The original Sleepaway Camp films hold a special place in my heart. The first was your usual mildly entertaining Friday the 13th style 'Kids being picked off at a Summer camp' generic 80's horror till the ending. An ending so out there I still shake my head in amazement.
The sequels (Unhappy Campers and Teenage Wasteland respectively) were way before their time. Smarter than anything similar and laden with in-jokes they were almost a test balloon for the Scream films that would follow just under a decade later.
So fast forward in 2008 and original writer/director Robert Hiltzik decides to get the band back together for a film that will disregard the two sequels. Sadly something is sorely missing...
I can see what he was trying to do (which is quite annoying) but something just does not translate. The whole thing does still have an 80's vibe to it but something doesn't gel. This is compounded with the casting of Michael Gibney as Alan - the 'Angela' role of the original.
The problem is when Angela was bullied back in 1983 she didn't deserve it at alL. Alan on the other hand does. In spades. In the years I've watched films I have rarely seen a character as unlikable and unsymphathetic as his. It doesn't help that his acting is even worse than the rest of the cast (and he hasn't had a acting job since, to no surprise).
As for the rest of the cast - former Soprano cast member Vincent Pastore shows up as Frank who runs the camp and loves his parrot and Isaac Hayes plays The Chef, a joke that would have been a lot better if he'd had more than one scene.
Cast members from the original return, the most entertaining of all being Paul DeAngelon as Ronnie who hilariously is still wearing the muscle vests he did 25 years prior. And is still pretty hench.
Sadly, the film drags something chronic for most of the first hour and the blame for this lays solely at the feet of Alan. At one point the character doesn't appear on screen for half an hour and the movie picks up so quickly you'd think you put something else on.
As it is the sequel to the original it does contain the big twist ending. And it is fairly entertaining, but you will probably guess it ten minutes before the end.
Whatever my opinions on it are - it has done enough business to warrant another sequel due out in October which will focus more on the original cast (and may be in 3D) so I remain hopeful for that one. Time will tell.
*1/2
A massive dissapointment. An attempt to bring back the vibe of the original has good intentions but is run off the tracks by a hideous main character. Quite what happened with that casting will remain a mystery I guess. You want a Sleepaway Camp sequel? Check out the 80's ones.
1 comment:
Haven't seen any of these yet, but I'll never forget *that* ending after you explained it to me!!
Interesting that this was a belated remake/sequel by the original writer/director as he clearly has a right to take the franchise where he wants it to go - but if it sucks, hmmmm... you have to wonder whether he's just pining for his glory days!
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