Sleepaway Camp Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1983

Sleepaway Camp was one of the many horror flicks that attempted to capitalize on the success of Friday the 13th, the granddaddy of 80's slasher movies. Although hampered with a far lower budget than many of its peers, Sleepaway Camp possessed a controversial uniqueness to it that resulted in the film developing a cult following as well as multiple sequels.

As Sleepaway Camp opens we witness a father enjoying a leisurely boat ride with his young son and daughter. Soon disaster befalls them when two frisky teenagers piloting a speedboat start ogling each other instead of paying attention to their surroundings. Naturally the boat slams into the trio and kills the father and son (damn those horny teenagers – they're always to blame in slasher flicks!), leaving the daughter, Angela (Felissa Rose), an orphan.

Okay, so we're off to a good start. Generic, sure, bit it comes with the territory when you're viewing a slasher. Sleepaway Camp flashes to eight years later where we see an eccentric aunt prepare Angela and her cousin, Ricky (Jonathan Tiersten), for their summer vacation at Arawak Camp.

Now let's take a quick intermission to talk about this aunt's "acting" for a moment, shall we? I'm not sure if she was instructed to perform in such a daft, over-the-top fashion or if she's just naturally "gifted," but let me assure you that you'll find better acting in a porno movie. Much better acting. To call her performance repugnant would be too kind.

With that off my chest, let's get back to the review. Busloads of adolescents are joyously running about the campgrounds as a group of camp employees sit and observe. One of these employees is Artie (Owen Hughes), an overweight slob of a man. Now I'm not calling him a slob because of his weight… no, not at all. He is a true slob in every sense of the word, from his filthy clothes to his twisted mind. Don't believe me? Alright, you asked for it. Here's one of his awe-inspiring statements as his eyes are greedily taking in the girls running about:

Artie: Just look at all that young, fresh chicken. Where I come from, we call them baldies. Makes your mouth water, don't it?

Ummm… no. It doesn't. But that's not enough for this pedophiliac - not by a long shot. A bit later our buddy Artie has Angela cornered in a food storage cooler, at which point he gives her the following endearing compliment: "You sure are a sweet lookin' little cupcake, ain'tcha? I think I got something you're going to like real good." He begins to unbuckle his belt and unzip his fly, but for some reason the girl was no more impressed with his little gift any more than I was with the film.

Don't worry, slasher fans, Artie's amorous intentions are cut short when her cousin Ricky comes to the rescue. Artie zips up, informs Ricky that he saw "nothing" and curses his bad luck as the two kids run from the cooler. At this point I'm debating to myself whether it's even worth continuing with this film; the acting was atrocious and the characters anything but charismatic.

But before my willpower gave way completely, the killer chose Artie as his/her first victim. Well, we knew that he wasn't long for the world when he began spitting out his perverted theories, but the manner of retribution was pretty brutal and inventive: a huge boiling pot of soup. Suddenly Sleepaway Camp bought itself a reprieve and I continued to give it a chance.

Again I was assailed by acting that was horrible even by B-movie standards, but a special rant must be reserved for Karen Fields' performance as Judy, Angela's primary tormentor throughout the film. I don't think there's a word that can adequately describe how horrible her performance was. Really. We're talking "gouge my eyes out with a hot poker" level of acting. Apparently she has never acted in another film again, and thank goodness for that small miracle.

Despite the rotten acting, Sleepaway Camp was remarkably successful in other aspects. The murders were brutal and unique (i.e., one guy is locked in a stall with a beehive full of angry bees while another girl is killed with a hot hair curler), and the storyline diverged from the standard slasher formula.

In Sleepaway Camp it's not the innocent teens and camp counselors that must fear for their lives; it's the individuals that behave in a cruel and tormenting manner towards Angela that are targeted for an untimely death.

It won't take a genius to guess who the murderer is either – the film doesn't try to hide it in the least bit, practically advertising the killer's identity from the very beginning. This was a wise decision because it lures the viewers into believing Sleepaway Camp is a paint-by-numbers slasher, thereby leaving them virtually defenseless for the twists that come towards the end. In fact the ending of this movie is pretty disturbing and memorable… worthy of an 80's slasher.

So in the end my assessment of this film is mixed. On the downside it possessed a low budget, poorly written characters and acting that ranged from repulsive to plain bad, but such attributes aren't uncommon in this genre. We don't exactly expect Oscar-level performances or production values in bloody slashers, which leads to the upside: creative and graphic kills and a twisted vibe.

Sleepaway Camp is not one of my favorite 80's slashers… not even close… but in the end I'm glad to have watched it. Those who do not enjoy horror and/or slasher flicks will be unlikely to find any redemption in this movie, but I can heartily recommend Sleepaway Camp to genre fans as it does deliver the goods.

Movie rating: 6 stars

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