Not bad? There’s definitely an uncanny atmosphere of post-traumatic-stress that most average slasher movies of the time wouldn’t dare to include, and that alone is an asset to encourage any horror fanatic in checking Sleepaway Camp out. It obviously suffers from PLENTY of the genre’s hyperbolized 101 clichés that its exact inspiration (Friday the 13th) additionally is accustomed to. Yet, it is noticeably more memorable and ambitious than anything in the realm of movies such as the Jason Voorhees saga. The finale, moreover, is as bats*** crazy and bloodshed-jammed as many cult followers have built it up to be. Not only did the kill-counter just implode, contrasting much of the 80s typical watered-down offerings, but that twist… that twist and closing still image is seriously something otherworldly.
It’s certainly not a movie that I could’ve graded off the top of my head, I’ll tell you that; I genuinely had to let the film marinate for a fair length of time before coming to conclusions, but as of now…
Verdict: C+
“Sleepaway Camp” is now available to stream on Vudu, Tubi, Pluto TV, Roku TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Amazon Prime.
Burning the Celluloid 
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