Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Blistering performances.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

'Sleepaway Camp' easily became one of the biggest cult horror classics back in 1983, mostly for it's truly shocking twist of an ending. That ending is still talked about today and might be responsible for some of the horror movie twists we see today. The first film played into the big foray of slasher teen horror films of the late 70s and early 80s. It did almost nothing to separate itself from the group of that particular horror genre with the exception of the ending and the high amount of unintentional comedy.That being said, the first 'Sleepaway Camp' movie was your basic straight-forward slasher picture, fake mustache and all. Five years down the road with the talk and somewhat success of the first film, the studio wanted to make a sequel. They left the original director and writer alone and instead got two newcomers, who really haven't done much since then, however they acquired the siblings of a few famous people to be in the sequel, which is called 'Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers'.The second installment works on a few levels, mostly in that it doesn't take itself seriously whatsoever and knows exactly what kind of movie it is. In fact, it parodies the first film, as well some of the horror movie monster classics, including, 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre', 'Friday the 13th', and 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. Even the poster and front cover of this movie has the main star carrying around the Freddy Krueger glove and the Jason Vorhees hockey mask. Another reason this sequel is so much fun and not quite that scary is it really only shows one kill after the next. It's not necessarily a bad thing either when you have a collection of idiot characters that you hope meets their grisly demise the instant you meet them.That's where our famous and likable anti-heroine comes into play, Angela from the first film. We are at another camp a couple of years past the events of the first film where Angela (played by Bruce Springsteen's sister Pamela Springsteen) is an actual camp counselor. The campers this year are heard and seen telling the gruesome stories of the murders that happened at another camp a few years ago, which is when Angela starts to dispose of these teenage campers who always seem to be want to get frisky with one another.No matter if it's part of a tree, a fire, or a chainsaw, Angela can easily take out a camper or two without breaking a sweat. One of the main campers we follow is Molly (Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen's sister Renee Estevez), who actually likes Angela, but is trying to figure out why her fellow campers have gone missing or are being sent home, according to Angela for bad behavior. That's the basic plot for the sequel, which is actually quite fun. The deaths are hilarious and gruesome, and the one-liners are spot on.The big shocking reveal from the first film is touched up on here in more detail, but who really cares, right? Angela is Angela, the murdering and smiling beast she is no matter what, and that's what makes 'Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers' a solid sequel.

Sleepaway Camp 2 (1988)*** (out of 4) A reformed and "rebuilt" Angela (Pamela Springsteen) finds herself being a councilor at a summer camp where she hopes to bond with all her kids but that isn't so easy. While she gets along with the good girl (Renee Estevez) she butts heads with anyone who she doesn't considering pure including the slut of the camp (Valerie Hartman).SLEEPAWAY CAMP was a good slasher from the early 80s that managed to have one of the greatest plot twists in cinema history. No matter what you thought of the film's quality there was no denying that the ending packed quite a punch so when a sequel was announced many horror fans couldn't wait to see what they did with it. Instead of just trying to deliver pure slasher fare, the filmmakers decided to add some comedy and self homage because there's no doubt that this thing isn't meant to be taken too serious. While there are some gory deaths scattered throughout the picture, it's clear that this was just meant to be light entertainment.For the most part this film succeeds for a number of reasons but the biggest is the fact that it doesn't take itself serious. I really liked the lighter tone of the picture and the fact that you're actually rooting for the killer is a nice touch. After all, who doesn't like Angela here? Even when she gets fired for killing so many people, you still feel bad for her and go against those who let her go. Of course, a lot of credit has to go to Springsteen who is certainly fun and entertaining here. She really does pull off that good girl quality and makes for a villain you love. Both Estevez and Hartman are also very good in their supporting roles and the rest of the cast members are fun as well.The film really does have a great straight-to-video feel to it and it manages to be funny and charming at the same time. There's some great humor scattered throughout including a rather outrageous AIDS joke. The death scenes have some blood scattered around them but for the most part they're more creative than anything else including a toilet sequence, which is hard to top. SLEEPAWAY CAMP 2 isn't a masterpiece and it's certainly not Oscar-worthy but it's still a good little gem that continues to charm over twenty-years after it was made.

I saw this few years again, i tired to watch early in the week after seeing first movie, the next day i planned to watch this movie, I found the movie a bit dull as i could sit thought so turned it off. As I don't judge a movie until i have see the whole movie, so i re-re watch this movie tonight,I did not turn of this times however, i did find the movie every entertaining and there was some dull moment here and there in the movie.There were some really good decent in-trusting deaths scenes in this movie that I really liked and also really enjoyed the nods to other 80's classic horror movies. I don't mind some nudity in movies but i felt they put to much in this movie and it got dull as the movie went on.The acting was really poor from most of the cast and i did not like the ending at all, i thought that was really bad way to end a movie.I still going to give it 5 out of 10

An few years has passed... Angela (Pamela Springsteen) has become an real girl, she changed her identity and she's now an consoler. But these young teenagers are practically the same way, they nearly treated Angela as a young teen. Now she can't take it anymore, she decides to kill these unhappy campers one by one.Directed by Michael A. Simpson (Sleepaway Camp 3:Teenage Wasteland, Funland) made an amusing slasher horror movie with few humorous moments of black comedy. It is made watchable, thanks to Springteen's winning performance as Angela. Renee Estevez (Her brothers are Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen and Ramon Estevez) is likable in the movie. There is some clever kills in this, although not as gory as you might imagine.DVD from Legacy Entertainment, DVD has an OK Pan & Scan (1.33:1) from the VHS source but the night-time sequences suffers on the DVD. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono Sound is fine. Anchor Bay DVD is supposedly Uncut. "Sleepaway Camp 2:Unhappy Campers" is certainly entertaining for the die-hard slasher fans. Truly slow going at times but the short running time helps. (*** ½/*****).