Sleepaway Camp opens with a father and his two children, a boy and a girl, boating together. When a group of wild teens (are there any other kind?) loses control of their speedboat, a horrible accident occurs, and the father and son are presumed dead.

Fast forward many years. Angela, the daughter, has been taken in by her nutty aunt. Along with her cousin Ricky, she is sent to camp for the summer. Angela has grown up to be a shy girl who doesn't speak much and immediately becomes the target of her cruel peers. Luckily, Angela meets a nice young boy named Paul, and the two hit it off immediately.

But when people at camp start turning up murdered all hell breaks loose. Who is the killer? Angela? Ricky? Paul? Another camper? A wildcard? All fingers point to Angela, but not everything is necessarily as it seems.


THE BODY COUNT

I counted at least eight deaths in this cult classic slasher. As a side note, as I sat there watching the film with a good friend of mine, we both got a little confused about one potential death. One of the characters walks through the woods and stumbles upon what is surely a dead body, but neither of us was sure who it was. In fact, we weren't even sure what it was. The "body" made the unlucky character who found it sick, but as my friend commented, "It just looks like a bunch of trash." If a pile of garbage made the guy sick, he surely has a spot in heaven right beside the Indian who cried a single tear at the sight of pollution.


THE NUDITY

Unless you're a pedophile you surely won't care, but you are apt to see more bare assed under-18 boys in this movie than you would on a trip to the Neverland Ranch. Now, find a constructive hobby, you sickos.


THE GOODS

The effects in the film are solid, considering they were created on a minute budget. An arrow through the neck shot and a boiling water scene are particularly impressive.

The film's content is quite disturbing for a slasher. Such taboo subjects as homosexuality and pedophilia are tackled with reckless glee, and viewers will never forget film's legendary ending. However, the acting is, as expected, quite bad. The film is still quite watchable, but the head counselor (Mike Kellin, who received a Tony Award™ nomination in 1956, believe it or not) particularly hams things up.


TIDBITS (A little inside info for ya!)

* Be on the lookout for Robert Earl Jones—James Earl Jones' dad—as one of the assistant cooks.

* Director Robert Hiltzik dedicated the film to his mother. How sweet; I wonder if she appreciated it?

* The film can be found under the title Nightmare Vacation in the United Kingdom.

* Several scenes were cut from the film to avoid an X rating from the MPAA.


MASTER TARD (Listen to me and all will be well, grasshoppah.)

Mullet haircut: Eight dollars.

Sleeping bag: Forty dollars.

Watching your old man get it on with another dude: Priceless.


Should you stuff that chubby little fist in your pocket for the cash to watch this flick, hotshot?

Sleepaway Camp stands out as a cult classic for two main reasons: First, it contains disturbing content not limited to simple gore and, second, the ending is a classic shocker, as unforgettable as anything in the genre made before or since.

Aside from those two factors, Sleepaway Camp is basically your run-of-the-mill 80's slasher flick. Some of the kills are good, but they don't generally rise above those of any other movie in the genre. The acting is passable for the most part, but it's expected that a low budget horror film won't feature the next Marlon Brando (or even the next Steven Seagal). Sleepaway Camp would have been an utterly forgettable slasher if it wasn't for its abnormal twists. The film will never be critically acclaimed for its traditional qualities, but it's hard to deny that making it took guts.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age