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SLEEPAWAY CAMP (Anchor Bay Entertainment DVD) aka Nightmare Vacation Rating: Tag-line: '...you won't be going home!' Death Toll: People have different ideas on this. We think 12 - including five young kids in sleeping bags. Cutting Remarks: This 1983 flick strangely opts for the whodunnit format, even when it's pretty obvious who's behind the murders. It is, nevertheless, an archetypal camp-killer, with some sexual ambivalence and edginess stirred in for good measure. Our disturbed 'heroine' Angela's family history is left rather hazy - unless we're very slow - but she witnessed her father's death in a speedboat accident, eight years before arriving at Camp Arawak (that's got to be an anagram, but we're damned if we can work it out) with her cousin Richard. She also has a mad Aunt Martha, who seems to think she's in a John Waters movie. Anyone who crosses the virtually mute Angela gets bumped off, which kinda points the finger of guilt in her direction. There are some good deaths here - especially in this apparently uncut version, which lets you see the paedophilic head chef's face bubble and boil for much longer than in the UK, where the film was known as Nightmare Vacation upon its mid-'80s release. Death by bees is also surely a first (and last) in slasher lore.          The final moments strive for shock value, and are indeed very effective. Strangely, that face was edited out in the UK version. Too scary? Most Memorable Demise: An arrow through the neck. How'd they do that? Look Out For: An overly long, and pointless, baseball scene. In this DVD's audio commentary, Director Robert Hiltzik even laughs himself: "Come on, when's someone gonna die, already?". Interestingly, he also voices some regret over the (off-screen) scene in which the sleeping bag kiddies get the axe. Killer Quote: "Look at all that young, fresh chicken" - the Head Chef may as well have 'child molester' tattooed on his forehead. Release Date: Out now - as an individual DVD, or as part of the three/four-disc box set Sleepaway Camp Survival Kit. DVD Details: A very nice widescreen presentation, enhanced for 16x9 TVs. It's never looked better. Aside from the aforementioned audio commentary (also featuring actress Felissa Rose who played Angela, and moderator Jeff Hayes), you also get the theatrical trailer. Not too bad. [Check it out at Amazon US on its own, or as part of the excellent Sleepaway Camp Survival Kit.] [Check it out at Amazon UK as part of the Sleepaway Camp Survival Kit.] [Reviews Menu] [Home] © Copyright Slasherama 2002-present