SLEEPAWAY CAMP II is one of those no-budget made-on-the-quick slasher movies that exist solely to cash in on the '80s boom in serial killer flicks. It's also one of the films at the lower end of the scale, offering a dearth of originality in a genre that was already starved of invention by the early '80s; somehow the slasher flicks made in the latter half of the decade just seemed to be even cheesier and less scary than before. SLEEPAWAY CAMP II plods through a routine script in which a bunch of horny teenagers at a camp are bumped off one by one by a crazed murderer using increasingly bizarre methods. It's not a particularly well made film, with production values equal to the worst of the Friday the 13th sequels and the dull, repetitive nature of the film will have many viewers snoozing off.
Pamela Springsteen, sister of Bruce, plays the killer, taking over from the actress in the original production. Springsteen is pretty annoying, making lots of unfunny wisecracks as she bumps off her victims, and she only really impresses in the last twenty minutes or so when we find out just how crazy she really is. The rest of the cast is populated by bimbos happy to whip off their tops in their 15 minutes of fame, so expect a ton of gratuitous nudity throughout the film. The only characters I really liked were Brian Patrick Clarke's hilarious mulleted jock and Uncle John, who is played by a down on his luck Walter Gotell, better known for his turns in classier fare like THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL and the Roger Moore/James Bond flicks. Renee Estevez, daughter of Martin Sheen, plays the virginal heroine but her character is utterly boring.
As is the case with most of these cheesy slasher flicks, the only real fun to be had is derived from the ludicrous death scenes. Here, there's some imagination in the killings, which include death by battery acid, guitar string, chainsaw, and decapitation, but all the murders are so poorly staged that there's no fun to be had from the rubbery gore effects that we briefly see. Otherwise, the film strives for the gross-out effect in a couple of moments, like the girl confronted with her sister's fried skeleton or the poor victim shoved into the toilet. The only other moment of interest is some early self-referencing – years before SCREAM – in which a couple of characters dress up as Freddy and Jason.
Pamela Springsteen, sister of Bruce, plays the killer, taking over from the actress in the original production. Springsteen is pretty annoying, making lots of unfunny wisecracks as she bumps off her victims, and she only really impresses in the last twenty minutes or so when we find out just how crazy she really is. The rest of the cast is populated by bimbos happy to whip off their tops in their 15 minutes of fame, so expect a ton of gratuitous nudity throughout the film. The only characters I really liked were Brian Patrick Clarke's hilarious mulleted jock and Uncle John, who is played by a down on his luck Walter Gotell, better known for his turns in classier fare like THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL and the Roger Moore/James Bond flicks. Renee Estevez, daughter of Martin Sheen, plays the virginal heroine but her character is utterly boring.
As is the case with most of these cheesy slasher flicks, the only real fun to be had is derived from the ludicrous death scenes. Here, there's some imagination in the killings, which include death by battery acid, guitar string, chainsaw, and decapitation, but all the murders are so poorly staged that there's no fun to be had from the rubbery gore effects that we briefly see. Otherwise, the film strives for the gross-out effect in a couple of moments, like the girl confronted with her sister's fried skeleton or the poor victim shoved into the toilet. The only other moment of interest is some early self-referencing – years before SCREAM – in which a couple of characters dress up as Freddy and Jason.