Absolute Horror: SLEEPAWAY CAMP 2: UNHAPPY CAMPERS

Every good horror movie deserves a sequel and the 80’s classic SLEEPAWAY CAMP has thankfully delivered a second helping. I love 80’s movies, especially 80’s horror movies because the characters can basically do whatever they want. A character can deliver the cheesiest lines imaginable and you can’t get mad at him because, hey, it’s an 80’s movie. If a hot, busty blond wants to jump into the pool wearing a white t-shirt with no bra, she will do so. If some guy campers want to conduct a panty raid, it’s not lame if it’s in the 80’s. If some hot campers want to lounge around in their underwear, it’s normal. All of the above is featured in this movie.

WARNING: If you haven’t seen the first SLEEPAWAY CAMP, the following will spoil the great twist ending…you’ve been warned! After spending years in a psycho ward, Peter Baker has undergone a sex change and emerged as the now anatomically-correct Angela Baker. Angela is quite the preachy camp counselor - constantly condemning the female campers’ morality for exposing their breasts, engaging in fornication, etc. “Keep your morals strong and nothing will ever go wrong,” she preaches. She’s like Jerry Fallwell – that is, if he actually murdered anyone he considered to be a sinner. Well, lucky for us, this movie is full of sinners.

Angela also has a very dry sense of humor. In one scene, as the campers are each blindfolded, they are led through a line of various buckets filled with mysterious items (remember in grade school during Halloween where spaghetti would be intestines?). Angela says “these are dead teenager’s brains” when someone reaches their hand into her bucket. The person says “Ew! What is it really?” and Angela says, nonchalantly, “Dead teenagers brains.” It’s that type of deadpan humor that goes a long way in this series and it’s much appreciated.

Angela isn't an age discriminator either. She confronts a couple of young 10 year-old peeping toms as they are reviewing their developed photographs of naked campers, one of which includes a picture of Angela wearing her harness bra (remember, the sex change?). After realizing that Angela's picture was amongst the photographs confiscated, the boys simultaneously say "Oh Shit!". Rule #42- Never mock or take pictures of a killer's physical deformities.

Just as with the original, the second installment of this movie has some really unique kills. My favorite one is where Angela grabs the camp slut (who supplies an ample amount of nudity), stabs her in the back with a screwdriver, drags her over to the outhouse and shoves her face first into the mess. Every time the camper tries to come up for air, Angela shoves a stick in her face, sending her back down to the dookie – harsh. Just as clever is a scene where Angela is trying to figure out a creative way to kill a loquacious camper and instead gets bored and uses a standard choke-kill as she says “You talk too much.”

Grab this trilogy if you like the 80’s cheesy horror flicks. Angela is definitely a creative character and an overall sick f*ck. Her deadpan delivery and creative kills certainly deserve their place in bad horror movie history.

RATING: *** (out of four stars)

Buy SLEEPAWAY CAMP 2 ON DVD