Return to Sleepaway Camp

R

Return to Sleepaway Camp (2008)
Written by  Robert Hiltzik
Directed by Robert Hiltzik
Starring Big Pussy from the Sopranos (seriously), The most interesting counselor from the first movie, Michael Gibney, Isaac Hayes, who it appears died during production, spoiler



Synopsis 
20 years (or something) after the events of the first movie, the camp is back in operation with a similar name.  See Leila's synopsis of the first movie, because the same shit happens except that this one doesn't have the two awesome setup scenes from the first one. 

Woman
this just shows how awesome the first one is, and how difficult it is to recreate genius. the production value of this was like a disney channel sitcom. very strange. also, the gore effects of the one from twenty years ago were soooo much better. they tried too hard. it was obvious whoever made it [who was the same guy as the person who made the first one... and the second one... and the third one. - MOster] was obsessed with the first one, but instead of paying homage to the god of sleepaway camp, they just ended up pissing on the altar of gold that is sleepaway camp version 1.

the shorts were not short enough, the acting was bad, but not 'hey look guys i found this camera on the side of the road, let's make a movie with it', and the kid that everyone picked on was not sympathetic in any way. i was kind of hoping he would die too. poor and unfortunate.

MOster
Leila can complain about me critiquing this movie if she wants.  I don't care.  However, I won't spend nearly as much time as I did on the first one because this just isn't worth it.

I'm not sure what the intent was for this movie, and neither am I sure that they had an intent.  If the idea was to recreate the creepiness and atmosphere of the first one they failed miserably.  If the idea was to trade on the camp and make a farce of the first one one might say they succeeded but they did so in a totally unappealing manner.  I also sincerely hope that they failed to make any kind of money.

The kid in the first movie had an appealing backstory and was generally creepy; and while I don't want to say that the kid in this movie deserved the shit he took from the over-the-top "cool kids" he was a completely spoiled asshole who did deserve some of what happened to him.  None of these characters would even make it into a modern "parody movie" (e.g. Not Another Teen Movie).  If anything here betrayed any element of actual skill or craft it would be the production, but the glaring mistake in one character's makeup eliminates that chance completely.

We really did have fun watching the first one, and the first one actually made sense.  This is apparently the fourth in the series and it has not made us Sleepaway Camp completists.