Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (released as Nightmare Vacation II in the United Kingdom) is a 1988 American black comedy / horror slasher film written by Fritz Gordon and directed by Michael A. Simpson. It is the second installment in the Sleepaway Camp franchise, and stars Pamela Springsteen as Angela, and Renée Estevez. The film takes place five years after the events of the original, and features serial killer Angela, working as a counselor, murdering misbehaving teenagers at another summer camp.

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael A. Simpson
Produced byJerry Silva
Michael A. Simpson
Written byFritz Gordon
Robert Hiltzik (characters)
StarringPamela Springsteen
Renée Estevez
Music byJames Oliverio
CinematographyBill Mills
Edited byJohn David Allen
Production
company
Double Helix Films
Distributed byDouble Helix Films
Release date
  • August 26, 1988 (1988-08-26)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$465,000

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers has elements of black comedy and references various horror franchises, such as Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

It was followed by a direct sequel, Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989), one year later.

Plot

Five years after the events of the first film, a girl, Phoebe, tells a group of boys at a campfire about the killings at Camp Arawak. Her head counselor, Angela, forces her to go back to the cabin. After the pair get into an argument, Angela hits Phoebe over the head with a log before cutting out her tongue. The next day, campers Molly, Ally, Mare, Demi, Lea, and twins Brooke and Jodi, question Angela on the whereabouts of Phoebe. She tells them she had to send her home.

Later that day, Angela discovers Brooke and Jodi smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. Afterwards, Brooke wakes up on a grill and discovers Jodi's charred remains. Angela then pours gasoline over Brooke and burns her to death as well. That night, the boys start a panty raid where Mare flashes her breasts. Angela decides to drive her home and murders her with an electric drill.

The next night, campers Anthony and Judd try to scare Angela, dressed as Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. The plan backfires when Angela, dressed as Leatherface, slashes Anthony's throat and murders Judd with a chainsaw. The next day, Angela sets a trap for Ally and forces her down an outhouse, drowning her in feces, urine, and leeches.

That night, Demi reveals to Angela that she phoned the families of the girls "sent home" and discovered the girls aren't at home. Realizing she could be caught, Angela strangles Demi with a guitar string, before stabbing Lea to death when she finds Demi's body.

The next day, head counselors Uncle John and T.C. fire Angela for "sending too many campers home". Molly and Sean go into the woods to cheer her up but the pair discover the bodies of the other campers, before Angela ties them up. Learning the whereabouts of Molly and Sean, T.C. goes after them but Angela throws battery acid in his face, killing him. Sean is decapitated after he realizes Angela is the murderer from the Camp Arawak incident several years ago.

Later, Angela leaves the cabin and Molly frees herself. Upon returning, Molly knocks Angela out and escapes. After an extended chase through the woods, Molly falls onto a rock and is presumed dead.

After killing the remaining campers, Angela hitchhikes but the driver quickly annoys her and she kills her. Molly regains consciousness and makes it out of the woods but the truck pulls up behind her. Molly is horrified to learn that Angela is the driver and she screams.

Cast
  • Pamela Springsteen as Angela Johnson/Angela Baker. She is the killer in the film. Her targets are promiscuous teens, who socialize in sex, drugs, and bullying.
  • Renée Estevez as Molly Nagle. She is the "final girl" of the film. She survives and comes close to stopping Angela.
  • Tony Higgins as Sean Whitmore (credited as Anthony Higgins). He is Molly's boyfriend. He gets decapitated.
  • Valerie Hartman as Ally Burgess. She is Molly's friend and a cheerleader, who has a crush on Sean. She is drowned in an outhouse by Angela.
  • Brian Patrick Clarke as T.C. The head counselor of the camp. His face melts when Angela throws battery acid on it.
  • Walter Gotell as Uncle John. He dies off-screen.
  • Susan Marie Snyder as Mare. She is killed with an electric drill.
  • Terry Hobbs as Rob Darrinco. He is killed off-screen.
  • Kendall Bean as Demi. She is strangled with a guitar string.
  • Julie Murphy as Lea. She is stabbed with a knife by Angela.
  • Carol Chambers as Brooke Shote. She is burned alive on a grill, along with her sister, Jodi.
  • Amy Fields as Jodi Shote. She is burned alive on a grill, along with her sister, Brooke.
  • Benji Wilhoite as Anthony. He gets fatally injured by a bladed glove.
  • Walter Franks III as Judd. He is killed with a chainsaw.
  • Justin Nowell as Charlie. He is killed off-screen.
  • Heather Binion as Phoebe. She gets her head bashed in and her tongue cut out.
  • Jason Ehrlich as Emilio. He is killed off-screen.
  • Carol Martin Vines as Diane. She is stabbed with a knife by Angela.
  • Tricia Grant as Girl Sent Home.
  • Jill Jane Clements as Woman in Truck. She is stabbed to death.

Production

A YMCA youth camp in Waco, Georgia was used for the fictional Camp Rolling Hills.[1] Filming began and wrapped in August of 1987.

Releases

Like Sleepaway Camp, Sleepaway Camp II was released theatrically on a limited basis. It was released in theaters on August 26, 1988 before being released on VHS in the United States by Nelson Entertainment two months later.[2]

The film has been released twice on DVD in the United States by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The first release was in 2002 with a single DVD edition,[3] as well as in the Sleepaway Camp Survival Kit.[4] Both these releases are currently out of print.

Anchor Bay Entertainment also released this movie on DVD in the United Kingdom on the 31 May 2004,[5] whilst Futuristic Entertainment released it on VHS in the nineties under the alternate title "Nightmare Vacation 2";[6] also release on DVD via 23rd Century Home Entertainment.

Scream Factory, under license from MGM, released Sleepaway Camp II and its sequel, Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland, for the first time on Blu-ray disc on June 9, 2015.[7]

Critical reception

Based on 11 reviews, Unhappy Campers holds a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 4.5 out of 10.[8]

References
  1. "A Tale of Two Sequels" Documentary. Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers, Blu-ray. Scream Factory. 2015.
  2. "Company Credits for Sleepaway Camp II". imdb.com. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  3. "Sleepaway Camp II (DVD)". dvdempire.com. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  4. "Sleepaway Camp Survival Kit (DVD)". dvdempire.com. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  5. "Sleepaway Camp 2 (UK DVD)".
  6. "Nightmare Vacation 2".
  7. Scream Factory Unveils Sleepaway Camp 2 and Sleepaway Camp 3 Artwork
  8. "Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
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