In the bloody wake of Friday the 13th came a whole summer camp full of imitators. The idea of a nutter lose in the woods during summer break is an instant hit concept for the low budget film maker. Many are forgettable or pointless. Sleepaway Camp is a something else.
It has the usual ingredients of a film of this type (hence the fairly high PO rating below). Bit this story of a shy young girl moving to her eccentric Aunt Martha's (played brilliantly by Desiree Gould) has some great touches. The death scenes arent as graphic as some of the slasher movies though they are pretty grisly at times. I'm not a big gore fan so that didnt bother me. But the way to filmakers focus on the younger kids and not the teenagers gives it a fun Goonies esque charm in places and makes the final revelation all the more shocking. And make no mistake, I had NO IDEA this film would end how it does. It totally freaks you out and is a genuinely disturbing image.
As a Christian I was left wondering about the effect adult can have on kids and how unfortunatley some choose to explote children for their own ends. Two characters in this film, the chef and the Aunt both appear as selfish users, and sadly they are not exactly uncommon in every day life.Now anyone would be think I'm talking about a cinema classic here and I'm not. This is low budget shlock - hooray! But it has enough ideas in it to make it stand out from the crowd. And with that ending, Sleepaway Camp well and truly leaves its mark.
Check out the great commentary track on the UK Anchor Bay version with Angela and the director.
Film: 6/10
PO: 7/10 (some nudity, sexual scenes and violence)
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