“Meet me at the waterfront after the social.”
When Sleepaway Camp hit theaters in 1983, it delivered not only big profits for its filmmakers (It earned eleven million dollars against a $350,000 production budget), it became a cult classic that divided critics and gave horror fans one of the biggest and most shocking twist endings in slasher history. I won’t spoil that ending for you here, but you can read about it in this 2023 Thirty-One Days O’Horror post. Today, I just want to give a brief synopsis of the film and talk a bit about a few other things.
The film opens with a boating accident and then jumps ahead to Angela Baker and her cousin, Ricky, arriving at Camp Arawak for a summer of fun. Angela, still traumatized from the accident, is essentially mute, talking only to Ricky and briefly to a few other kids at camp that are nice to her. Unfortunately for Angela, there are more bullies (and even a sexual predator) at the camp than there are friends, and she becomes the focus of relentless abuse from campers like Judy, Meg, and Kenny. As the time passes at Camp Arawak, campers and employees begin to die in violent and bizarre ways. From curling irons to boiling water, all sorts of things are used to dispatch victims. But who is the killer? The answer can be found at the shocking conclusion of Sleepaway Camp!
The film features serviceable performances from all of the cast. Considering the fact that most of them are young teens, they do very well, especially Felissa Rose as Angela Baker. Kills were executed from the point-of-view of the killer, doing a very good job of throwing off the audience when it came to who was the slasher in the film. The practical effects were effective as well.
As time has gone on, the film has become a cult classic amongst horror fans and has been adopted by the LGBTQ community as well. The film is often the focus of debate in cinema for the issues that it presents. When looked through a modern lens, the film is something of a trailblazer and deserves any accolades that it receives.
I really enjoy Sleepaway Camp. It’s a favorite of mine that I discovered later in life. The end of the film is jarring and graphic, and really leaves a mark on you. If you haven’t seen it yet, I HIGHLY recommend it!
Thanks for checking out my post!
