Sleepaway Camp (1983)

This is a flick that I remember as a kid. I remember going to Mega Video, walking to the back of the store, and checking out all the crazy, oversized VHS horror boxes.  I remember seeing Sleepaway Camp and my jaw dropping.  The box freaked me out so bad, that it took several visits to the video store for me to build up the guts to rent it.  When I did, I was amazed, and a little confused (at the ending). Anyways, i'm older now and ready to see if it lives up to the high standards I gave it as a kid. 

Sleepaway Camp's plot goes a little like this, after a boating accident that killed her father and her sister, Angela (Felissa Rose) and her cousin Ricky (Jonathan Tierston) are going to Camp Arawak for the summer. Angela wasn't been in that camp for years, since her family died there. Slowly, there has been accidents and murders happening in the camp. Who is the twisted person, who is behind all these murders?

Directed by Robert Hiltzik (Return to Sleepaway Camp) made an enjoyable, professional well made slasher B movie with an winning cast. Rose is certainly the stand-out in the movie. Tierston and Christopher Collet gives likable performances. Karen Fields (Her only film role) steals the show as a mean-spirited teen.

I liked this movie for its 80s sensibilities. You just don't see movies like this anymore. Especially the cook calling young teen girls "baldies?" The way everyone acts, the way it was shot, the things that were said just makes this flick a prime example of early 80s film-making. 

Even though it is of course a quite formulaic movie they still did a pretty good job with its story. This is mostly because it picks a pretty nice approach with its killer. Problem is perhaps that the movie has too many slow and pointless moments in it and it also starts to repeat itself a bit at times. It also doesn't always handle its character well enough. Sometimes a character gets put down as a carrying main character but then he or she will suddenly disappear out of the movie again for quite some time. The movie has some difficulties finding its right balance at times.

It's a movie that has B-movie written all over it. It has a campy look and its silly '80's atmosphere and look of course also don't help much. But foremost the movie is a real B-movie with its acting. The movie has some real bad acting in it, also due to the fact that most characters are being played by inexperienced teenagers. But somehow it also really seems to fit the movie and it hardly becomes a big complaint while watching the movie. It helps to make the movie a more light and entertaining one to watch.

The movie still takes itself serious though. It has swearing and gore in it but nothing that will impress the most hardened horror movie watcher too much, though it's all still good looking.

The movie tends to become a real slasher toward the end and perhaps also feels a bit rushed, since it's in contrast with its more slower first halve. It's not really a problem though, since it actually provides the movie with some good genre moments and a great ending.

After years and years of my original viewing of this movie, it still holds up and in most cases, exceeds my originally high regards.  I definitely recommend this flick, ESPECIALLY to 80s slasher fans (who will absolutely love it.) I can't wait to re-watch Sleepaway Camp II (look for a review coming soon).