Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers and
Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland, starring Pamela Springsteen as Angela Baker.
This was made at a time where dark humor was beginning to become a trope in late 80's horror films (ask "Chop-Top" Sawyer or Freddy Krueger from
Nightmare on Elm Street 3 on) and writer Fritz Gordon (aka Michael Hitchcock) and director/producer Michael A. Simpson decided to inject the dark humor in the first of the two sequels
, Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers. Recently watching a documentary on the making of the original film, creator Robert Hiltzik revealed that he only licensed the name for the sequels as he pitched some ideas to Double Helix Films, but they opted to go a different direction.
Back to
Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers, we learn that after the events of the original film, Angela Baker had checked in to a mental institution and during her time there, she underwent an operation where she is now fully female. Felissa Rose said in the documentary that she did audition to reprise the role and didn't find the humor in the role so she was happy to not return with Springsteen taking over. The kill scenes here are quite fun, taking elements of
Blood Feast,
A Nightmare on Elm Street, and even a dose of
Texas Chainsaw Massacre in a homage scene where two male campers decide to prank Angela by disguising themselves as two iconic slashers only to get the tables turned when Angela, disguised as a third iconic slasher, puts both of them out of their misery. With the dark humor injected, Springsteen does IMO give it her all and even proves she doesn't need the name recognition (which apparently the cast didn't even know who her famous brother was until years later). She isn't the only one with a famous last name and family as the innocent camper Molly, who Angela bonds with, is played by Renee Estevez (who is the sister of Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez).
So this sequel I enjoyed....on the other hand...
Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland is a (pun totally intended) waste of a third installment. The film was shot back-to-back with
Unhappy Campers, but it felt like it was more rushed and bland compared to either the original film and this second part. I can't blame Springsteen for her performance here. The issue lies in the rushed script and production. It does revolve a good idea in that the camp in the second film has been replaced with another camp. That's the good piece of things, as well as a connection to the second film as one of the counselors in a rehab program is the cop father of a victim of the 2nd film. However, the kill scenes are more average (with the exception of one IMO) and there aren't really any characters that seem to be completely sympathetic, even Tracy Griffith's Marcia's crush on a bad boy just seems "meh".