SLEEPAWAY CAMP film series

 The SLEEPAWAY CAMP film series

Okay, the first SLEEPAWAY CAMP movie (1983) is an outrageous movie with so much inappropriate but for the time shocking material. First, even for 1983, the crop tops on guys, the short shorts, and the girl’s bikinis were a bit over the top. The camp chef goes after young….very young girls and beats on Angela’s cousin when he pretty much stops the chef from raping his cousin. Lots of bullying going on. And young kids trying to …well, do it. There’s also a very AT THE TIME shocking ending---shocking on three levels---the killer has a penis on display, the killer is a male pretending to be a female thanks to a sick aunt who raised him/her, and the killer’s just cut off her boyfriend (well, sort of)’s head and cradled it in her lap. And that shocking stare of eyes. The second and third SLEEPAWAY CAMP movies have actors who have played guest stars on LOST IN SPACE---Mike Kellan from DEADLY GAMES OF GAMMA SIX and looking quite old (and giving monologues, sometimes over a dead teen’s body) and Michael J. Pollard (boy from THE MAGIC MIRROR).

The kills in the movie are generally quite shocking even for the time and the murderer not known in the first movie until the very end and some of the kills are very inventive and the aftermath is gruesome (a snake crawls out of a mouth, bees cover a head, and…a girl is killed, mostly off camera by a curling iron to a sensitive place) and unforgettable. Jonathan Tierson, other than Angela herself, plays Ricky, Angela’s cousin, who is the most likely suspect and yet the most likable character, sticking up for her against bullies in the camp. He returns for the mostly abysmal RETURN TO SLEEPAWAY CAMP (the fourth movie in 2008).

Tonight I watched the second and third film which featured Pamela Springstreen (yes, HIS sister) as Angela. I always considered these two follow ups as lesser films and most disappointing. While they remain lesser films, remembering what was coming…that Angela back as a fully fledged female (from an operation!). The two movies in the middle are from 1988 and 89, made back to back in six weeks!

Far from being cliché slashers, the middle movies are rather…odd. Not as odd as the first film but still…the second movie has characters named after the Brat Pack (Demi, Mare, Charlie, Emilio, Judd, Rob, etc) and the third movie has characters named after those in the BRADY BUNCH and WEST SIDE STORY!!!!???

For her part Springsteen in both movies could have easily gone over the top but her Angela is almost nice to everyone until they cross her or display horrid traits she considers a reason to kill them for: swearing, being a cheerleader, sleeping around, pranking, doing drugs, smoking, being lazy, and being a bully. Her lines before, during and after a kill are said matter of fact and for it, more interesting. She underplays most scenes and is warm in the scenes she shares with Molly in the second movie and Marcia in the second movie. In fact, at times, some of the other characters are so annoying, we can or might find ourselves siding with Angela and think of her as the hero but forgetting that she’s a vicious killer.

The third movie has the policeman father of Sean, a teen who talked about his father in the second movie. We’re led to believe that possibly the old cliché of having the cop revenge his son and take down the killer he saw walk out of a hospital is what will happen. Instead, Angela just shoots him dead! Of course, these movies all need “shocking endings” and we seem to get one in all of them. The first one is a classic shock ending that is hard to beat. The second one seems to end, and we guess that Angela must kill or kidnap Molly after the vague ending. The third one has Angela matter of fact kill two ambulance drivers who were plotting to kill her anyway. One looks a bit like Howard Stern.

These movies have links to the first and to each other as discussed above. I also seem to remember hearing Angela mentioning that one of the campers reminded her of Judy (the bully girl from the first movie).

The fourth movie came so much later and has such reprehensible characters in it. Alan is a bully who’s bullied. And two bullies kill his frog friends. And that’s just some of the really mean spiritedness of this movie. I guess they were trying to make us believe the killer, who is once more, as in the original, masked and unseen, is Alan. It’s not. The original actress who played Angela is back and she’s great in this. Movies two and three are ignored. The kills are inventive but the “scare” factor in this film is gone and the shock of finding out who the killer is …is also gone as well. Ricky doesn’t come into the movie until late in the day, too.

I still find these movies a cut above most slasher films as the first one is quirky enough and has real teens, ages 12 to 17 or so playing the teens and a shocking ending and for the time, some daring choices as well as some odd choices (the extended baseball game for no reason) and laughable dialog at times. It’s a movie that one does not dismiss.

And while the next two are not as great, there’s something about Springsteen’s performance that charms and makes us smile. At times, we almost feel that she’s saying and doing what we might say and do if we were allowed unlimited actions or maybe not the killing but she says things we might want to and does things we might think about, even if we don’t do them. Her non-pulsed delivery makes these films and some of the kills (the lawn mower over the head of a person buried up to their neck is one unforgettable horror!) are clever.

Angela might need another come back as RETURN TO SLEEPAWAY CAMP was really a major let down and the worst of the series.

There's also a great theory that I don't buy but it's interesting:

A fan wrote this:

DID RICKY KNOW..?
Many people believe that Ricky knew about Angela’s secret and that he helped her kill. This theory is completely ridiculous. If that was the case, it would negate the entire premise of Sleepaway Camp. Ricky, among many others, was a red herring – a mere diversion. However, I do realize there are many instances where Ricky is clearly implicated in the Camp Arawak killings.

I never once believed that Ricky knew about Peter being raised as Angela. First of all, in the original script, Angela and Peter are said to be four years old. This would put Ricky at four years old as well seeing that they are the same age when they go to Camp Arawak. If Martha was able to hide Angela’s true identity (and sex) from the world then she was able to hide it from four year old Ricky. There would never be a reason for Ricky and Angela to see each other naked. Martha most definitely raised Angela to hide himself and Ricky to respect her privacy. After all, Angela was his female cousin and to invade her privacy would be rude.

As for Angela to reveal her own secret? Absolutely not. Peter suffered a head injury from the accident and he lost his father and sister. He was already traumatized by the time Martha got to him. She manipulated and brainwashed him. The only adult left in his life violated his trust and innocence. Abusers use intimidation and instill a great fear inside their victims. Victims rarely, if ever, talk about what is happening to them, least of all with a familial peer.

RICKY.. THE ULTIMATE RED HERRING..
What happened in the walk-in between Angela and Artie is supposed to implicate Ricky in the assault on Artie. Artie tried to sexually assault Angela. Why wouldn’t Ricky want to get revenge on Angela’s behalf? He would! We are SUPPOSED to believe that the killer is Ricky to take suspicion off of Angela. Artie also addresses his assailant the way one would address a small boy by using the word “Kid”. Who refers to a little girl as a “kid”?

The altercation between Kenny, Mike, and Ricky in the rec hall implicates Ricky in Kenny’s death. We know that Angela is afraid of water so how could Angela have killed Kenny? The fact of those matters is that Angela doesn’t like getting naked or wet in front of anyone because she is hiding. Ricky was punished and sent back to his cabin as a result for fighting. He couldn’t possibly know where Kenny was at this point. Could Angela have told him? Sure, anything’s possible.

Before Billy is killed, he and the other boys throw water balloons at Angela. Ricky walks out of his cabin and sees it but he is too late to stop it. He becomes hysterical and threatens them using obscenities. Again, why wouldn’t he want to get revenge? He would. Paul is also there. It is implied that while Ricky is killing Billy, Paul is tending to Angela.

At this point, not only does the audience believe that Ricky is taking part in the killings, but so does Mel.

A crucial scene which supports the Ricky theory is when Angela is waiting in the dark for Paul and for a few seconds we are treated to some POV shots leading us to believe that perhaps Angela is the killers next victim. When Paul grabs Angela from behind she flips around with absolute fear in her eyes. Then she says, “I thought you were the killer!” Excellent strategic move. This removes all suspicion from Angela.

At this point how can we NOT think Ricky is the killer?

Angela had Judy and Meg all planned out from day one. First, Judy throws attitude at Ricky. Then she throws Attitude at Angela. Next, Judy and Meg throw attitude at Angela together as a team. Then Meg throws Angela in the water as Judy cheers her on. Finally, Judy tries to steal Paul from Angela. That was the last straw for Angela. Personally I think Angela held out on purpose. That’s what the stares were all about.

Let’s not forget the three small boy campers who threw sand on Angela after she was thrown into the water. Many people miss this and wonder why the boys are later killed. This just proves that people need to pay more attention to Sleepaway Camp.

An important factor to note, which also supports the Ricky theory, is that it would have been impossible for Angela to have killed Judy, Meg, and the three boy campers in such a short amount of time being as they were so far apart distance wise. Some argue that Angela NEEDED Ricky to help her based solely on geography. I just always assumed that if Angela needed to kill different people in locations which are a great distance apart from each other that she would run.

Ricky’s lines implicate him every time. “We won’t let them get away with this, that’s for sure.” This could be the basis of the Ricky theory. “We”. Ricky HIMSELF implicates himself in the killings. At this point it just cannot be denied that Ricky helped Angela kill. Or can it?

Before Judy is killed she is approached by the killer and is allowed a glimpse of her attackers face. “Oh it’s you. What do you want? Well!?” This brings us back to the beginning of the story when Ricky explains to Angela that Judy and him were going steady last summer. When Ricky shouts a friendly hello to Judy, she nonchalantly says hello back. Later on when he pursues a romantic relationship with her, he is brutally rebuffed. Of course he wants to kill her. Hell hath no fury like a Ricky scorned. Judy has been annoyed with Angela from day one. So when Angela finally approaches her in the dark cabin, is it any wonder Judy questions her in such a fashion? No. However, Judy’s line implicates both Angela and Ricky. That’s why it’s so easy to think that he did it.

Mel finds himself in a grievous rage after discovering Meg’s dead body. He is so certain that Ricky is the killer that he tracks him down, beats him up, and then leaves him for dead. He then runs out into the archery range and finds himself in the path of the killer. “It can’t be you! It can’t be! It can’t be!!” This is the first time the audience realizes that Ricky is not the killer. How can he be if Mel is shocked at who is aiming the arrow at his neck?

Paul was probably the only person to see the real Angela. Paul betrayed Angela more than anyone else at camp ever did. He befriended her with the intent to use her. When he didn’t get what he wanted, he cheated on her with Judy. His apologies meant nothing. Angela knew it. That’s why she killed him. At this point, we are informed who the real killer is and why they killed in the overall scheme of things. This is when people are proved wrong. Ricky was not the killer.

SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER
Jonathan Tiersten was the POV killer in Sleepaway Camp. Those are his hands. That was him standing in the door frame to Judy’s cabin wearing a wig tucked into his shirt. A bold move if you ask me considering Angela has long hair and the audience is not supposed to know that Angela is in fact the killer. So for anyone believing that Ricky helped Angela kill, the fact that Jonathan Tiersten officially portrayed the killer actually works against you.

Boys are stronger by default, at any age. The audience is not supposed to know that Angela is really a boy so why would they suspect her being the killer? No one would believe that waify Angela could push Artie into a vat of boiling water. No one would believe that weakling Angela (who is afraid of water) has the strength to hold a boy twice her size under water.