Today I continue my trip down memory lane to the wonderful 80's and the slasher. One can consider the 80's as the golden age of the slasher film. We were introduced to icons such as Jason Vorhees, Freddy Krueger, Charles Lee Ray (AKA Chucky) and the lead Cenobite known as Pinhead. The 80's was also a strange time when most things considered normal are now considered taboo and downright offensive. Some for good reason, and others are just a victim of the pandemic George Carlin coined as "The Pussification of America". People often say these days " That movie couldn't be made today", and Sleepaway camp would not only fall under this category, it would be one of main pieces of art to pretty much define it. 
Like the last film I reviewed I couldn't have been older than ten years old when I first had the pleasure of watching this cult classic. With harsh subjects such as pedophelia bullying and some good old fashion mild racism, one can see why this film would be so tough to make. Since I have been to film school and studied story I can say that I get it. You want a reason for the victim to die, and in this film the victims are full of reasons ( Most being that they are complete dicks). Im pretty sure by know you may be thinking, what parent in their right mind would allow a child to watch this film. My answer would be my mom is responsible for my love of not only horror, but film in general, so is it really that bad? Whether you love or hate this film you cant help but think how batshit crazy and awesome the 80's truly were.
Ok, now let's talk about the glory that is Sleepaway Camp. If you want a hilarious review of this film, watch the crazy funny episode of how did this get made where they discuss this film. Also if you want to see a semi boring review with me in my bathroom watch my podcast episode where I pretty much say what I'm about to type. Sleepaway Camp begins on a lake with two men and some children in the water playing when an accident happens and it is implied that one of the children does not make it. The next scene jumps 8 years into the future shows an insane lady talking to a child you cant see. I'm not sure if the actress reciting the lines is just a horrible actress or if the story is meant to portray her as batshit crazy. Know we are shown children arriving at camp Arawak, from the beginning the character of Artie is immediately shown to be the scum of the earth. He may have been wearing a sign that said I'm a pedophile when he says the line "where I'm from we call them baldies". That line would definitely not fly in todays climate, but I understand what the writer was doing by saying that. The first kill while not bloody and technically maybe not a kill is so satisfying since it is said pervert named Artie. The scene starts off with Artie trying to corner and fondle the 13 year old Angela as Ricky walks in an stops the creep. Later we see Artie from the killers point of view and as the mysterious person approaches Artie and dumps a pot of boiling water on the pervert. The thing that this film does correctly in the beginning is that it makes you hate the person getting killed, and you kind of root for the killer. The whole boiling pot incident is brushed off as an accident and the camp continues to stay open ( a theme that is present throughout the entire series of films).
As the story progresses we keep seeing a string of assholes mysteriously have a plethora of "accidents" and die at camp. The next death is a drowning death that is subpar at best but is done to one of the kids that bullied Angela but is somehow still friends with her cousin Ricky. The next kill sends chills down my spine since I have been attacked by bees and stung around 90 times. One of the boys that bullied Angela is occupying the restroom stall when a bee's nest is put through the window and into the stall. Anytime I see a scene with bees in it I get a mild case of PTSD and fight the urge to shit myself ( Just Kidding, Kind of). The next few victims are Meg an extremely mean female bully and Mel another child molester who intended to meet up with said bully. The shower stabbing scene is reminiscent of low budget psycho but it works. Mel (AKA Child Molester #2) finds megs body and is convinced that Angela's cousin Ricky is the killer. These scenes are quite cookie cutter, but when you consider that this film was released fairly early in the slasher era it was quite effective.
Now for the ending and one of the most demented twist's of all time ( eat that M. Night Shanananana). If you haven't seen the film, then my first question is why the hell are you even reading this, and my second question would be why the hell haven't you seen it yet? In today's society, the concept of transgendered people is kind of the new norm, but in the 80's this concept was not only foreign but extremely frowned upon. As an 8 year old kid this ending absolutely blew my prepubescent mind. Ok so here's how it ended. Mel confronts Ricky, believing he is the killer he beats him unconscious yet still alive. Angela has ventured off to the lake with Paul (her "love interest"). As two of the head camp counselors comb the beach and try to find every missing camper they stumble upon Angela, who had ran of with Paul with the implied intention of going skinny dipping. Angela is humming with her back turned towards the counselors and as she steps up the camera pulls back to reveal Angela giving some kind of weird hiss has she holds Paul's decapitated head and not only is she naked but she has a penis. The film then flashes back to the incedent shown in the beginning revealing that it was the boy twin who survived, and the crazy aunt reveals the insane plot twist showing that Angela was a boy the whole time. Regarded as one of the craziest twists in horror history, it is the ending that cements Sleepaway Camps cult status.
Director: Robert Hiltzik
Starring
Director: Robert Hiltzik
Starring
- Felissa Rose, Katherine Kamhi Paul DeAngelo, Mike Kellin
Fun Facts
The first 3 films star siblings of famous people. In the first film the father of James Earl Jones plays the character of Ben (the head camp cook once Artie dies. In the second film the Actress that portrays Angela is played by Pamela Springsteen (shes also in part 3) the sister of Singer Bruce Springsting. Also in part 2 the survival girl Molly is played by Rene Estevez, who is the sister of Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez.
Sleepaway Camp 4 - The Survivor was never completed. The producers just decided to piece together bits and pieces they filmed and had mixed reshoots.
Thank you for taking the time to stomach my horrible grammar and take this trip with me.
San Antonio Slaughterhouse.
No comments:
Post a Comment