Last week at the New Beverly Cinema, I watched a double feature of Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988) and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989). These are sequels to the cult classic slasher horror film Sleepaway Camp(1983), which was written and directed by Robert Hiltzik. The sequels were directed by Michael A. Simpson, and have more of a comic tone than the original film. Even though the sequels are campy, they are fun to watch. The rock star of the films is Angela Baker—a complicated, psychologically damaged, yet entertaining and likeable horror character.
The original film tells the story of Angela, played by Felissa Rose, who experiences traumatic events at an early age. She is sent to Camp Arawak with her cousin and is bullied there due to her introverted nature. Angela exacts her revenge by slowly killing the offending campers one-by-one. There is a twist ending to the story, but I won’t ruin it for those who haven’t seen the film. In Sleepaway Camp II, Angela is played by Pamela Springsteen—Bruce Springsteen’s younger sister. Wearing her hair in a single braid down the back of her head, she masquerades as a camp counselor. She sings campfire songs and presents herself as a role model. At the same time, she gleefully kills any campers who misbehave. In one especially disgusting scene, Angela drowns her victim in an outhouse toilet filled with human waste and leeches.
In Sleepaway Camp III, Angela is back with a new approach—and a new hairstyle. She infiltrates a local camp for troubled teenagers, posing as a camper and wearing sunglasses to disguise her true identity. Once again, Angela exacts her own brand of social justice by killing those who disrespect others, abuse drugs, or fornicate. She gets very creative with the kills and delivers many humorous one-liners. For example, Angela hoists a privileged girl to the top of a flagpole, then releases the rope causing the victim to fall straight to the ground head-first. When one of the counselors asks about the girl, Angela replies “She has a headache.” At the end of the story, Angela is seriously stabbed by one of the girls, and is taken away in an ambulance. Inside the ambulance, Angela kills the two technicians, implying her survival for future sequels.
Although Sleepaway Camp may be deemed to be a rip-off of Friday the 13th, Angela is much more than a female version of Jason Voorhees. She has more personality than Jason, and the audience can be made to sympathize with her. What gives Angela her allure is that she seems so nice, yet she is so sick. Angela is a victim of childhood trauma, and she acts out by getting rid of teenagers who offend her or others. In doing so, she is trying to protect innocent young people from being damaged the way she was. On the other hand, the viewer may feel that Angela has gone too far. It is this moral ambiguity that makes Angela such an interesting character. Robert Hiltzik, creator of the original film, now owns the rights to the franchise. Let’s hope that rumors of a reboot are true, and not just another campfire tale.
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