I just saw the movie this afternoon, and I'm at a loss for words really. It's just an odd movie, and everything that I liked about it was cancelled out by something horrible.
The premise, first of all, was like "Carrie" and "Damien" go to Camp Crystal Lake. A supposed mute, social recluse attends a summer camp with her short tempered cousin.
The score was just horrible. It was upbeat, and then spooky, and then..just plain odd. Marco Beltrami, this composer is not.
The deaths, some of which were actually pretty damn cool,
Spoiler:were entertaining. But those of
i.e. the boiling vat, the wasp nest, and the hair iron
Spoiler:were just very predictible and typical.
the drowning and the sleeping bag slaughter
I'll excuse the cheese, i.e. muscle shirts, tube socks, and way too short shorts, since it was 1983.
The ending, I just started laughing because it was so out of nowhere and ridiculous. Alright, well first I exclaimed "What the ****..", then I was even more confused as the format jumped from fullscreen
Spoiler:to widescreen, with what seemed to be an hour long close up of a snarling "Angela".
to show the mannequin, complete with a male anatomy
It was a shocking ending, but had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the movie. I guess credit is still due, in that department.
Overall..I'd say 2/5, because of an outrageous ending, and some decent deaths.
Although its remarkably similar to friday the 13th, the death scenes are quite original and different for the time, not straightforward stabbings/axeings. But i think a hockey mask is introduced in the sequels.And where exactly did she stick that curling iron?
The end is fu~cking freaky, with the limited special effects actually making it more so,because the motionless face that is overlaid on the body and the grunting, very disturbing, the film is crap but the last scene will stay in your mind for a long time.
when initially released on the cbs/fox video label it was called nightmare vacation i aint seen the dvd release as ive been living in aus the past 2 years i own the original uk release back in the uk imdb may tell ya its british alias 🙂
just checked imdb it says aka NIGHTMARE VACATION
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086320/trivia
Weird movie. I had saw half of it when I was really young. I realized that NOW. I had heard of the surprise ending and was baffled. I rented it recently and realized that I haven't seen the whole thing and I'm telling you it's got to be one of the most bizarre endings I've ever seen. Also one of the funniest.
I really wasnt impressed with the movie b/c you could really tell the suprise ending right from the very begining by who pops their head out of the water, the only thing that got me was the look in her face at the end.........quite disturbing actually. I prefer the sequels tho' they have better stories less cheese and way more inventive death scenes i.e., the lawnmower in pt. 2 id give it a 6/10 for originallity
Ehh......Sleepaway Camp was decent, in its own little way. The ending was cool, but the only scene I really like was the overly long close-up scene of the fat kitchen worker screaming in utter agony after being splashed with a big goddamn pot of boiling hot water. It actually made me shudder and cringe the first time I saw it. I watched the sequel, and I want my 90 minutes back. I shant be seeing the other sequels.