Writer(s): Hiltzik
Starring: Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiersten, Karen Fields, and Christopher Collet
Following certain circles on Twitter, it's just about impossible not to hear about Sleepaway Camp every month or so; the latest bout found me stumbling on a page I don't even follow, asking users to name their picks for the horror movie endings that shocked them the most. There were several movies named--I myself submitted Short Night of Glass Dolls, simply to avoid the typical mainstream fodder—but no movie was mentioned more than Robert Hiltzik's seminal body-count film. This was the straw that broke the camel's back: after putting off several viewings thanks to my slasher-obsessed friend's intense dislike of it, I decided that I finally had to see for myself what all the fuss was about.
I have to say that I'm pretty much in my friend's camp (no pun intended) when it comes to the ending, which I have to give some kudos to for being truly “out of left field”, but that is completely bereft of anything truly chilling or nightmare-inducing (though I do have to admit I think about it far more than I ever thought I would).
Angela and Peter are out on a boat with John, their father. John intentionally tips over the boat, as a joke (they are close to a dock and the children are wearing life-jackets), but things don't remain funny for long, when a speedboat, manned by two clueless teenagers, loses control and runs them over...John and Peter are killed in the collision.
After this obligatory flashback, we are now transported eight years into the future: Angela is now a nearly-grown woman, and she is cared for by her weird aunt, whom she lives with along with her cousin, Ricky. But she has never forgotten the events of that fateful day, which is pretty evident given the fact that she can't—or simply refuses to—speak. It doesn't seem like spending an elongated amount of time at a summer camp full of talkative teenagers would be the best place for her, but we'll assume that their aunt is sending her there in the hopes that being around others her age will help her come out of her shell. If that is indeed the reason, it doesn't take long to see that idea is a failure, because people start making fun of the mute girl almost right away.
Of course, most of the torture comes from Judy and Meg, two promiscuous girls who are jealous that people are fascinated with Angela, so they make it a point of calling her out in front of everyone else. Their jealousy reaches fever pitch when Angela starts talking (literally) to Paul, a friend of Ricky's who is simply sympathetic to her situation. Really, that's all it took for her to abandon eight years of silence? But it's not just women who go out of their way to make fun of her...men also join in the fray, perhaps annoyed that she won't put out, since that's all boys at camp seem to think about. Before long, it seems like Ricky is constantly defending her every day from some sort of verbal abuse; what do you think of your idea now, Angela's aunt?
Let's be real here: slasher movies are rarely, if ever, known for actually being good (and the first person to try mentioning Halloween as evidence to the contrary is getting shot in the face), and Sleepaway Camp is no exception: It’s pretty tedious, there are long pauses between death scenes, and the “story” surrounding the murders basically consist of Ricky getting angry at everyone taunting and humiliating his (mostly) mute sister. All these problems, paired up with the rather pointless, though admittedly fascinating, ending doesn’t leave much to recommend.
But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to hold on to: although the death scenes are largely blood-free (or only lightly-blooded), the special effects are very well done. There is an early sequence in which a man has scalding hot water poured on him, and the way the flesh on his face bubbles appears to be painfully accurate—looks like someone (makeup effects artist) did their homework when preparing for that scene. The build-up to another death is incredibly hokey, but the aftermath is very gruesome.
There are also some scenes of kids just being kids early on, before it degrades into almost-constant humiliation of its main star, that are actually humorous, and give the film a sense of fun. I also appreciated that, although Angela is constantly being harassed, there are enough “good guys” to always prevent things from going too far—usually, it’s Ricky, but there are also some sympathetic counselors and fellow campers that also pitch in to break things up. This at least prevents the film from ever becoming too cruel or ugly.
The acting is pretty bad, though Felicia Reese (as Angela) is cute enough when silently staring at someone, and also has a cute voice when she starts to talk, so she quickly becomes the star of the movie. The rest of the characters are just typical slasher stereotypes, though I guess to be fair, they were less stereotypes back then than they are now, so I guess that can be slightly forgiven.
For true, hardcore fans of the slasher film, Sleepaway Camp might just be different enough to win them over—it tries to be a little bit different, in that it’s clearly not just interested in graphically dispatching loads of campers, and actually tries building up to a shocking ending. As I’ve mentioned plenty of times, I personally didn’t think it worked, but I can respect a film that is focused more on just graphic bloodshed or the quantity of its victims. It held my attention until the end, something not every movie can accurately say, but there just isn’t enough of a payoff to fully justify the time I invested into it. It’s a curiosity piece, and one that I’m not angry I sat through, but I don’t think I’ll ever feel the need to see it again.
RATING: 5/10
Of course, most of the torture comes from Judy and Meg, two promiscuous girls who are jealous that people are fascinated with Angela, so they make it a point of calling her out in front of everyone else. Their jealousy reaches fever pitch when Angela starts talking (literally) to Paul, a friend of Ricky's who is simply sympathetic to her situation. Really, that's all it took for her to abandon eight years of silence? But it's not just women who go out of their way to make fun of her...men also join in the fray, perhaps annoyed that she won't put out, since that's all boys at camp seem to think about. Before long, it seems like Ricky is constantly defending her every day from some sort of verbal abuse; what do you think of your idea now, Angela's aunt?
Let's be real here: slasher movies are rarely, if ever, known for actually being good (and the first person to try mentioning Halloween as evidence to the contrary is getting shot in the face), and Sleepaway Camp is no exception: It’s pretty tedious, there are long pauses between death scenes, and the “story” surrounding the murders basically consist of Ricky getting angry at everyone taunting and humiliating his (mostly) mute sister. All these problems, paired up with the rather pointless, though admittedly fascinating, ending doesn’t leave much to recommend.
But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to hold on to: although the death scenes are largely blood-free (or only lightly-blooded), the special effects are very well done. There is an early sequence in which a man has scalding hot water poured on him, and the way the flesh on his face bubbles appears to be painfully accurate—looks like someone (makeup effects artist) did their homework when preparing for that scene. The build-up to another death is incredibly hokey, but the aftermath is very gruesome.
There are also some scenes of kids just being kids early on, before it degrades into almost-constant humiliation of its main star, that are actually humorous, and give the film a sense of fun. I also appreciated that, although Angela is constantly being harassed, there are enough “good guys” to always prevent things from going too far—usually, it’s Ricky, but there are also some sympathetic counselors and fellow campers that also pitch in to break things up. This at least prevents the film from ever becoming too cruel or ugly.
The acting is pretty bad, though Felicia Reese (as Angela) is cute enough when silently staring at someone, and also has a cute voice when she starts to talk, so she quickly becomes the star of the movie. The rest of the characters are just typical slasher stereotypes, though I guess to be fair, they were less stereotypes back then than they are now, so I guess that can be slightly forgiven.
For true, hardcore fans of the slasher film, Sleepaway Camp might just be different enough to win them over—it tries to be a little bit different, in that it’s clearly not just interested in graphically dispatching loads of campers, and actually tries building up to a shocking ending. As I’ve mentioned plenty of times, I personally didn’t think it worked, but I can respect a film that is focused more on just graphic bloodshed or the quantity of its victims. It held my attention until the end, something not every movie can accurately say, but there just isn’t enough of a payoff to fully justify the time I invested into it. It’s a curiosity piece, and one that I’m not angry I sat through, but I don’t think I’ll ever feel the need to see it again.
RATING: 5/10
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