Christina Reviews the *Sleepaway Camp* Series

Sleepaway Camp  *** 

The first Sleepaway Camp is a twisted little slasher film, easily forgotten amongst the more popular slasher movies of its time.  That being said, I kind of liked it.

The story is about a young girl named Angela who goes to camp for the first time with her cousin.  At camp, everyone makes fun of her because she’s quiet and keeps to herself.  It’s a slasher movie, so of course there’s more to it than just mean kids picking on shy Angela.  The bodies start piling up as campers are picked off one by one.  There‘s a surprise twist at the end.  You’ll probably guess the killer early on, but there’s more to the ending than that.

Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers  *** 1/2

Bruce Springsteen’s sister Pamela Springsteen plays a summer camp counselor from hell.  The campers are named after 80’s brat packers, which is charming, seeing as how most of them die horrible deaths.  This one’s got a little bit of humor to it.  Springsteen’s character is basically just a mouthpiece for the traditional values that horror movies often spout.  And, you know, in this crazy world, is nice to know that some things never change.  The killer is always going to hack up the promiscuous, drug addicts first.  You can depend on that.

Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland  **

The third installment is really not much different than Sleepaway Camp 2.  Angela (Springsteen) is back, only this time she’s pretending to be a camper.  Lots of blood and carnage follow.  This one’s OK, but it’s not as funny as the second one.  The best thing about this movie is the title.