Sleepaway Camp

Sleepaway Camp (also marketed on VHS as Nightmare Vacation) is a 1983 slasher horror film written and directed by Robert Hiltzik who also served as executive producer. The film came at a time when slasher films were in their heyday, and is largely known for its twist ending which is considered by some to be one of the most shocking endings among horror films. The film was released theatrically on a limited basis by United Film Distribution Company on November 18, 1983. On its opening weekend it had grossed a total of $430,000 in the US. When it opened, it was the top grossing film in New York, beating out its horror competition by taking in almost double the gross of Amityville 3-D. With a budget of $350,00, it went on to take $11 million at the US box office.

In the late 1980s, Michael A. Simpson directed two sequels, Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988) and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989). The killer gleefully tortures and kills anyone who misbehaves or is deemed to be annoying. However, these films had more of a comic tone than the original. Another rogue sequel, Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor, directed by Jim Markovic, was partially filmed but never completed. In 2002 the unfinished footage was released and made available as an exclusive fourth disc in Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment’s Sleepaway Camp DVD boxed set. In 2012 the film was completed and released.

A new film, Return to Sleepaway Camp, was completed in 2003. It was directed by Robert Hiltzik, the director of the original 1983 film. He decided that this chapter will ignore the story lines of the previous sequels, stating that he wanted to pick up from where the original film ended. According to Fangoria.com the digital effects were redone from 2006 to 2008. The film finally found distribution, and was released November 4, 2008, by Magnolia/Magnet Pictures. The purportedly final film in Hiltzik’s Sleepaway Camp trilogy, titled Sleepaway Camp Reunion, was also announced to be in the making but didn’t materialise. Hiltzik now owns the rights to the Sleepaway Camp franchise, which, in 2013, it was announced will receive a reboot.

Plot:

Summer: John Baker and his two children, Angela and Peter, out on a lake. After their boat flips, John and the children head ashore, where John’s lover, Lenny, is calling. As the family swims, a motorboat accidentally runs them over, killing John and Peter.

Eight years later, Angela is now living with her eccentric aunt Dr. Martha Thomas and cousin Ricky Thomas. Angela and Ricky are sent to Camp Arawak. Due to her introverted nature, Angela is bullied, her main tormentors being fellow camper Judy and camp counselor Meg. The head cook, Artie attempts to molest Angela until Ricky interrupts, and the two children flee. While Artie is boiling water for corn, an unseen figure knocks him off the chair, scalding him with the water. Ben eventually storms in, to the sound of Artie’s cries of pain. He is shocked by the chaos casted. Artie’s incident is deemed accidental by camp owner Mel Costic.

Campers Kenny and Mike begin to mock Angela, prompting Ricky and his friend Paul to get into a fight with them. After the brawl is broken up by Gene, Ricky and the rest of the boys involved in the fight leave, while Paul stays behind and befriends Angela. Later, Kenny is drowned by an unseen figure, his body found the next day and his death also ruled accidental by Mel. Campers Billy and Jimmy also pick on Angela, pelting her with water balloons. Billy is killed as well by a mysterious assailant who locks him in a bathroom stall and drops a beehive inside it, leaving him to be stung to death.

The relationship between Angela and Paul grows strained when Paul kisses her twice as a goodnight kiss, causing Angela to have a flashback to her youth when she and her brother witnessed their father in bed with Lenny. Paul is then seduced by Judy, who lures him into the woods and the two are found kissing by Angela and Ricky. Guilty, Paul attempts to explain himself to Angela while on the beach. As Paul talks to Angela, he is shooed away by Judy and Meg, who throw Angela into the water. After being taken out of the lake by lifeguard Hal and having sand flung at her by several small children, a clearly disturbed Angela is comforted by Ricky, who swears revenge on her aggressors. After the affair at the beach, Meg prepares for a date with Mel. During her shower, she is killed by the unseen killer, who slices down her back through the shower stall with a hunting knife.

Meg’s disappearance goes largely unnoticed and a social is held. Angela is approached by Paul, whom she tells to meet her at the waterfront afterwards. The six children who threw sand at Angela are taken out to go camping with counselor Eddie. When two of them ask to go back, Eddie takes them back to his car and drives back to the camp. The other four children are hacked to bits with Eddie’s axe when he returns. Soon after, Judy is killed with a lit straightening iron. The camp is thrown into a panic when Eddie announces the deaths of the four children…

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Reviews:

“Sleepaway Camp takes the summer-camp-murderer formula that the Friday the 13th films created and perfects it with more intense POV sequences and more imaginative deaths. Plus, most of the murders take place just off-screen, or are only seen as shadows on a wall. However, many of the plot twists are completely insane, and most of the characters aren’t developed past first names. But the atmosphere, coupled with some unique themes, manages to make the film worth much more than many of its contemporaries. The twist ending is one of the most shocking in the history of any genre, and it makes up for most of the movie’s shortcomings. But it’s no matter. After the film is over, the killer is revealed, and the bodies are collected, all that remains are fleeting images of men in transparent shirts and girls in ill-fitting swimsuits. Because sex is everything. Don’t believe me? Just ask Sleepaway Camp.” William Tuttle, The Video Basement

“Small amount of blood, zero gore, zero nudity, buckets of laughs, the largest cooking pot I’ve ever seen in my life, water balloon fight on a roof, a Blue Oyster Cult t-shirt, heart-pounding softball action, the world’s fakest looking mustache and the immortal exchange “Eat shit and die, Ricky!” “Eat shit and live, Bill.” Check it out! If you don’t like it, then you’re probably taking life too seriously.” Happyotter

” … there is very little about Sleepaway Camp which is normal. Hiltzik had fashioned a disturbing tale, full of every type of cretin imaginable, and whilst the film often fails to convince, the sheer surrealism of the script and Rose’s convincing performance help cover up its shortcomings. An acquired taste for sure, but those interested in a slasher that’s a little different may take great pleasure in this.” Retro Slashers

“Did ALL males in the early 80s wear the shortest shorts available? The only people in the movie wearing pants are female (or Angela). One guy even has a short shirt. And the main, overly sympathetic counselor guy, wears a shirt that’s so tight it makes him appear to have the largest breasts in the film. In short, I felt really dirty watching this movie.” Horror Movie a Day

“Every minute spent at Camp Arawak provides more delight than the last, leading up to that glorious final scene which is by far one of the most memorable of any 80’s flick I’ve ever seen. If you love slashers, in particular cheesy, 80’s camp-fests then you’re in for the biggest treat. Granted if you’re looking for a serious genre flick, you will hate this. It hasn’t got a serious bone in its body, but if you want to have a bucket load of fun then you really cannot go wrong.” Horror Queen