienced. She really likes Sean a lot and the two of them have a connection. Turning to Angela for advice was a mistake though. Involving Angela is just asking for trouble. It isn’t long before everyone at camp sees the true side of her evil ways. She even captures Sean and Molly when they find all of the bodies she has hacked up.
Analysis
This is definitely way cheesier than the first film. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it’s bad. It is good regarding the kills. The deaths seem to be the most creative in this film. One of the most grotesque deaths is when the cheerleader who Molly fears will take Sean from her is killed. Her entire body is shoved inside the toilet of an outhouse. She is drowned in there. Before she dies, she is gasping for air and covered in leeches and other bugs. It does feature imitations of horror legends, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. Two of the boys dress up like these killers in hopes of scaring Angela. The Freddy Krueger version is the more realistic of the two. Angela intervenes though and these two among many others are killed. It just seems like this was filler since they couldn’t think of anything original to put in though.
The part where the cheesiness of the movie suffers is through the killer herself, Angela. In the first one, it was a mystery of who the killer was. When we found out it was shocking. Now we know who it is, so the element of surprise is gone. Angela really isn’t made to be scary through the way that she acts either. She is laughing, smiling, and making corny jokes before, during, and after she kills people. Also, the reason why Angela is supposed to be killing is to get rid of those who she thinks are bad people. It may start out like this, but it doesn’t end like this since almost everyone at the camp ends up dead. Many of those people didn’t show any bad qualities at all, they were just killed for the sake of being killed. My one last problem with this film was the ending. It was pretty disappointing after having such a great ending in the first one. There really is no ending in Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers. Molly manages to get away after Angela thought she was dead. It seems like she is going to get away. She then runs in to Angela and the end. We have no conclusion and the film suffers because of it.
This is definitely way cheesier than the first film. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it’s bad. It is good regarding the kills. The deaths seem to be the most creative in this film. One of the most grotesque deaths is when the cheerleader who Molly fears will take Sean from her is killed. Her entire body is shoved inside the toilet of an outhouse. She is drowned in there. Before she dies, she is gasping for air and covered in leeches and other bugs. It does feature imitations of horror legends, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. Two of the boys dress up like these killers in hopes of scaring Angela. The Freddy Krueger version is the more realistic of the two. Angela intervenes though and these two among many others are killed. It just seems like this was filler since they couldn’t think of anything original to put in though.
The part where the cheesiness of the movie suffers is through the killer herself, Angela. In the first one, it was a mystery of who the killer was. When we found out it was shocking. Now we know who it is, so the element of surprise is gone. Angela really isn’t made to be scary through the way that she acts either. She is laughing, smiling, and making corny jokes before, during, and after she kills people. Also, the reason why Angela is supposed to be killing is to get rid of those who she thinks are bad people. It may start out like this, but it doesn’t end like this since almost everyone at the camp ends up dead. Many of those people didn’t show any bad qualities at all, they were just killed for the sake of being killed. My one last problem with this film was the ending. It was pretty disappointing after having such a great ending in the first one. There really is no ending in Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers. Molly manages to get away after Angela thought she was dead. It seems like she is going to get away. She then runs in to Angela and the end. We have no conclusion and the film suffers because of it.
Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland
Starring: Pamela Springsteen
Directed By: Michael A. Simpson
Written By: Fritz Gordon, Robert Hiltzik
Released: 1989
Grade: C-
Plot
Angela (Springsteen) is back at it again. She has disguised herself and has a fake identity as an inner city girl named Maria. She has now become a camper again. The camp leaders have changed the name to Camp New Horizons. They are hoping nothing is mentioned about the murders that took place at Camp Rolling Hills. Their goal is to merge the upper class with the lower class. So they find campers from all over the country of both of these classes. Once they get to camp, they are divided in to 3 groups. Angela works her way through these groups until she has killed everyone. Her main worry is one of the counselors, Mr. Whitmore. He is a police officer, the same one who arrested her after her first set of killings at Camp Arawak. Also, he is Sean’s father and when Angela is mentioned among some of the campers, he says if he ever comes across the one responsible for his son’s death that he would kill her. Angela is just trying to trick and kill everyone she can before anyone can stop her.
Angela (Springsteen) is back at it again. She has disguised herself and has a fake identity as an inner city girl named Maria. She has now become a camper again. The camp leaders have changed the name to Camp New Horizons. They are hoping nothing is mentioned about the murders that took place at Camp Rolling Hills. Their goal is to merge the upper class with the lower class. So they find campers from all over the country of both of these classes. Once they get to camp, they are divided in to 3 groups. Angela works her way through these groups until she has killed everyone. Her main worry is one of the counselors, Mr. Whitmore. He is a police officer, the same one who arrested her after her first set of killings at Camp Arawak. Also, he is Sean’s father and when Angela is mentioned among some of the campers, he says if he ever comes across the one responsible for his son’s death that he would kill her. Angela is just trying to trick and kill everyone she can before anyone can stop her.
Analysis
This is the worst movie of the three. It is just the same thing we have gotten from the first two just at a lesser quality. The characters are all very stereotypical. All of the upper class campers act prissy and all of the lower class campers act like they are thugs. Most of the kills aren’t even that great. There is one that is ridiculously funny. Angela buries one of the counselors in the ground, covers her in dirt than kills her by lawn mowing her. This is far fetched and for a complicated task like this it would be very easy for a victim to get away. It seems effortless in the film though, it is like the victims aren’t even trying to live, just screaming like idiots. There is another death that could have been good. Angela chains someone to a tree, supposedly for foreplay, than drives in a truck attached to the tree, stretching the body until it bursts. This was done better in the original hitcher. Here we have to assume what even happens. It seems like it doesn’t even matter how these people die anymore or why they are dying. It is just being done and the sooner they get done the sooner the makers can be done with the film. Unfortunately, it leaves us the same way; the sooner the movie is over, the better for the viewer.
Overall
The quality of the Sleepaway Camp trilogy is the same in numerical order as it is in descending order. The first is the best by far. It has the campy feel of Friday the 13th with having its’ own originality especially through the ending. By doing this it creates tension. By having characters we care about and characters we dislike, it is a good transition keeping us amused through out everything that happens. The second one has the most comical deaths, although the killer is no longer scary, but laughable. The third is just the same old thing. By this time we are tired of it and there seems to be no rhyme or reason anymore, just mindless unrealistic killer. I highly recommend Sleepaway Camp to all horror fans. The second one can be fun with lowered expectations, but the third is best to just steer clear of.
Also: the star of the first Sleepaway Camp, Felissa Rose, will be making an appearance on Horror Movie Fans.com Radio on Sunday, January 20th. You can listen in at blogtalkradio.com/hmfradio
and you can call in and talk to Felissa at: 646-716-7438
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