Christopher Collet, Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiersten

After a horrible boating accident kills her family, Angela, a shy and sullen young girl, moves in with her eccentric aunt Martha, alongside her protective cousin Ricky. One summer, Martha sends the ki...( read more  read more... )ds to Camp Arawak. Soon after their arrival, a series of bizarre and increasingly violent accidents begins to claim the lives of various campers.

Flixster Users

63% liked it

12,930 ratings

Critics

67% liked it

9 critics

R, 1 hr. 28 min.

Directed by: Robert Hiltzik

Release Date: January 1, 1983

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DVD Release Date: August 8, 2000

Stats: 1,173 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,173)


  • August 12, 2009
    This is 80's American Cheese at it's greatest! The cast does a great job and the script is actually really good. If your a fan of cheesy slasher flicks this is one you should certainly check out...and absolutely DO NOT MISS THE ENDING!!!! One of the creepiest endings I've ever se...( read more)en in a movie which is sure to give anyone the chills. A truly wicked low budget horror flick.
  • February 11, 2009
    So ridiculous it becomes funny! This really could be a great contender for the worse acted film ever. The ending made absolutely no sense at all, how does that explain why the person is killing everyone?

    Despite all these things, you still feel the need to watch it through, ...( read more)if nothing else, more for the laughability factor.
  • September 28, 2008
    A pretty standard 1980s campground slasher, you've seen this all before in Friday the 13th and The Burning. But the ending? Holy sh*t.
  • August 26, 2008
    One thing before writing this review: I hate camp. I really do. I don't think John Waters is campy, I think he's a genius. I hate camp because I don't believe in "so bad it's good" movies. I believe there are either GOOD or BAD movies, and that's it.

    Another thing: I hate horror...( read more) flicks. I really do. You know why? Because they're not scary. Not at all. I don't get scared easily. In the last 19 years, I've only been scared of "Stir of echoes" with Kevin Bacon, "The Grudge" with Sarah Michelle Gellar, "[rec]" (one of, if not the scariest films ever created by mankind) and "Sleepaway camp" with Felissa Rose.

    Yes: I love this movie! Do you want to know why? Because it scared the fuckin crap out of me! It really did! I didn't want to see this movie because I thought it was pure crap (just as my dear friend Quinto Wallight, from Flixster, loves his movies: crappy and campy) but last night I had nothing else to do and I decided to see this movie, uploaded on YouTube. And even in a tiny screen on a website, while talking with some friends on the MSN Messenger, I was really scared.

    Everything in this movie is amazing. There are a couple of campy performances (specially from the grown-ups, like the weird, drag-queen aunt and the hunky camp dude with tiny shorts and hairy chest) but the lead roles, specially the beautiful (yes, beautiful!) Felissa Rose give amazing performances. The tiny, shy Felissa is hypnotizing from start to finish and while the quality of the film may not be the greatest (it is, after all, a slasher film from the 80s, c'mon!) she always finds the way to shine.

    But what's really awesome about "Sleepaway Camp" is not only its scary scenes, its undeveloped characters (excluding Felissa, of course) or its unintentional humor (c'mon! You gotta love how crack-whore-bitchy Karen Fields is!), it's more than that. There's some sort of special charm about it and the deaths really help: they are so original, so fresh, so wicked. And the best part is there's a reason for it! There's a theory surrounding the movie (specially nowadays that there's a super cult behind it) that tells us that MAYBE, and just MAYBE, the killer is not who we asume it is and who the ending tells us. But one thing's for sure: it's a kid. A child. And that's the reason why the murders are so crazy and psychotic: child's minds are so powerful, so brilliant, they can pull off some gimmicks like the ones we see on screen with such dexterity it's absolutely scary. Kids are mean, but not only mean: they're smart and mischievious. And that's why EVERYTHING you can possibly foresee or predict about "Sleepaway Camp" is, right until the very last credit rolls, complete bullshit. The movie stays with you and you keep on guessing and discovering new stuff with further viewings and research because you won't be able to keep your mind away from it.

    The ending. I know everyone comments about it but it's not only shocking because of its "apparently-obvious-but-not-too-obvious" resolution and final shock and twist, but because of everything behind it, everything we can't see, everything surrounding the fact that... well, you'll know when you see it. And that last, very last frame... scary, huh?

    Enjoy.
  • July 22, 2008
    So funny!! Seriously, it's one of those films you have to see with a group of friends, awwh the absurdity and stupidity of it all, it's freaking hilarious, love the ending
  • November 19, 2009
    Cheesy horror film. It's the only one I've seen in the series. I think there's some gender issues in this one.
  • November 12, 2009
    part of the 80s killer camp phase ... sleepaway camp is rather humdrum throughout ... until the unforgettable ending
  • October 29, 2009
    Just re-watched this as part of my Halloween marathon, and by God it grows on you with successive viewings!

    A completely silly film populated with the most annoying 80's horror film stereotypes, but worth a watch for that big reveal at the end.

    Rent that turkey.
  • October 26, 2009
    A pretty perfect movie. Great cast, amazing gore/makeup, perfect ending. Camp slasher movies are a favorite of mine...and this one is the best of them all
  • October 15, 2009
    It's very run-of-the-mill for a 80s slasher picture, but the ending is absolutely amazing.

Critic Reviews


July 21, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Still the finest Sleepaway Camp, if only because of its memorable final shot. full review

View more Sleepaway Camp reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • arctattoo420
    July 26, 2007
    Why isn't there a synopsis for this film? I would write one in if I could figure it out.
  • arctattoo420
    July 26, 2007
    I was in total shock when this movie came to an end! The deaths were also very creative. Wonderful use of bee's. But still the ending was CRAZY!!!

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Sleepaway Camp Trivia


  • What was the name of the summer camp in 1983's "Sleepaway Camp"?  Answer »
  • Who was the killer in the Sleepaway Camp movies?  Answer »
  • This horror movie contains... a quiet killer, who has a gender identity crisis?  Answer »
  • In the Sleepaway Camp films, what is the first name of the killer?  Answer »

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