Sleepaway Camp 2
Director: Michael A. Simpson
Cast: Pamela Springsteen, Renée Estevez, Tony Higgins
Sleepaway Camp 3
Director: Michael A. Simpson
Cast: Pamela Springsteen, Tracy Griffith, Michael J. Pollard
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
This is a two-for-one review because both of these movies go together like peanut butter and jelly, they were both filmed back to back in just about six weeks’ time by the same crew, and they’re both being release for the first time on Blu-ray from Scream Factory on the same day. They also both vary in tone from the original, being played more for laughs than scares. But are both movies winners and should be added to your home library? Well grab your sunscreen, bring your water wings, and don’t forget make sure your life insurance is up to date, because we’re going back to Sleepaway Camp.
Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers is the stronger of the two sequels. The kills are nice and bloody, the characters feel more fleshed out, and the comedy is more hit than miss. The story here takes place some years after the events of the original. In an opening campfire scene, we’re told that Angela was put away in an asylum for a few years and given a sex change operation to make her fully a woman. So this time around, Angela (played here by Bruce Springsteen’s little sister, Pamela) isn’t killing out of confused sexual frustration. No, this time she’s posing as a camp counselor and killing off anyone that she thinks is a bad camper. Smoke dope, have sex, use bad language, and you can get the axe. Or the power drill. Or being drowned in a disgusting outhouse.
Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland was made as a quick turnaround, which began as soon as the previous movie ended, and sadly it shows. Everything feels rushed and cheap when compared to part 2. There is still some fun to be had in this movie where Angela once again becomes a camper (and yes, everyone makes jokes about her being too old) and starts bumping off, well pretty much everyone else. Unfortunately, the characters are more cardboard than usual, and the kills were severely cut by the MPAA. That means they are weak as hell and downright painful to watch. There’s nothing worse than a neutered slasher film. Even the humor seems limp and tired at least half the time here. So is the third time a charm, or a pass? Well if you are a Sleepaway fan, then yeah, it’s a must have, even if it’s the weakest of the three. If you’re not a fan, then chances are, you’re probably not even reading this.
Let’s get to the extras on these two-packs. First, Sleepaway Camp 2 has an audio commentary track with the director Michael A. Simpson and writer Fritz Gordon. There is a making of/retrospective that runs 28 minutes and a short documentary on the locations where parts 2 & 3 of this franchise was shot. It runs 15 minutes and it was pretty cool to see how completely nature had reclaimed the old campground in the almost 30 years since these movies were made. There is a very short movie showing what might have happened to the character of Molly, since that was never shown in the film. A collection of random behind the scenes footage, a trailer for the original home video, and a still gallery can all be found on this disc.
On to Sleepaway Camp 3, and first and foremost, there is a longer, workprint cut of the film in the extras in addition to the regular feature. Sure, some scenes don’t look that great and sometimes the audio drops out completely, but it’s still neat to have for the diehard Sleepaway fans. Director Simpson and writer Gordon teaming up again for another commentary track, and the second part of the making of/retrospective that was on the other movie can be found here, and it runs 26 minutes. There is another very short film called Tony Lives here, a collection of deleted scenes, another home video trailer, and a still gallery bring these extras to an end.
While Sleepaway Camp 2 & 3 aren’t classic slasher flicks like the original was, they are loads of cheesy, 80s fun and should not be missed by fans of stalk and slash movies. Part two more so than part three. They are made with tongue firmly in cheek and as said before, are far more interested in is laughs than frights. Usually stuff like that falls flat with me, but here I’m okay with it, because what these films do, they do well. Consider both movies recommended.
