SleepawayCamp

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

In the wake of the success of Friday the 13th the decade of the ‘80s spawned a lot of slasher movies. Many of them followed the format of the Friday series and took place at a summer camp of some sort. Most of these movies fell into obscurity because they weren’t very good, or were just so familiar that they never caught on with the audience. Sleepaway Camp is not one of those movies. Why is that? Lets talk a bit about one of the most memorable slasher movies of the decade.

The movie starts out with an accident that kills a man and one of his children. The little girl that was with him ends up being raised by her aunt. Years later the girl, Angela and her cousin Ricky are sent to Sleepaway Camp. Angela is painfully shy and will barely speak a word to anyone. This of course makes her a target for everyone mean spirited bully in the camp. Ricky is constantly fighting with everyone and anyone that bothers Angela. This is normal kids stuff until the bodies start to show up. One by one everyone that bothers Angela ends up dead or wishing they were. But is it the quiet and shy Angela, her cousin Ricky, or perhaps the boy at the camp that has a crush on Angela?

I won’t spoil this one for you guys because the big reveal at the end of the movie is part of the fun of Sleepaway Camp. I mean for the most part the movie is a by the numbers slasher movie. You have the camp, the kids, and the killings. Everything that one would expect from a slasher in the early ‘80s. The characters are pretty standard and this is the kind of movie that it is easy to predict who the next victim is going to be. And if I am to be honest it is also pretty easy to figure out who the killer is while watching this movie. But there is one really clever thing about Sleepaway Camp that makes it stand out from the rest. I can’t really say much more without spoiling this, but this final twist is what really makes the movie memorable. As for the rest of the plot the best thing that I can say is that it keeps the action and story moving along at a brisk pace and doesn’t meander like some of the lesser examples of slasher fare do.

If I’m going to talk about a slasher movie then we have to talk about the kills. For me these are a mixed bag. You get a nicely done severed head, water logged corpse, arrow to the throat, and the best effect of the movie a blistering face and hands. There is also a kill that is only hinted at in profile with a curling iron that I think while isn’t explicit actually works nicely. The one kill that I had the most hope for involves a young lady, a shower, and a knife. Unfortunately it isn’t handled that well and you get very little gore form this one. And while this isn’t an effects thing I’ve also always been sort of surprised by the lack of nudity. This is really odd for a slasher movie.

Sleepaway Camp is a slasher movie with some creativity and a story that doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. While not on the level as some of the better ones that I’ve seen it is worth checking out at least once. And if you are a fan of the slasher flicks and haven’t seen this one out you really need to.

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer