Review of Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988) by Zack B — 22 Nov 2010

Sleepaway Camp II picks up the story five years after the original, where transvestite Angela from the previous film has undergone therapy and corrective surgery, and now (somehow) works as a camp counselor at Camp Rolling Hills.

Unlike the original, we know right from the beginning that Angela is the killer, offing teens who don't respect her authority or who indulge in sex, drugs or alcohol. The fact that the killer's identity is no secret allows for a bit of dark comedy to come through during the kill scenes, as the otherwise happy-go-lucky Angela is shown getting splattered with blood and spurting out weak one-liners as she casually commits murder after murder.

The body count is surprisingly massive, with a wide variety of grisly kills via numerous weapons and tools, including a chain-saw, a power drill, battery acid, an outhouse (truly shocking), and many more.

However, the film itself lacks the serious tone and shocking conlusion of its predecessor, and ends up feeling completely redundant and unnecessary instead of groundbreaking or haunting. Also, the final shot here is awwwwwful, as compared to the amazing final shot of the original.