Director - Robert Hiltzik (Return to Sleepaway Camp)
Starring - Felissa Rose (Return to Sleepaway Camp), Jonathan Tiersten (Return to Sleepaway Camp), and Christopher Collet (The Manhattan Project)
Release Date - 1983
Tagline - "You won't be coming home"
I saw this one a few times when I was little. Unlike now, back then I liked horror but I found my entertainment from children's flicks and 80's action. However, once in awhile, when my brother was home for the weekend, we would rent some horror movies and a few Genesis games. I remember one night watching the first two Sleepaway Camp movies along with the first two Leprechaun films. I also remember being freaked out by her aunt even more so than seeing a small, riddle speaking, killing machine in Leprechaun. I ordered the "survival kit" that included the first three flicks and while I was at it I ordered the remaining two so I could have the complete set.
This is your typical slasher film. Kids camping, or at camp, dying one by one at the hands of a crazed mad man, more often than not, because they are out for revenge. This one is no different. The film opens with a father boating on a lake with his two children, Angela and Peter, while teenagers from a nearby camp water ski. However, the group water skiing do not pay attention to where they are going and run over Peter and his father. The film jumps eight years later and Angela, who is now living with her aunt and cousin Ricky, are about to head to summer camp. While at camp, and due to her shy nature, Angela is teased and bullied by everyone including the counselors. Ricky, after each conflict, takes up for his cousin and gets in multiple fights because of this. After time those that have bullied Angela and had their go with Ricky begin to turn up dead or severely injured. The owner of the camp, who had been fooling around with one of the female counselors, finds her dead and remembered she had an argument earlier with Ricky over Angela and suspects him of the murders. He finds Ricky in the woods and beats the shit out of him. He thinks he has killed Ricky and walks away in shock. While walking through the archery range where he is shot in the throat similar to a scene in Friday the 13th. While the campers and counselors panic they realize that Angela is missing so they rush to find her before the killer does only to find of the biggest twists I have ever seen in a slasher movie.
This movie is also known as part one in the Hiltzik Sleepaway Camp Trilogy. The other two films in the trilogy is Return to Sleepaway Camp and the third film, Sleepaway Camp Reunion, is currently in production. This movie satisfies my urge for a slasher movie with decent kills. The kills are different than most slasher flicks. Slasher movies got their name from how the victims meet their demise which is usually done by sharp objects. This one is a bit different, in fact, only about six out of the fourteen deaths were met by sharp objects. Yea, that's right, I counted all the deaths for a post I'm working on about this series. The rest of the deaths are clever, though they may not be original, they still break the monotonous stabbings and slashing typical of the sub-genre. The acting is great, except for character of Angela's aunt, which only makes her even more creepy. The effects are decent at best but doesn't take away the enjoyment of watching this film. As for the twist ending, it was very clever but if you pay attention to the details at the beginning of the film then half way through you will figure it out like I did when I was little. Overall, this is a great slasher flick that is very underrated. It often catches hell for being a Friday the 13th rip off but either way a good movie is a good movie even if it is borrowed from another movie (isn't that right Tarantino?). I highly recommend giving this one a watch. Hell, watch it two or three times.
Rating (out of 5):
Director - Michael A. Simpson (Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland)
Starring - Pamela Springsteen (Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland), Renee Estevez (Addam's Family Reunion), and Brian Patrick Clark (CSI: Miami)
Release Date - 1988
Genre - Horror
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "When you go camping just take the essentials"
I had actually watched this one before I had seen the first movie in the series. When I rented the first two Sleepaway Camp films someone before me had put the two vhs tapes in the wrong box and the store clerk did not check them before putting them on the shelf. So after I put it in the vcr, I don't know how I missed it, but I completely let the title screen pass and I watched it till the end. It wasn't until I put in the first vhs thinking it was the second before I realized what I had done.
The film follows a group of counselors at a camp near where the first Sleepaway Camp movie took place. Here a young counselor, Angela, takes her job very seriously. Whenever someone does something immoral or unethical she kills them in slasher fashion. She then reports to the camp owner and tells them they were sent home for whatever offense they had committed. Bloodshed is not the only thing happening at camp. Two counselors have a summer fling until they find an abandoned cabin where Angela has been hiding the murdered campers. It is then revealed that Angela is, in fact, (if you ever doubted it) the same Angela from part I. Now, after years in an insane asylum, she has resurfaced with a brand new sex change. The male camper then confesses that his father was one of the cops that arrested her that night and she cuts his head off. The remainder of the film is a cat and mouse game between the last female camper and Angela before she finally bags her prey.
This movie is entirely different kind of film than the first one. The first film, besides the ending, is a serious slasher. This one, however, takes the kills very seriously but the rest of the film is more of a comedy. The flick even goes as far as to spoof other slasher films like A Nightmare on Elm St., Friday the 13th, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The acting is very well done which is a rarity among the never ending supply of 80's slashers. This film, as well as the sequel, is also notable for starring Pamela Springsteen as Angela. Pamela just happens to be the younger sister to Bruce Springsteen and she would go on to have a career as a photographer after acting. The effects are on the same level as the first film and the deaths are very original with very few actual stabbings and slashing. I really enjoy the first one but this one is almost is good as that one in my humble opinion. I highly recommend that you check this one out but try to watch them in order.
Director - Michael A. Simpson (Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers)
I never did get a chance to watch this one till the other day when I ordered the Sleepaway Camp Survival Kit box set which includes the first three films. I knew it was a direct sequel to the second installment and was released the year after. With the same team behind this one as the second I knew it would not be a let down.
The film once again follows teenagers at a summer camp. However, this time the camp is the exact camp as the massacre in the first film. The camp was sold to a married couple who turned it into a type of social experiment using the youths as their very own guinea pigs. They want to take a certain number of teens who have grew up having a privileged life and have them spend the next couple of days with teens who grew up without. Before camp starts Angela tracks down and kills one of the inner city youths and takes her place in the camping trip. While there the two owners, along with a police officer, split the teens up into three groups and venture out in the woods. All three of the adult figures have alternative motives for being there. The male camp owner is there to get a little tail from the younger ladies, the female owner is there to let the youths wait on her hand and foot because that is not a luxury she is used to, and finally, the cop is there because last year at camp his son was beheaded by Angela and she has been on the run ever since. One by one she slowly picks the campers and adults off in good ol' fashioned slasher style.
This film is equally as good as the second installment. The acting is once again very well done and the effects are on point. The deaths, just like the others, are very original and entertaining which is why we watch slashers to begin with. Though this movie does not offer anything new and riveting to the slasher sub-genre, it does, however, offer an entertaining movie to watch till that genre busting slasher is made. I highly recommend this one.
Rating (out of 5):
I had actually watched this one before I had seen the first movie in the series. When I rented the first two Sleepaway Camp films someone before me had put the two vhs tapes in the wrong box and the store clerk did not check them before putting them on the shelf. So after I put it in the vcr, I don't know how I missed it, but I completely let the title screen pass and I watched it till the end. It wasn't until I put in the first vhs thinking it was the second before I realized what I had done.
This movie is entirely different kind of film than the first one. The first film, besides the ending, is a serious slasher. This one, however, takes the kills very seriously but the rest of the film is more of a comedy. The flick even goes as far as to spoof other slasher films like A Nightmare on Elm St., Friday the 13th, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The acting is very well done which is a rarity among the never ending supply of 80's slashers. This film, as well as the sequel, is also notable for starring Pamela Springsteen as Angela. Pamela just happens to be the younger sister to Bruce Springsteen and she would go on to have a career as a photographer after acting. The effects are on the same level as the first film and the deaths are very original with very few actual stabbings and slashing. I really enjoy the first one but this one is almost is good as that one in my humble opinion. I highly recommend that you check this one out but try to watch them in order. 
Director - Michael A. Simpson (Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers)
Starring - Pamela Springsteen (Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers), Michael J. Pollard (The Odyssey) and Mark Oliver (The Crazies)
Release Date - 1989
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Angela is back"
Rating (out of 5):
I never did get a chance to watch this one till the other day when I ordered the Sleepaway Camp Survival Kit box set which includes the first three films. I knew it was a direct sequel to the second installment and was released the year after. With the same team behind this one as the second I knew it would not be a let down.
The film once again follows teenagers at a summer camp. However, this time the camp is the exact camp as the massacre in the first film. The camp was sold to a married couple who turned it into a type of social experiment using the youths as their very own guinea pigs. They want to take a certain number of teens who have grew up having a privileged life and have them spend the next couple of days with teens who grew up without. Before camp starts Angela tracks down and kills one of the inner city youths and takes her place in the camping trip. While there the two owners, along with a police officer, split the teens up into three groups and venture out in the woods. All three of the adult figures have alternative motives for being there. The male camp owner is there to get a little tail from the younger ladies, the female owner is there to let the youths wait on her hand and foot because that is not a luxury she is used to, and finally, the cop is there because last year at camp his son was beheaded by Angela and she has been on the run ever since. One by one she slowly picks the campers and adults off in good ol' fashioned slasher style. 
This film is equally as good as the second installment. The acting is once again very well done and the effects are on point. The deaths, just like the others, are very original and entertaining which is why we watch slashers to begin with. Though this movie does not offer anything new and riveting to the slasher sub-genre, it does, however, offer an entertaining movie to watch till that genre busting slasher is made. I highly recommend this one. 
Director - Jim Markovic (The Real Bruce Lee)
Starring - Carrie Chambers (The Bikini Carwash Company II), Victor Campos (Dexter), and John Lodico (Generosity)
Release Date - 2012
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Twenty years ago, the terror began. Now, you must prepare yourself for the most shocking chapter of them all"
Rating (out of 5):
ZERO
This movie follows a young girl who keeps having reoccurring nightmares about the murders that took place in the first three films but does not recall being there. Her psychiatrist assumes she was a survivor of the horrific massacre and sends her there to see if that can help her. The camp is now owned by the state so she contacts a park ranger to help her look around. The majority of the film is the death scenes from the previous three films with shots of her lounging around the lake in a pink bikini and meeting the park ranger and a hunter. The segments with her and the two men she meet are very short segments with the death scenes taking up the bulk of the film. After speaking with the hunter she finds out that there actually is no park ranger for the camp and that the man is dressed as one to get her.
Director - Robert Hiltzik (Sleepaway Camp)
Starring - Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos), Jackie Tohn (American Idol), and Issac Hayes (South Park)
Release Date - 2008
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Kids can be so mean"
This is another one I had no idea it was released. When I ordered the box set and part IV this one showed up under the "people also purchased" section. Once I realized it was made by the same director and stars some of the same people as the first film I knew it would not be a let down. This one is known as the second film in the Hiltzik's Sleepaway Camp trilogy with hopes of the third one being released soon. The director ignored the three films between his first film and this one. Due to the release date this one would be Issac Hayes' last film.
The film, once again, takes place at a summer camp and just like the third film it just so happens to be the same camp as the first film. This time a new owner has opened the place up and changed the name. The counselors have a difficult task of keeping the peace among the campers and one asshole camper. He is often bullying the smaller campers and picked on by the older ones for his lack of personal hygiene and inability to think like most humans. This same asshole has an obsession with frogs who he believes are his only friends. Along with the camp owner and counselors there is an officer, and due to smoking, has to speak using a mechanical voice box. The officer is at camp to make sure that the same misfortune does not fall upon these select happy campers. Throughout the film, Alan the asshole has random fights and arguments with the other campers. Each fight is interrupted by a female counselor that swoops in to protect Alan. After each confrontation the individual is murdered by an unseen killer. The camp owner and counselors begin to suspect the female counselor that is always taking up for Alan. However, another twist ending exposes the real killers.
This movie is on par with the first in the series. The acting is good which may be because it includes most of the cast in the first one and they now have more acting experience. The effects are done really well too which add to the deaths and how original they are. Some of the deaths made me rewind to see them again because they are just that different. The plot in this one is just like the first one which follows the typical slasher movie till the end and then it hits you with a twist like a right hook to the nuts. This twist, however, I did not expect like the first one. I highly recommend watching this one.
The series, overall, is a great series. When I refer to it as a series I am completely ignoring the fourth installment because to me that does not count as a new installment to the series at all. I can see why the series is often overlooked by horror hounds due to the similarities to Friday the 13th. However, that doesn't stop me from giving it a a go around. The series is definitely the best of the best when it comes to a slasher series. Of course it's not as good as Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm St but it still should get the credit it deserves. The deaths are very different than other slashers and offer new and original ways to kill campers instead of stabbing and gutting them. It is also original for a slasher to have a story line that offers a twist ending instead of your straight forward revenge flick. The series can be split into two different sets of films like I have stated before. The Hiltzik's films and the Pamela Springsteen films. The Springsteen films are straight forward slashers that, though it does not have an original story, have original kills and great acting and mixes in humor. I highly recommend you watch the series and skip part IV unless your into dubstep then you may be dumb enough to enjoy it.
Rating (out of 5):
The film, once again, takes place at a summer camp and just like the third film it just so happens to be the same camp as the first film. This time a new owner has opened the place up and changed the name. The counselors have a difficult task of keeping the peace among the campers and one asshole camper. He is often bullying the smaller campers and picked on by the older ones for his lack of personal hygiene and inability to think like most humans. This same asshole has an obsession with frogs who he believes are his only friends. Along with the camp owner and counselors there is an officer, and due to smoking, has to speak using a mechanical voice box. The officer is at camp to make sure that the same misfortune does not fall upon these select happy campers. Throughout the film, Alan the asshole has random fights and arguments with the other campers. Each fight is interrupted by a female counselor that swoops in to protect Alan. After each confrontation the individual is murdered by an unseen killer. The camp owner and counselors begin to suspect the female counselor that is always taking up for Alan. However, another twist ending exposes the real killers.
The series, overall, is a great series. When I refer to it as a series I am completely ignoring the fourth installment because to me that does not count as a new installment to the series at all. I can see why the series is often overlooked by horror hounds due to the similarities to Friday the 13th. However, that doesn't stop me from giving it a a go around. The series is definitely the best of the best when it comes to a slasher series. Of course it's not as good as Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm St but it still should get the credit it deserves. The deaths are very different than other slashers and offer new and original ways to kill campers instead of stabbing and gutting them. It is also original for a slasher to have a story line that offers a twist ending instead of your straight forward revenge flick. The series can be split into two different sets of films like I have stated before. The Hiltzik's films and the Pamela Springsteen films. The Springsteen films are straight forward slashers that, though it does not have an original story, have original kills and great acting and mixes in humor. I highly recommend you watch the series and skip part IV unless your into dubstep then you may be dumb enough to enjoy it.
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