Sleepaway Camp
Encyclopedia
Sleepaway Camp is a 1983 cult classic
slasher film
written and directed by Robert Hiltzik
—who also served as executive producer. The film is about teen campers getting killed at a summer camp
. The film came at a time when slasher films were in their heyday, and is frequently listed as having one of the most shocking endings among horror films.
runs them over.
Eight years later, it is revealed that Angela survived and is now living with her eccentric aunt Dr. Martha Thomas and cousin Ricky Thomas. Angela and Ricky are sent to Camp Arawak. Due to her introverted
nature, Angela is bullied, her main tormentors being fellow camper Judy and camp counselor Meg. The head cook, Artie attempts to molest
Angela until Ricky interrupts, and the two children flee. While Artie is boiling water for corn, an unseen figure knocks him off the chair, scalding him with the water. Artie's injuries are deemed accidental by camp owner Mel Costic.
Campers Kenny and Mike begin to mock Angela, prompting Ricky and his friend Paul to get into a fight with them. After the brawl is broken up by Gene, Ricky and the rest of the boys involved in the fight leave, while Paul stays behind and befriends Angela. Later, Kenny is drowned, his body found the next day and his death also ruled accidental by Mel. Camper Billy also dies from a bee attack
after he throws a water balloon at Angela.
The relationship between Angela and Paul grows strained when Paul kisses her twice as a goodnight kiss, causing Angela to have a flashback to her youth when she and her brother witnessed their father in bed with Lenny. Paul is then seduced by Judy, who lures him into the woods, where the two are found kissing by Angela and Ricky. Guilty, Paul attempts to explain himself to Angela while on the beach. As Paul talks to Angela, he is shooed away by Judy and Meg, who throw Angela into the water. After being taken out of the lake by lifeguard Hal and having sand flung at her by several small children, a clearly disturbed Angela is comforted by Ricky, who swears revenge on her aggressors. After the affair at the beach, Meg prepares for a date with Mel. During her shower, she is killed by a knife through her back.
Meg's disappearance goes largely unnoticed and a social is held. At the social, Angela is approached by Paul, whom she tells to meet her at the waterfront after the social. The six children who threw sand at Angela are taken out to go camping with counselor Eddie. When two of them ask to go back, Eddie takes them back to his car and drives back to the camp. The other four children are hacked to bits with Eddie's axe when he returns. Judy is murdered in her cabin when the killer punches her and forces a hot curling iron into her vagina
. The camp is thrown into a panic when Eddie announces the deaths of the four children. Ricky overhears this news before being attacked by Mel, who had discovered Meg's corpse and blames Ricky for her death. After beating Ricky mercilessly, Mel stumbles into the camp archery
range, where he is shot in the throat with an arrow by the killer.
As the counselors and the police scour the camp, they discover Ricky, unconscious but alive, and Angela meets Paul on the beach, suggesting they go for a swim. Ronnie and Susie find a naked Angela humming to herself and clutching both a large knife and Paul's severed head in her hands. They are shocked to discover that "Angela" is biologically male. It is revealed that the real Angela actually died in the accident and her brother Peter survived. After Martha gained custody of him, she decided to raise Peter as the girl she always wanted.
theatrically in the United States
by United Film Distribution Company in November 1983. On its opening weekend it had grossed a total of $430,000 in the US. When it opened, it was the top grossing film in New York, beating out its horror competition by taking in almost double the gross of Amityville 3-D
. Sleepaway Camp attained a modest success in its theatrical run.
(1988) and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland
(1989). In them, Angela (now played by Bruce Springsteen
's younger sister, Pamela Springsteen
) resurfaces at a nearby summer camp, but this time masquerading as a counselor after a sex change
that made her entirely female. Much like at the previous camp, she gleefully tortures and kills anyone who misbehaves or annoys her. These films had more of a comic tone than the original.
Another rogue sequel, Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor, directed by Jim Markovic, was partially filmed but never completed. In 2002 the unfinished footage was released and made available as an exclusive fourth disc in Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment's Sleepaway Camp DVD
boxed set.
A new film, Return to Sleepaway Camp
, was completed in 2003 and initially struggled to find distribution. It was directed by Robert Hiltzik
, the director of the original 1983 film. He decided that this chapter will ignore the story lines of the previous sequels, stating that he wanted to pick up from where the original film ended. According to Fangoria.com the digital effects were redone from 2006 to 2008. The film finally found distribution, and was released November 4, 2008, by Magnolia/Magnet Pictures. Review copies of the film had been sent out, and the movie's screener had already been leaked prior to the release.
The purportedly final film in Hiltzik's Sleepaway Camp trilogy is also in the making. Its working title is Sleepaway Camp Reunion. Distribution has already been arranged via Magnolia Pictures for DVD with a limited theatrical release planned in 3D.
Michael Simpson, the director of Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland, recently wrote a script for his series of Sleepaway Camp movies as well, titled Sleepaway Camp: Berserk, which is now in its second draft. The other film in this continuity, Sleepaway Camp IV: Survivor, will finally be released in a final cut originally intended by the filmmakers.
The film has been referenced several times in pop culture, such as:
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
slasher film
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
written and directed by Robert Hiltzik
Robert Hiltzik
Robert Hiltzik is best known for being the director of the 1983 summer camp slasher film Sleepaway Camp, which garnered a cult following.Hiltzik graduated from Williams College and continued to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts for film and then attended Hofstra University Law School...
—who also served as executive producer. The film is about teen campers getting killed at a summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
. The film came at a time when slasher films were in their heyday, and is frequently listed as having one of the most shocking endings among horror films.
Plot
The film opens in summer, with John Baker and his two children, Angela and Peter, out on a lake. After their boat flips, John and the children head ashore, where John's lover, Lenny, is calling. As the family swims, a motorboatMotorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
runs them over.
Eight years later, it is revealed that Angela survived and is now living with her eccentric aunt Dr. Martha Thomas and cousin Ricky Thomas. Angela and Ricky are sent to Camp Arawak. Due to her introverted
Extraversion and introversion
The trait of extraversion-introversion is a central dimension of human personality theories.Extraverts tend to be gregarious, assertive, and interested in seeking out external stimulus. Introverts, in contrast, tend to be introspective, quiet and less sociable. They are not necessarily loners but...
nature, Angela is bullied, her main tormentors being fellow camper Judy and camp counselor Meg. The head cook, Artie attempts to molest
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
Angela until Ricky interrupts, and the two children flee. While Artie is boiling water for corn, an unseen figure knocks him off the chair, scalding him with the water. Artie's injuries are deemed accidental by camp owner Mel Costic.
Campers Kenny and Mike begin to mock Angela, prompting Ricky and his friend Paul to get into a fight with them. After the brawl is broken up by Gene, Ricky and the rest of the boys involved in the fight leave, while Paul stays behind and befriends Angela. Later, Kenny is drowned, his body found the next day and his death also ruled accidental by Mel. Camper Billy also dies from a bee attack
Bee sting
A bee sting is strictly a sting from a bee . In the vernacular it can mean a sting of a bee, wasp, hornet, or yellow jacket. Some people may even call the bite of a horse-fly a bee sting...
after he throws a water balloon at Angela.
The relationship between Angela and Paul grows strained when Paul kisses her twice as a goodnight kiss, causing Angela to have a flashback to her youth when she and her brother witnessed their father in bed with Lenny. Paul is then seduced by Judy, who lures him into the woods, where the two are found kissing by Angela and Ricky. Guilty, Paul attempts to explain himself to Angela while on the beach. As Paul talks to Angela, he is shooed away by Judy and Meg, who throw Angela into the water. After being taken out of the lake by lifeguard Hal and having sand flung at her by several small children, a clearly disturbed Angela is comforted by Ricky, who swears revenge on her aggressors. After the affair at the beach, Meg prepares for a date with Mel. During her shower, she is killed by a knife through her back.
Meg's disappearance goes largely unnoticed and a social is held. At the social, Angela is approached by Paul, whom she tells to meet her at the waterfront after the social. The six children who threw sand at Angela are taken out to go camping with counselor Eddie. When two of them ask to go back, Eddie takes them back to his car and drives back to the camp. The other four children are hacked to bits with Eddie's axe when he returns. Judy is murdered in her cabin when the killer punches her and forces a hot curling iron into her vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
. The camp is thrown into a panic when Eddie announces the deaths of the four children. Ricky overhears this news before being attacked by Mel, who had discovered Meg's corpse and blames Ricky for her death. After beating Ricky mercilessly, Mel stumbles into the camp archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
range, where he is shot in the throat with an arrow by the killer.
As the counselors and the police scour the camp, they discover Ricky, unconscious but alive, and Angela meets Paul on the beach, suggesting they go for a swim. Ronnie and Susie find a naked Angela humming to herself and clutching both a large knife and Paul's severed head in her hands. They are shocked to discover that "Angela" is biologically male. It is revealed that the real Angela actually died in the accident and her brother Peter survived. After Martha gained custody of him, she decided to raise Peter as the girl she always wanted.
Cast
- Felissa RoseFelissa RoseFelissa Rose is an American actress, known for her role as Angela Baker in the 1983 cult classic, Sleepaway Camp.-Early life:She was born as Felissa Rose Esposito in Greenwich Village and grew up in Woodbury, Long Island....
as Angela Baker - Jonathan TierstenJonathan TierstenJonathan Tiersten is an American actor and singer, who is mostly known for his role as Ricky in the 1983 cult classic Sleepaway Camp. He returned to the role in the 2008 sequel, Return to Sleepaway Camp. Tiersten is currently the lead singer of his own band, Ten Tiers and he recently did the score...
as Ricky Thomas - Karen Fields as Judy
- Christopher ColletChristopher ColletChristopher Collet is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Jake Livingston in the 1984 movie Firstborn, and for his lead role in the 1986 film The Manhattan Project....
as Paul - Mike KellinMike Kellin-Early life:Kellin was born Myron Kellin in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Sophia and Samuel Kellin, Russian Jewish immigrants. He was educated at Boston University and Trinity College...
as Mel Costic - Katherine Kamhi as Meg
- Paul DeAngelo as Ronnie
- Tom Van Dell as Mike
- Loris Sallahain as Billy
- John E. DunnJohn E. DunnJohn E. Dunn is an American actor famous primarily for being one of the actors to play the character Tad Gardner on soap opera All My Children.In 1978, Dunn won a Soapy Award in the category "Favorite Juvenile" for his work on All My Children...
as Kenny - Willy Kuskin as Mozart
- Desiree Gould as Aunt Martha
- Owen Hughes as Artie
- Robert Earl JonesRobert Earl JonesRobert Earl Jones was an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films The Cotton Club and The Sting and as the father of actor James Earl Jones.-Early life:...
as Ben - Susan Glaze as Susie
- Frank Trent Saladino as Gene
- Rick Edrich as Jeff
- Fred Greene as Eddie
- Allen Breton as Frank the Cop
- Michael C. Mahon as Hal
- Dan Tursi as John
- James Paradise as Lenny
Release
The film was given a limited releaseLimited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
theatrically in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by United Film Distribution Company in November 1983. On its opening weekend it had grossed a total of $430,000 in the US. When it opened, it was the top grossing film in New York, beating out its horror competition by taking in almost double the gross of Amityville 3-D
Amityville 3-D
Amityville 3-D is a 1983 horror film and the third installment in the The Amityville Horror series. It was one of a spate of 3-D films released in the early 80s. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and the script was written by David Ambrose...
. Sleepaway Camp attained a modest success in its theatrical run.
Sequels
Over the years, the Sleepaway Camp films gained a loyal cult following. In the late 1980s, Michael A. Simpson directed two sequels, Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy CampersSleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers
Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers is a 1988 sequel to the movie Sleepaway Camp, written by Fritz Gordon and directed by Michael A. Simpson. Unlike Sleepaway Camp, Sleepaway Camp II is more of a comedic spoof than a horror film...
(1988) and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland
Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland
Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland is a 1989 comedy-slasher film and the second sequel to Sleepaway Camp written by Fritz Gordon and directed by Michael A. Simpson. It stars Pamela Springsteen, Tracy Griffith, Michael J. Pollard, Mark Oliver, and Haynes Brooke.-Plot:The film opens with Maria...
(1989). In them, Angela (now played by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's younger sister, Pamela Springsteen
Pamela Springsteen
Pamela Colleen Springsteen is an American actress and photographer. She had a short acting career, and is best known for playing the role of serial killer Angela Baker in Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland. She is now a successful photographer...
) resurfaces at a nearby summer camp, but this time masquerading as a counselor after a sex change
Sex change
Sex change is a term often used for gender reassignment therapy, that is, all medical procedures transgendered people can have, or specifically to sexual reassignment surgery, which usually refers to genitalia surgery only...
that made her entirely female. Much like at the previous camp, she gleefully tortures and kills anyone who misbehaves or annoys her. These films had more of a comic tone than the original.
Another rogue sequel, Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor, directed by Jim Markovic, was partially filmed but never completed. In 2002 the unfinished footage was released and made available as an exclusive fourth disc in Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment's Sleepaway Camp DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
boxed set.
A new film, Return to Sleepaway Camp
Return to Sleepaway Camp
Return to Sleepaway Camp is a 2008 American horror film starring Felissa Rose, Jackie Tohn, Paul DeAngelo, and Isaac Hayes; and was written and directed by Robert Hiltzik...
, was completed in 2003 and initially struggled to find distribution. It was directed by Robert Hiltzik
Robert Hiltzik
Robert Hiltzik is best known for being the director of the 1983 summer camp slasher film Sleepaway Camp, which garnered a cult following.Hiltzik graduated from Williams College and continued to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts for film and then attended Hofstra University Law School...
, the director of the original 1983 film. He decided that this chapter will ignore the story lines of the previous sequels, stating that he wanted to pick up from where the original film ended. According to Fangoria.com the digital effects were redone from 2006 to 2008. The film finally found distribution, and was released November 4, 2008, by Magnolia/Magnet Pictures. Review copies of the film had been sent out, and the movie's screener had already been leaked prior to the release.
The purportedly final film in Hiltzik's Sleepaway Camp trilogy is also in the making. Its working title is Sleepaway Camp Reunion. Distribution has already been arranged via Magnolia Pictures for DVD with a limited theatrical release planned in 3D.
Michael Simpson, the director of Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland, recently wrote a script for his series of Sleepaway Camp movies as well, titled Sleepaway Camp: Berserk, which is now in its second draft. The other film in this continuity, Sleepaway Camp IV: Survivor, will finally be released in a final cut originally intended by the filmmakers.
Resurrection and legacy
In the late 1990s, Jeff Hayes and Australian Web master John Klyza brought the fan base of Sleepaway Camp into the open, with the first official Sleepaway Camp web site. Today, both Klyza and Hayes have their own Sleepaway Camp sites, with Hayes running the official Sleepaway Camp and Return to Sleepaway Camp sites and Klyza running the official sequels site. Hayes did audio commentary for the first Sleepaway Camp on DVD, while Klyza provided commentary for Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland.The film has been referenced several times in pop culture, such as:
- Art punk band The Blood Brothers borrowed the title of their song "Meet Me at the Waterfront After the Social" verbatim from a line spoken by Angela.
- Metal band Frightmare wrote a song about the film, simply titled "Angela".
- Senses FailSenses FailSenses Fail is an American post-hardcore band from Ridgewood, New Jersey. Formed in 2002, the line up initially consisted of vocalist Buddy Nielsen, drummer Dan Trapp, guitarists Dave Miller and Garrett Zablocki and being completed by bassist Mike Glita. The band quickly issued their debut EP, From...
named a song after Angela Baker, titled "Angela Baker and My Obsession with Fire". - Robot ChickenRobot ChickenRobot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
aired a sketch about the movie, which included a horrified Robert Hiltzik exclaiming "Oh my god! Someone remembered this movie and wrote a comedy sketch about it!" - The band (and movie features) CKYCKY (band)CKY is an American alternative metal band that formed in West Chester, Pennsylvania in 1998. Centred around core members Deron Miller , Chad I Ginsburg and Jess Margera , the band shares its name with a skateboarding and stunt video series produced by Bam Margera, brother of drummer Jess...
(Camp Kill Yourself) is named in reference to the movie. They also released an EP entitled Disengage the Simulator, the cover art for which features Angela. Lead singer Deron Miller is also married to the actress who played Angela. They met on the set of Return to Sleepaway Camp. - The film's sequels feature songs peformed by metal band ObsessionObsession (band)Obsession is an American heavy metal band formed in 1982 famous for spawning the career of singer Michael Vescera.The band first came on to the scene on the Metal Massacre 2 compilation from Metal Blade Records. After that, the band released the albums Scarred for Life and Methods of Madness under...
(featuring Mike Vescera) including the title track for Teenage Wasteland, "Methods of Madness". - Post-hardcore band These Arms Are SnakesThese Arms Are SnakesThese Arms Are Snakes was an American post-hardcore band that formed in 2002 and featured former members of Botch and Kill Sadie. The band was known for their intense live shows, which often feature vocalist Steve Snere crowd surfing and spending a large portion of the live performance in the...
' album Oxeneers begins with two song titles which refer to the Sleepaway Camp series. The first song on the album is called "The Shit Sisters" after two characters in the second film, and the second song on the album is called "Angela's Secret". - For their annual 'Best of Horror' lists, website SocialTechPop's list of the Top 10 Horror Movie Villains featured Angela Baker at #2.