Sleepaway Camp (film series)
Encyclopedia
Sleepaway Camp is an American slasher film
franchise consisting of six films, one of which was not fully completed. The franchise primarily focuses on transgender
ed serial killer Angela Baker and the murders she commits, largely at summer camp
s.
The series has developed into two apparent continuities: Robert Hiltzik
's, including the original 1983 film
, Return to Sleepaway Camp
and the upcoming Sleepaway Camp Reunion
; and the other, which introduced comedic
elements into the franchise, overseen by Michael A. Simpson and comprising Sleepaway Camp II
, III
and Berserk, which has not yet been picked up for production. Sleepaway Camp IV
is the only film not directed and/or written by either. Despite this, Angela is still the focal character of the films.
The "Year" column in the table above lists the year of release; however, Sleepaway Camp II and III were filmed back-to-back
in 1988, but the latter was released the following year.
Sleepaway Camp IV began filming in 1992, but was not completed; the footage that was shot on the first day, just over half an hour long, was released as an exclusive fourth disc included with some editions of the Region 1
Sleepaway Camp box set. It was announced in late 2010 that the footage was compiled and improved by the makers and official Sleepaway Camp sequels website creator John Klyza and made into a 70-minute film, with a prospective release date of 2012 with an as-yet-unknown distributor.
Return to Sleepaway Camp was shot in 2003, and initially planned for release in 2006; it was eventually released in 2008 after improvements to its special effects were made.
Sleepaway Camp Reunion was set for DVD release by Magnolia Pictures
in October 2011, with a limited 3D release in theaters; however, it is yet to materalise. The script for another sequel, tentatively titled Sleepaway Camp: Berserk, has been co-written by the director of Sleepaway Camp II and III, Michael A. Simpson, with an author named Fred Willard.
ing and in a gruesome accident, run over the top of John and one of his children, killing them. The film then shows a shy and quiet Angela, played by Felissa Rose
, living with her eccentric Aunt Martha and cousin Ricky Thomas before they are sent off to summer camp at Camp Arawak. After the arrival of the teenage campers, several are murdered by an unseen serial killer. It is not revealed until the ending of the film that the killer is in fact Peter, who survived and was raised as a girl, Angela, his deceased sister's name, by his aunt.
Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers was filmed and released in 1988, directed by Michael A. Simpson and written by Fritz Gordon. It follows another group of teenagers at a summer camp, this time named Camp Rolling Hills. This film introduces Pamela Springsteen
as an older, more confident, happy and expressive Angela Baker, named Angela Johnson who, unlike the first film, is shown as the killer within the first few minutes of the film. It features comedic elements, mostly jokes made by Angela as she kills her fellow campers for being "bad" campers, disobeying the rules (e.g. having sex or smoking), simply getting in her way or suspecting her of being psychopathic
.
Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland, filmed back-to-back with Unhappy Campers and largely featuring the same crew, follows Angela, who murders a prospective camper named Maria Nacastro and takes her identity and place at a revitalised and reopened Camp Rolling Hills, renamed Camp New Horizons and looking to change its reputation and brand to one of friendship amongst teenagers of different social class
es and racial backgrounds
. The campers are separated into groups with adult leaders, but Angela/Maria makes her way around the woods, integrating herself into the groups and killing the campers and leaders. Angela shows less of a sense of abandon in killing the campers this time around, some of whom she kills for next to no reason.
Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor was the planned fourth entry in the series and partially filmed in 1992 before being abandoned due to the production company
, Double Helix Films, going bankrupt
. It follows a "survivor" of the original three films, Alison, who seeks psychiatric help
after having nightmares about the camp site. She then travels back to the site after receiving advice that revisiting might help her overcome her problems. After several events (and murders), however, she begins to suspect she may be Angela without knowing it, but the real Angela is revealed near the film's conclusion.
After years of tracking down those involved with the film's production as well as its director Jim Markovic, John Klyza, who runs one of the two official Sleepaway Camp websites, helped uncover and compile additional footage, incorporating scenes from the first three films into flashback
sequences and helping expand the initial 34-minute running time of the first day of takes from The Survivor and make them into a full-length, 70-minute completed film. It will reportedly be independently released
in 2011 or 2012, but "there will likely not be a specific release date".
The following film in the franchise, Return to Sleepaway Camp, was filmed from September to November 2003, but due to supposedly poor special effect
s, its straight-to-DVD
release was delayed until 2008 in order to have time to improve them. It again features Robert Hiltzik as director and writer. The film follows another, more chaotic camp, Camp Manabe, with an overweight, trouble-making and bullied teenage boy named Alan as its main character. Murders are again committed by an unknown person at the camp, but it is revealed that Angela has made a return in another disguise, a male police officer named Sheriff Jerry who uses an artificial voice box
due to supposedly having had throat cancer
.
The next film in the series, also written and directed by Hiltzik, is Sleepaway Camp Reunion
, initially announced to be released in October 2011 but as yet unreleased. It is set to have a limited release
to theaters in 3D and see the return of Angela, Ricky and Aunt Martha.
Another film in the series has been co-written by the director of Sleepaway Camp II and III, Michael A. Simpson. Its prospective title is Sleepaway Camp: Berserk and will reportedly introduce supernatural
aspects into the series, but, as it has not yet reached pre-production
, it is unknown what its final release date will be or if indeed, it will be greenlit at all.
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
franchise consisting of six films, one of which was not fully completed. The franchise primarily focuses on transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
ed serial killer Angela Baker and the murders she commits, largely at summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
s.
The series has developed into two apparent continuities: Robert Hiltzik
Robert Hiltzik
Robert Hiltzik is best known for being the director of the 1983 summer camp slasher film Sleepaway Camp, which garnered a cult following.Hiltzik graduated from Williams College and continued to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts for film and then attended Hofstra University Law School...
's, including the original 1983 film
Sleepaway Camp
Sleepaway Camp is a 1983 cult classic slasher film written and directed by Robert Hiltzik—who also served as executive producer. The film is about teen campers getting killed at a summer camp...
, Return to Sleepaway Camp
Return to Sleepaway Camp
Return to Sleepaway Camp is a 2008 American horror film starring Felissa Rose, Jackie Tohn, Paul DeAngelo, and Isaac Hayes; and was written and directed by Robert Hiltzik...
and the upcoming Sleepaway Camp Reunion
Sleepaway Camp Reunion
Sleepaway Camp Reunion is the fifth installment of the Sleepaway Camp franchise. It was written and will be directed by Robert Hiltzik. Although set for release in October 2011, it is yet to be released, in theaters or on DVD...
; and the other, which introduced comedic
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
elements into the franchise, overseen by Michael A. Simpson and comprising Sleepaway Camp II
Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers
Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers is a 1988 sequel to the movie Sleepaway Camp, written by Fritz Gordon and directed by Michael A. Simpson. Unlike Sleepaway Camp, Sleepaway Camp II is more of a comedic spoof than a horror film...
, III
Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland
Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland is a 1989 comedy-slasher film and the second sequel to Sleepaway Camp written by Fritz Gordon and directed by Michael A. Simpson. It stars Pamela Springsteen, Tracy Griffith, Michael J. Pollard, Mark Oliver, and Haynes Brooke.-Plot:The film opens with Maria...
and Berserk, which has not yet been picked up for production. Sleepaway Camp IV
Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor
Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor is an unfinished film in the Sleepaway Camp series originally intended to be the fourth installment.The film was partially filmed in October of 1992 but was never completed...
is the only film not directed and/or written by either. Despite this, Angela is still the focal character of the films.
Films
| Film | Year | Director | Writer(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sleepaway Camp Sleepaway Camp Sleepaway Camp is a 1983 cult classic slasher film written and directed by Robert Hiltzik—who also served as executive producer. The film is about teen campers getting killed at a summer camp... |
1983 | Robert Hiltzik Robert Hiltzik Robert Hiltzik is best known for being the director of the 1983 summer camp slasher film Sleepaway Camp, which garnered a cult following.Hiltzik graduated from Williams College and continued to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts for film and then attended Hofstra University Law School... |
Michele Tatosian Jerry Silva |
|
| Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers is a 1988 sequel to the movie Sleepaway Camp, written by Fritz Gordon and directed by Michael A. Simpson. Unlike Sleepaway Camp, Sleepaway Camp II is more of a comedic spoof than a horror film... |
1988 | Michael A. Simpson | Fritz Gordon | Jerry Silva Michael A. Simpson |
| Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland is a 1989 comedy-slasher film and the second sequel to Sleepaway Camp written by Fritz Gordon and directed by Michael A. Simpson. It stars Pamela Springsteen, Tracy Griffith, Michael J. Pollard, Mark Oliver, and Haynes Brooke.-Plot:The film opens with Maria... |
1989 | |||
| Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor is an unfinished film in the Sleepaway Camp series originally intended to be the fourth installment.The film was partially filmed in October of 1992 but was never completed... |
2002 | Jim Markovic | Tom Clohessy | Krishna Shah |
| Return to Sleepaway Camp Return to Sleepaway Camp Return to Sleepaway Camp is a 2008 American horror film starring Felissa Rose, Jackie Tohn, Paul DeAngelo, and Isaac Hayes; and was written and directed by Robert Hiltzik... |
2008 | Robert Hiltzik | Robert Hiltzik Michele Tatosian Thomas E. Van Dell |
|
| Sleepaway Camp Reunion Sleepaway Camp Reunion Sleepaway Camp Reunion is the fifth installment of the Sleepaway Camp franchise. It was written and will be directed by Robert Hiltzik. Although set for release in October 2011, it is yet to be released, in theaters or on DVD... |
2011 | |||
The "Year" column in the table above lists the year of release; however, Sleepaway Camp II and III were filmed back-to-back
Back to back film production
Filming sequels "back to back" refers to the practice of filming two or more movies as one production, reducing costs and time.Trilogies are common in the film industry, particularly in the science fiction, fantasy and adventure genres...
in 1988, but the latter was released the following year.
Sleepaway Camp IV began filming in 1992, but was not completed; the footage that was shot on the first day, just over half an hour long, was released as an exclusive fourth disc included with some editions of the Region 1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
Sleepaway Camp box set. It was announced in late 2010 that the footage was compiled and improved by the makers and official Sleepaway Camp sequels website creator John Klyza and made into a 70-minute film, with a prospective release date of 2012 with an as-yet-unknown distributor.
Return to Sleepaway Camp was shot in 2003, and initially planned for release in 2006; it was eventually released in 2008 after improvements to its special effects were made.
Sleepaway Camp Reunion was set for DVD release by Magnolia Pictures
Magnolia Pictures
Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor, and is a holding of 2929 Entertainment, owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films....
in October 2011, with a limited 3D release in theaters; however, it is yet to materalise. The script for another sequel, tentatively titled Sleepaway Camp: Berserk, has been co-written by the director of Sleepaway Camp II and III, Michael A. Simpson, with an author named Fred Willard.
Overview
The original Sleepaway Camp was written and directed by Robert Hiltzik and released in 1983. The film opens with an idyllic lake setting in summer, and shows a man, John Baker, and his two children, Angela and Peter, swimming around and onboard a boat. Another group of teenagers are motorboatMotorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
ing and in a gruesome accident, run over the top of John and one of his children, killing them. The film then shows a shy and quiet Angela, played by Felissa Rose
Felissa Rose
Felissa Rose is an American actress, known for her role as Angela Baker in the 1983 cult classic, Sleepaway Camp.-Early life:She was born as Felissa Rose Esposito in Greenwich Village and grew up in Woodbury, Long Island....
, living with her eccentric Aunt Martha and cousin Ricky Thomas before they are sent off to summer camp at Camp Arawak. After the arrival of the teenage campers, several are murdered by an unseen serial killer. It is not revealed until the ending of the film that the killer is in fact Peter, who survived and was raised as a girl, Angela, his deceased sister's name, by his aunt.
Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers was filmed and released in 1988, directed by Michael A. Simpson and written by Fritz Gordon. It follows another group of teenagers at a summer camp, this time named Camp Rolling Hills. This film introduces Pamela Springsteen
Pamela Springsteen
Pamela Colleen Springsteen is an American actress and photographer. She had a short acting career, and is best known for playing the role of serial killer Angela Baker in Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland. She is now a successful photographer...
as an older, more confident, happy and expressive Angela Baker, named Angela Johnson who, unlike the first film, is shown as the killer within the first few minutes of the film. It features comedic elements, mostly jokes made by Angela as she kills her fellow campers for being "bad" campers, disobeying the rules (e.g. having sex or smoking), simply getting in her way or suspecting her of being psychopathic
Psychopathy
Psychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...
.
Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland, filmed back-to-back with Unhappy Campers and largely featuring the same crew, follows Angela, who murders a prospective camper named Maria Nacastro and takes her identity and place at a revitalised and reopened Camp Rolling Hills, renamed Camp New Horizons and looking to change its reputation and brand to one of friendship amongst teenagers of different social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
es and racial backgrounds
Heredity
Heredity is the passing of traits to offspring . This is the process by which an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes predisposed to the characteristics of its parent cell or organism. Through heredity, variations exhibited by individuals can accumulate and cause some species to evolve...
. The campers are separated into groups with adult leaders, but Angela/Maria makes her way around the woods, integrating herself into the groups and killing the campers and leaders. Angela shows less of a sense of abandon in killing the campers this time around, some of whom she kills for next to no reason.
Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor was the planned fourth entry in the series and partially filmed in 1992 before being abandoned due to the production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
, Double Helix Films, going bankrupt
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. It follows a "survivor" of the original three films, Alison, who seeks psychiatric help
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
after having nightmares about the camp site. She then travels back to the site after receiving advice that revisiting might help her overcome her problems. After several events (and murders), however, she begins to suspect she may be Angela without knowing it, but the real Angela is revealed near the film's conclusion.
After years of tracking down those involved with the film's production as well as its director Jim Markovic, John Klyza, who runs one of the two official Sleepaway Camp websites, helped uncover and compile additional footage, incorporating scenes from the first three films into flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
sequences and helping expand the initial 34-minute running time of the first day of takes from The Survivor and make them into a full-length, 70-minute completed film. It will reportedly be independently released
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
in 2011 or 2012, but "there will likely not be a specific release date".
The following film in the franchise, Return to Sleepaway Camp, was filmed from September to November 2003, but due to supposedly poor special effect
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s, its straight-to-DVD
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
release was delayed until 2008 in order to have time to improve them. It again features Robert Hiltzik as director and writer. The film follows another, more chaotic camp, Camp Manabe, with an overweight, trouble-making and bullied teenage boy named Alan as its main character. Murders are again committed by an unknown person at the camp, but it is revealed that Angela has made a return in another disguise, a male police officer named Sheriff Jerry who uses an artificial voice box
Mechanical larynx
A mechanical larynx, also referred to as a "throat back", is a medical device used to produce clearer speech by those who have lost their original voicebox, usually due to cancer of the larynx. The most common device is the electrolarynx which is handheld, battery operated and placed under the...
due to supposedly having had throat cancer
Head and neck cancer
Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, oral cavity , nasal cavity , paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas , originating from the mucosal lining...
.
The next film in the series, also written and directed by Hiltzik, is Sleepaway Camp Reunion
Sleepaway Camp Reunion
Sleepaway Camp Reunion is the fifth installment of the Sleepaway Camp franchise. It was written and will be directed by Robert Hiltzik. Although set for release in October 2011, it is yet to be released, in theaters or on DVD...
, initially announced to be released in October 2011 but as yet unreleased. It is set to have a limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
to theaters in 3D and see the return of Angela, Ricky and Aunt Martha.
Another film in the series has been co-written by the director of Sleepaway Camp II and III, Michael A. Simpson. Its prospective title is Sleepaway Camp: Berserk and will reportedly introduce supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
aspects into the series, but, as it has not yet reached pre-production
Pre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
, it is unknown what its final release date will be or if indeed, it will be greenlit at all.
Box office
| Film | Release date (US) | Budget | Box office revenue | Reference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Foreign | Worldwide | ||||
| Sleepaway Camp | $350,000 | $11,000,000 | ||||
| Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers | $1,000,000 | |||||
| Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland | $1,000,000 | |||||
| Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor | ||||||
| Return to Sleepaway Camp | $4,000,000 | |||||
| Sleepaway Camp Reunion | TBA 2011/12 | $2,300,000 |