If it wasn't for a handful of things, Sleepaway Camp would probably be lost amongst the seemingly endless stream of slasher flicks that flooded the genre throughout the early 80s. The first thing they got right was to give it a pretty kick-ass poster (one that would stare out at me during many trips to the video store before I got up enough courage to actually rent it), writer-director Robert Hiltzik has also seen fit to put some not-too-subtle sleaze into his script by including a pervert chef and mild homosexual undertones, and there's also a shock ending that, to this very day, is still the most talked about thing here.

Eight years after a traumatic boat accident has killed her father and brother, Angela (Felissa Rose) is living with her cousin Ricky (Jonathan Tierston) and eccentric aunt (Desiree Gould). It's summer time and they're about to be sent off to Camp Arawak for your typical camp experience. Only problem being that Angela is incredibly shy and introverted which, of course, leads to all sorts of strife when a bunch of fellow campers decide to dedicate their time to picking on her.

There's the bitchy and stuck up Judy (Karen Fields), her counselor Meg (Katherine Kamhi), and various others who will soon regret that decision when they start being killed off in various ways. There's some nastiness involving a bee hive, an inspired curling iron moment, and a few scenes obviously cribbed from other flicks (hello, shower scene!) while the script throws out as many red herrings as possible. There really is nothing new here but it's given a boost by a few well done effects moments, a decent use of shadows at times, and generally acceptable acting by the younger cast. Sure, even at 84 minutes there are some moments that are obvious padding (I'm looking at you, baseball scene) and the finale feels a bit rushed - but that's still one Hell of a final shot.

What strikes me as odd about the cast here is the fact that Rose, who isn't anything special as Angela, somehow managed to return to the genre almost twenty years later and become popular enough to appear in over thirty low-budget flicks as well as having a respectable presence on the convention circuit. Tierston spends a lot of the movie just yelling at fellow campers and calling them names while being the main suspect. Fields, in her only acting gig, nails her character and is pretty hissable in the role. Gould steals her brief screen time with her strange line delivery and 1920's flapper behavior. Christopher Collet, as Angela's puppy love interest Paul, would star in the awesome Firstborn a year following as well as one of my favourite teen thrillers, The Manhattan Project. This marked the last film appearance of veteran actor Mike Kellin who gets to go over-the-top as greedy camp owner Mel. Pretty much the entire cast does fine with only Paul DeAngelo as constantly cut-off top wearing counselor Ronnie stinking up the place with his amateurish performance.

Looking at Sleepaway Camp now, it's not hard to see how it managed to gather a cult following. It's mostly by-the-book but has enough memorable moments, and that aforementioned finish, to be an entertaining time. It would mark Hiltzik's only movie until he'd return twenty five years later, as would a lot of the cast, for the fourth entry Return to Sleepaway Camp. The story behind that effort is much more interesting than anything they actually put on film and the entire venture just felt like an unnecessary step backwards after Michael A. Simpson's pleasingly campy sequels in the late 80's.

If you grew up in the golden age of slashers that this was a part of, and you haven't seen this (for shame!), then don't hesitate to check it out. Considering how many awful efforts this sub-genre aborted in the 80's, this holds up rather well.

Followed by three sequels. (Chris Hartley, 11/27/12)

Directed By: Robert Hiltzik.
Written By: Robert Hiltzik.

Starring: Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tierston, Karen Fields, Christopher Collet.