Review of Sleepaway Camp (1983) by Cory T — 09 Oct 2011

My first and hopefully only disappointment of the month, 'Sleepaway Camp' is a tawdry, sleazy slasher film without any distinguishing qualities until a mesmerizing shock-to-the-system ending that redefines everything that came before.

The performances are so abysmal and amateurish that, for the majority of the film, Felissa Rose appears almost comatose and her aunt is so mannered, obnoxiously loud and theatrical that she acts as though she mistook the part for a Stanley Kubrick satire.

The slice-and-dice murders are interminable and prosaic set pieces that range from boiling pots of water to shower stabbings (although a curling iron scene is hinted to be a gruesome phallic rape implement).

The saving grace of this dross is the unforgettably hair-raising final shot and that feral, animalistic growl from the killer. If nothing else, the agape mouth of the killer will be imprinted in your mind while the rest of this hoary flop will wash away.