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yendiSleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland. 1989. Directed by Michael Simpson. Written by Fritz Gordon. Distributed by Anchor Bay.
Today, we finish off the Sleepaway Camp trilogy (as things currently stand, at least). Although the third film was filmed at the same time as the second one and features the same director, writer, and star, it's not filled with nearly as much plot (in fact, it come at 79 minutes, short even for a slasher flick). This one's all about the killing, folks.
Concept: Angela hears about yet another camp (Camp New Horizons) opening up. This one's aimed at bringing together spoiled rich kids, and troubled poor kids. Naturally, Angela kills one of the potential campers and takes her place. Once she realizes that all the other teenagers are typical slasher-movie bait, she figures she should start offing them again. And when the campers head out to the woods in three separate groups for some overnight activities, Angela has the perfect opportunity.
Body Count: 15
Really Bad Kills: None are terribly bad, but the death-by-beating of Jan is rather boring.
Really Good Kills: This movie's all about kill scenes, and although a lot of good scenes had to be trimmed (or changed completely*), there are still some great moments.
For sheer amusement value (and a change of pace), our first victim, Maria, is killed by garbage truck. In broad daylight. In a city. While heading to her bus stop, Maria is chased by Angela's garbage truck, and eventually runs down a dead-end alley. Angela runs into her, then takes Maria's body and tosses it into the back for good measure. Once the garbage truck has finished compacting the trash, there's just a red stain left behind.
The next victim is the sleazy local TV reporter. After filming a story on the camp, she asks Angela if she has any coke. Because, naturally, poor kids are all drug dealers. Angela runs to the camp's laundry, and offers up some cleaning powder as "cocaine." When the reporter stops by the side of the road for a hit, she gets a nasty surprise.
After the beating deaths of Uncle Herman and Jan, it's the firecracker-obsessed Peter who gets his next. While the campers are sleeping, Angela carefully places an M-16 in his nose (let's hear it for deep sleepers), and lights it. Ick.
Snowboy, woken by the firecracker, gets his next. Angela knocks him out while he's still screaming, tosses him in the big tent (with Jan and Herman's bodies), and sets the whole thing on fire just as he wakes up.
Once we get to the second camp, we start seeing some good old-fashioned slashing. Since Angela claims that she was sent over to the second campsite by Uncle Herman, naturally one of the other campers has to go back to the first campground. Angela shows A-Rab where it is, and when the teen girl peeks inside a tent, Angela kicks her all the way inside. While A-Rab is struggling to get out, Angela grabs an axe, and when a furious A-Rab pokes her head out, that axe goes a-swingin'. It's not an original death, but it's a well-done one, nonetheless.
And then we get to my favorite: Cindy. The Georgia Peach is everything that Angela (and every movie slasher, actually) hates. She's got the drinking, drugs, and sex trifecta down perfectly. She also smokes, is a cheerleader, and is racist. There's practically a big neon "Kill Me" sign floating above her. When they're forced to play trust games (with one camper being blindfolded with her hands behind her back, and the other guiding her around, Angela takes advantage of the opportunity and walks Cindy all the way back to New Horizons. She then attaches Cindy's tied-up hands to the flag pole and hoists her into the air. When she reached the top, Angela lets go, and Cindy crashes to the ground. Realistic? Hell, no. There are probably seven or eight physicist who would have a heart attack just watching the scene. But man, is it fun.
Next is camp owner (and recent widow, although she doesn't know Herman's dead yet) Lily. In one of the nastiest scenes I can recall, she gets suckered into the same trust game she's had the campers playing. Angela walks the lazy camp owner back to New Horizons, and leads her right into the garbage pit. She then buries Lily up to her neck, and brings out the lawnmower. You can guess the rest.
Bobby is next. Having revealed his very vague interest in bondage to Angela, she meets him for a midnight tryst, and has him stand with his back against a tree. She then ties his arms behind his back and around the tree, and ties the other end to the camp Jeep. Before he can say, "hey, we never agreed on a safeword," she's driving the Jeep, and his arms, away.
Rapper Riff is the last at the campsite to get it. Angela tosses a tape with her very own rap into the tent**. While he's listening, she's pulling up his tent stakes, and when the tent collapses and he tries to get out, she drives a stake through his hand. She then hammers another one through the tent and into his head.
The final pre-denouement death is of poor Barney, whose son Sean was beheaded in the previous installment. He's figured out that he's dealing with Angela, and taunts her, asking if she'll kill him with a knife, or an axe, or battery acid. He figures he's prepared for anything she's got, but he doesn't realize that she swiped Riff's gun (and he naturally never expected a slasher to use a firearm, either). It's not up there with the great gun scene in Raiders, but it's still fun.
Celebrities: Uncle Herman is played by Michael J. Pollard, one of the greats of character acting. Heroine Marcia, continuing the series trend of hiring sisters of famous people, is played by Tracy Griffith, Melanie's sister. That's pretty much it.
Denouement: After killing Barney and capturing Marcia, Angela ties the others together at gunpoint and forces them to play a game in which they have to find Marcia in one of the cabins before time runs out. Of course, they find all the other bodies first, but they do make it to Marcia in the nick of time. Just as they get to her, though, a trap goes off, and two axes fly down, nailing Greg and Anita in the guts. Angela, having felt some pity for the surviving young lovers Marcia and Tony, walks away.
Marcia, however, gets free of her bonds, and runs after Angela. They fight, and eventually Marcia gets the upper hand and stabs the killer in the gut multiple times. As Tony pulls her away, Angela bemoans her fate. "You try to be nice to somebody, and look what happens."
We cut to the ambulance taking Angela (still alive, if not doing well) away. As the paramedic and cop in the back bicker, Angela shows that she wasn't nearly as unconscious as she seemed, grabbing a hypodermic needly and stabbing the paramedic in the heart. She then puts the needle into the cop's eye. As the driver asks what's going on, Angela, fading back into unconsciousness, mutters, "just taking care of business."
Fade out.
Miscellany: As you might have noticed, all of the rich campers are named after kids from The Brady Bunch. All of the poor ones are named after West Side Story characters. Herman and Lily, of course, are named after Munsters.
In one early scene, Angela catches a hockey mask while fishing. We can safely assume it's the same one that appeared in the last movie.
Overall: For a movie that's all about the kill scenes, there's a lot of fun to be had here. Tony and Marcia actually do make a very cute couple, and if most of the other victims are caricatures, they're at least decently developed ones. That said, this is a movie that's very light on plot, and if that's a problem for you, definitely give this a skip.
Fans of gore might be disappointed by the vast amount of cuts that were made to the film, but the bonus features on the DVD do feature extended shots of a lot of the scenes. And the suggested kills are still pretty damned effective. Plus, we once again get f/x by Bill "Splat" Johnson, always a plus.
It's not up there with the first two movies, but fans of the second Sleepaway Camp movie, in particular, will probably get a kick out of this one, as well.
*Snowboy's original death scene was supposed to involve being spraypainted in the face until blind and nearly unconscious, then having his face set on fire. And Herman was supposed to take a flaming stick to the crotch.
**Angels are pretty. Angels can fly. And here is the angel that'll make you die!
You got no style, and you got no cares; all you do is fight and swear.
So say your prayers and make amends, cause your life story is about to end.
And yes, I'd love a copy of that as an MP3
Today, we finish off the Sleepaway Camp trilogy (as things currently stand, at least). Although the third film was filmed at the same time as the second one and features the same director, writer, and star, it's not filled with nearly as much plot (in fact, it come at 79 minutes, short even for a slasher flick). This one's all about the killing, folks.
Concept: Angela hears about yet another camp (Camp New Horizons) opening up. This one's aimed at bringing together spoiled rich kids, and troubled poor kids. Naturally, Angela kills one of the potential campers and takes her place. Once she realizes that all the other teenagers are typical slasher-movie bait, she figures she should start offing them again. And when the campers head out to the woods in three separate groups for some overnight activities, Angela has the perfect opportunity.
Body Count: 15
Really Bad Kills: None are terribly bad, but the death-by-beating of Jan is rather boring.
Really Good Kills: This movie's all about kill scenes, and although a lot of good scenes had to be trimmed (or changed completely*), there are still some great moments.
For sheer amusement value (and a change of pace), our first victim, Maria, is killed by garbage truck. In broad daylight. In a city. While heading to her bus stop, Maria is chased by Angela's garbage truck, and eventually runs down a dead-end alley. Angela runs into her, then takes Maria's body and tosses it into the back for good measure. Once the garbage truck has finished compacting the trash, there's just a red stain left behind.
The next victim is the sleazy local TV reporter. After filming a story on the camp, she asks Angela if she has any coke. Because, naturally, poor kids are all drug dealers. Angela runs to the camp's laundry, and offers up some cleaning powder as "cocaine." When the reporter stops by the side of the road for a hit, she gets a nasty surprise.
After the beating deaths of Uncle Herman and Jan, it's the firecracker-obsessed Peter who gets his next. While the campers are sleeping, Angela carefully places an M-16 in his nose (let's hear it for deep sleepers), and lights it. Ick.
Snowboy, woken by the firecracker, gets his next. Angela knocks him out while he's still screaming, tosses him in the big tent (with Jan and Herman's bodies), and sets the whole thing on fire just as he wakes up.
Once we get to the second camp, we start seeing some good old-fashioned slashing. Since Angela claims that she was sent over to the second campsite by Uncle Herman, naturally one of the other campers has to go back to the first campground. Angela shows A-Rab where it is, and when the teen girl peeks inside a tent, Angela kicks her all the way inside. While A-Rab is struggling to get out, Angela grabs an axe, and when a furious A-Rab pokes her head out, that axe goes a-swingin'. It's not an original death, but it's a well-done one, nonetheless.
And then we get to my favorite: Cindy. The Georgia Peach is everything that Angela (and every movie slasher, actually) hates. She's got the drinking, drugs, and sex trifecta down perfectly. She also smokes, is a cheerleader, and is racist. There's practically a big neon "Kill Me" sign floating above her. When they're forced to play trust games (with one camper being blindfolded with her hands behind her back, and the other guiding her around, Angela takes advantage of the opportunity and walks Cindy all the way back to New Horizons. She then attaches Cindy's tied-up hands to the flag pole and hoists her into the air. When she reached the top, Angela lets go, and Cindy crashes to the ground. Realistic? Hell, no. There are probably seven or eight physicist who would have a heart attack just watching the scene. But man, is it fun.
Next is camp owner (and recent widow, although she doesn't know Herman's dead yet) Lily. In one of the nastiest scenes I can recall, she gets suckered into the same trust game she's had the campers playing. Angela walks the lazy camp owner back to New Horizons, and leads her right into the garbage pit. She then buries Lily up to her neck, and brings out the lawnmower. You can guess the rest.
Bobby is next. Having revealed his very vague interest in bondage to Angela, she meets him for a midnight tryst, and has him stand with his back against a tree. She then ties his arms behind his back and around the tree, and ties the other end to the camp Jeep. Before he can say, "hey, we never agreed on a safeword," she's driving the Jeep, and his arms, away.
Rapper Riff is the last at the campsite to get it. Angela tosses a tape with her very own rap into the tent**. While he's listening, she's pulling up his tent stakes, and when the tent collapses and he tries to get out, she drives a stake through his hand. She then hammers another one through the tent and into his head.
The final pre-denouement death is of poor Barney, whose son Sean was beheaded in the previous installment. He's figured out that he's dealing with Angela, and taunts her, asking if she'll kill him with a knife, or an axe, or battery acid. He figures he's prepared for anything she's got, but he doesn't realize that she swiped Riff's gun (and he naturally never expected a slasher to use a firearm, either). It's not up there with the great gun scene in Raiders, but it's still fun.
Celebrities: Uncle Herman is played by Michael J. Pollard, one of the greats of character acting. Heroine Marcia, continuing the series trend of hiring sisters of famous people, is played by Tracy Griffith, Melanie's sister. That's pretty much it.
Denouement: After killing Barney and capturing Marcia, Angela ties the others together at gunpoint and forces them to play a game in which they have to find Marcia in one of the cabins before time runs out. Of course, they find all the other bodies first, but they do make it to Marcia in the nick of time. Just as they get to her, though, a trap goes off, and two axes fly down, nailing Greg and Anita in the guts. Angela, having felt some pity for the surviving young lovers Marcia and Tony, walks away.
Marcia, however, gets free of her bonds, and runs after Angela. They fight, and eventually Marcia gets the upper hand and stabs the killer in the gut multiple times. As Tony pulls her away, Angela bemoans her fate. "You try to be nice to somebody, and look what happens."
We cut to the ambulance taking Angela (still alive, if not doing well) away. As the paramedic and cop in the back bicker, Angela shows that she wasn't nearly as unconscious as she seemed, grabbing a hypodermic needly and stabbing the paramedic in the heart. She then puts the needle into the cop's eye. As the driver asks what's going on, Angela, fading back into unconsciousness, mutters, "just taking care of business."
Fade out.
Miscellany: As you might have noticed, all of the rich campers are named after kids from The Brady Bunch. All of the poor ones are named after West Side Story characters. Herman and Lily, of course, are named after Munsters.
In one early scene, Angela catches a hockey mask while fishing. We can safely assume it's the same one that appeared in the last movie.
Overall: For a movie that's all about the kill scenes, there's a lot of fun to be had here. Tony and Marcia actually do make a very cute couple, and if most of the other victims are caricatures, they're at least decently developed ones. That said, this is a movie that's very light on plot, and if that's a problem for you, definitely give this a skip.
Fans of gore might be disappointed by the vast amount of cuts that were made to the film, but the bonus features on the DVD do feature extended shots of a lot of the scenes. And the suggested kills are still pretty damned effective. Plus, we once again get f/x by Bill "Splat" Johnson, always a plus.
It's not up there with the first two movies, but fans of the second Sleepaway Camp movie, in particular, will probably get a kick out of this one, as well.
*Snowboy's original death scene was supposed to involve being spraypainted in the face until blind and nearly unconscious, then having his face set on fire. And Herman was supposed to take a flaming stick to the crotch.
**Angels are pretty. Angels can fly. And here is the angel that'll make you die!
You got no style, and you got no cares; all you do is fight and swear.
So say your prayers and make amends, cause your life story is about to end.
And yes, I'd love a copy of that as an MP3