Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Sleepaway Camp’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​If there’s one thing that the horror industry enjoys more than any other genre out there, it’s trends. Because these films love to ride whatever popular wave is resonating with audiences and that’s why we see movie after movie featuring the same concept or monster in theaters and back in the 1980’s, the particular trend that filmmakers tended to grab on to as often as possible, were summer camp themed slasher stories, where poor, unfortunate teenagers met their demise in horrifying fashion in the woods while they were far away from home.
 
Which should come as no surprise since the slasher flick was king in the 1980s and the Voorhees family and their respective shenanigans at Camp Crystal Lake made summer camp a terrifying place, and filmmaker after filmmaker tried to replicate the wonder of those films, and well, the end result of these particular motion pictures, was surprising to say the least. Because many of them were actually top notch in both quality and story, a rarity for films that follow the popular kid, and of the many movies that followed in Jason’s big footsteps, there’s one that I revisit often because of its uniqueness and overall quality, Sleepaway Camp.
 
Now this particular film, released in 1983, is perhaps the most unique summer camp themed slasher flick out there thanks to its surprise ending. In fact, in just about every single conversation I’ve ever had about this film starts and ends with ‘that moment’ because it is so iconic and stunning and powerful. But while that all-important ending is shocking in its own right and quite the twist to say the least, there’s surprisingly a lot to like when it comes to this motion picture, and that’s thanks in large part to a script that explores plenty of things that other horror films rarely go near. 

---

Case in point, the fact that this particular tale actually bothers to look at the awkwardness that comes with being a teenager, something that is explored by way of just about every single camper since well, Camp Arawak truly does feel like high school all over again and all the cliques and machismo and attitude that we all experienced in high school is on display here and well, it sucks you in to the story. You feel for Angela as the kids pick on her and really, it’s just amazing to sit through a horror film that is flat out relatable in this fashion, but the wonder of this movie doesn’t end there.
 
Because this motion picture also touches upon sexuality and gender, something that was quite frankly taboo in just about any genre for the time and honestly, considering how much time the movie spends on its characters and character development, it’s a shame the story didn’t take the time to dig into these topics a little more. But all surprises and fresh ideas aside, make no mistake about it, this is still a slasher flick and it delivers on that front as well with some surprisingly creative and twisted kills and while the gore alone makes the movie worthwhile, it’s everything else that makes this one an instant classic in its own right.
 
But truly, the centerpiece of this film is it's ending. Because quite frankly, you never see it coming and kudos to Writer/Director Robert Hiltzik for doing such a fine job at keeping this twist well-hidden and for putting together a quality horror flick, one that has withstood the test of time, and one that people still visit as often as possible and if by chance, you haven’t seen this absolute classic yet, seek it out as soon as possible because it really is something special, and it really does stay with you long after the story has come to an end. 

---

Powered by JustWatch