Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988)

by Rizzy

***Warning: Contains Spoilers for first Sleepaway Camp***

This was actually the first of the Sleepaway Camp films that I had seen and where my love for the films stems from. There was a group of us as kids who used to go up to the video store every weekend and look for the cheesiest horror film that we could find and one week Sleepaway Camp looked like it had the lamest title and so we called it game.  This film quickly became one of my favorites and embedded itself on my heart almost immediately causing all of us to want to search out all of the films.

Pamela Springsteen (that's right Bruce Springsteen's sister) does an AMAZING job as Angela Baker, everybody's favorite psycho killer.  From the opening scene they let you know she's the killer, so there is no real spoiler there unless you haven't seen the first. She is fantastically upbeat and positive the entire movie, which is fantastic, especially when she's all cheerful as she scolds her victims while killing them.  Seriously, one of my favorite killer personalities since Freddy Krueger himself. She really made this film.

While we're talking about characters I have to comment on the protagonists, the happy go lucky lovey dovey couple.  Seriously, how cute are these two?  The proverbial good pair.  For being a pair of goody goodies, you really don't hate these guys all that much in all honesty.  Probably because they are the least flat of all the characters. All the others are very we're stoners or I'm a whore, but these guys are just two good kids who actually seem to have more than 1 thought in their head. Leaving the rest of them as one dimensional sure makes them easy and fun fodder though. Oh and the one on the right? She's Renée Estevez daughter of Martin Sheen sister of Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. This movie is full of famous syblings!

Ok, so what this movie lacks in interesting characters, it more than makes up for in fun death scenes. Seriously, the make up and sheer creativity behind some of these are really fun. Above you see a girl who was burned alive and they don't show her dying, they just show you her charred remains.  Seriously though, how classic is that?! Maybe I should set the scene a little better, because when do you see this? When her sister wakes up, sits up and sees the fate of the one who came before her fully knowing this is about to become her fate.  That's a pretty classic slasher death in that it shows you just enough to show you the scare/creepy factor without pushing you so far that the characters break down. True, know knives involved, but the blade isn't as important to the slasher death as is the quickness of the deaths.  There's that moment of fear and realization and then it's over. This film masters that moment perfectly.

Balance is such a key factor in Slasher films.  You balance the horror with the fun and once again, this film nails that. You really capture the carefree attitude of the campers in-between the deaths. In all honesty, this is a camp I'd totally love to go to.... minus the entire killing thing of course. There are panty raids and ghost stories and lots of fun moments. These kids seem to be having a real good time... which is precisely why they get attacked, but the moments of fun really help balance the film out.

They take the edge off. Horror films seem to go through cycles of intensity and lightness.  I have to admit that I'm a fan of the lighter films.  I don't like watching a human break and I don't enjoy 2 hours of intensity nearly as much as I love that subtle balance of scare and then gag, the jump and then laugh. To me, it's just a more relaxed and playful experience and it gives you moments to talk through, which are always great for these movies that are best watched in groups.

If you're looking for a lighthearted cheese filled horror movie to watch with a group of friends on a lazy day, if you're hoping to laugh along with the film and mock it endlessly, this is really the film for you. This film is best served with some popcorn and your choice of favorite beverage (be it a coke or a beer) and should not be watched alone if you want full viewing pleasure.