Return to Sleepaway Camp (2008)

   

Produced, Written & Directed by: Robert Hiltzik

Starring:

Erin Broderick .... Karen
Michael Gibney .... Alan
Paul DeAngelo .... Ronnie
Vincent Pastore .... Frank
Kate Simses .... Petey
Brye Cooper .... Randy
Jackie Tohn .... Linda
Felissa Rose .... Sheriff Jerry / Angela Baker
Jenny Coyle .... Jess Lamner
Christopher Shand .... T.C.
Chris Violette .... Ken Bachman
Shahidah McIntosh .... Bella
Paul Iacono .... Pee Pee
Lauren Toub .... Joanie
Adam Wylie .... Weed

Special Appearances:

Isaac Hayes .... Charlie the Chef
Greg Raposo .... Gary

Release Date: Direct-to-DVD: November 4, 2008

*Images courtesy at: www.sleepawaycampmovies.com and www.iconsoffright.com

 

 

 

 

Rating:

 

It's a normal day at Camp Manabe, kids lighting their farts in their bed at night, food fights in the cafeteria and worst of all a group of bullies led by their counsellor named Randy (Brye Cooper) to pick on an autistic kid Alan (Michael Gibney) as he doesn't like the food there or most of the other kids but however has a crush on one of the popular girls Karen (Erin Broderick) but however he seems to make a fool out of himself all the time with the other around him and doesn't see eye to eye with the camp owner Frank (Vincent Pastore) who gives him an even rougher time.

Well one day a camp's cook Mickey (Lenny Venito) suddenly disappears after hucking eggs at Alan which made him lose his temper and throw a kitchen knife towards him just missing him.
Then suddenly one of the pot smoking kids Weed (Adam Wylie) pulls a marijuana smoking prank on Alan and later on is burned to a crisp as Frank's assiatant who happens to be Ronnie (Paul DeAngelo) thinks that Angela could be back to seek revenge on mean kids at this camp but Frank tries to force Ronnie into not talking about what happened at that nearby camp 20 years ago and to continue on with the camp events.
However, Ronnie almost loses his mind when he spots one of the counsellors named Petey (Kate Simses) trying to protect Alan from these bullies wondering if she could be Angela.

Angela's cousin Ricky (Jonathan Tiersten) happens to be working nearby and has more of an attitude since then, is requested to go to the camp as these people starts to drop like flies for having terrible attitudes to this poor kid and help Ronnie out by solving the murders.
Is Alan really killing these people like the others think? Or has Angela somehow escaped from the asylum and wrecking havoc once again?

 

When I first watched the flick I was a bit disappointed on how the budget and story turned out for this one but liked it for what it was and will give you an outlook on everything here in which there was alot of good shots in a cafeteria of rowdy kids which looked realistic on kids being kids.
There's a good shot on Randy grabbing Alan's neck in the cafeteria and pushing his face towards his plate and this kid freaking out.
We have a good shot on Charlie the chef approaching in the kitchen talking to Alan as it almost looked like a South Park type of feel.
A nice shot on a nasty chef Mickey by being mean towards Alan and hucking eggs at him along with and then Alan hucks a kitchen knife towards him hitting the side of the wall. Plus we have a perfect close up shot on Mickey with a freaked out expression next to the knife stabbed in the wall.
A good shot of the killer in black coming up from behind Mickey next to a deep fryer and lifting him up which looked impressive and then forcing him in the deep fryer face first as it looked truly intense along with a good shot on the killer dragging the corpse in a garbage bag and throwing it in the back of the garbage truck which was almost like in Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland but of course they took Hiltzik's ideas when he planned to make a sequel two over two decades ago.
A cheesy scene with Alan acting dorky waving towards Karen with her friends teasing her. This looked a little too silly to watch.
A good scene that involved Weed with Alan by giving him what looks like a joint as it's cow droppings and teasing him as this was perfectly gross.
A good shot on Weed lying in a chair outside late at night acting stoned out of his head which looked well done and then a good shot on the killer sticking a tube in his mouth and tying his arms by stuffing his mouth with gasoline which looked totally suspenseful along with a good shot on a joint stuck in his mouth litten up and a cheesy CGI effects shot on an explosion which looked enjoyable even if the special effects as said were cheesy which meant lacking.
There's terrific shots on a crowd watching and ambulances and firetrucks around the camp at night.
We have a cheesy moment with Ronnie talking about Angela as well as Frank having an attitude about it and explaining about what happened to an officer then being blunt with Ronnie not wanting to hear about it. This was enjoyable to watch making sure that this was a direct sequel to the first flick and well put into the story.
Interesting moment with Ricky returning by having a bad ass attitude and smoking a cigarette at his construction area while being questioned about his cousin Angela and having been told that there's an incident at a campground nearby. Plus some cheesy discussions about Angela too and correcting him that is cousin is a she.
We have a disturbing scene when Alan is at his hideout with the frogs and T.C. kicks one of them and Alan getting upset about it. Then there's a good shot on Alan holding a knife towards him with a cold look along with a good close up shot on him.
There are many great camera shots in the forest with the other campers dressed in combat training uniform all circling Alan and shooting at him.
A good close up shot on Alan in another scene looking at a dead frog on a log with as it looked truly sad disturbing.
Good moment with Alan panicking at a pier and Karen telling him to get off along with Randy and Joanie acting like a couple of bullies and encouraging the kids to pick on him which was done believeably well.
Fun moments when Ronnie gets intimidating towards towards Petey trying to make out that she's Angela with her getting nervous as it looked too obvious and cheesy during the same time.
We spot a good shot on T.C. reading a magazine and through a hole on the floor a sharp broomstick points towards him. Also there are good shots on both him and Spaz peeping through the hole each time discussing the broomstick as you know that something is going to happen. Suddenly you'll almost jump when T.C. once again looks one more time and the sharp broomstick stabs him in the eye which was blocked and shot terrifically along with a terrific shot on Spaz staring and screaming his lungs out.
Things look comedically done when Ricky approaches the camp telling people here he is and a surprised look when he spots Ronnie there which was an impressive brief discussion by the two of them.
A good shot on a bottom bed of a bunk with nails that slams on Bella.
A good scene between Linda and Randy out in the dark woods acting kinky towards one another along with a good shot on him being tied up next to a tree with some terrifying incidents and then freaking out trying to apologise thinking it's Alan along with a good shot on her screaming and running away to her jeep.
There's a good shot on Linda with a backshot on her driving her jeep and a shot on some barb wire in hung out on the middle of the dirt road.
Great horror shot on the bunk bed with nails as well as the dead body with Karen witnessing it and freaking out to the other campers.
We spot a nice shot on her with her neck tied to a rope to a basket ball hoop being hung.
Good shots with Ronnie, Jess Lamner and Ricky going in the woods with flashlights to look for Alan.
Bottom line: After 5 years of waiting for this film to come out I was super happy that it finally did and nearly lost all hope for it. It's made on a bit of a lower budget than the first one and looks like a made for cable TV production but again I enjoy those types of shows too. We have a bit more humoress dialogue and some corny one liners. Some are good and some are bad but overall a good mysterious storyline like in the first one. We have a shocking ending too but nowehere as effective like in the first one but still very entertaining which I can't wait for the next one Reunion to happen.
The film is definetely suitable for this years generation on slasher films and again a movie so bad it's good like the first one with a bigger cast of mean kids and counsellors as well as a nasty camp owner too with some humoress one liners on some of the case members whom were famous with their other work too.
Alot of the scene's were almost a remake and tribute to the first one with certain postures like a kid eating a candy bar on a bleacher like Angela was in the first one or when the put upon kid was pushed into a lake off a pier and a caring one trying to help him out like Ricky did with Angela.
Best of all, we have a scumbag cook who gets a similar incident happening to him for the first attempted murder scene.
This one was out to celebrate the 25th anniversary on the first one and had no relationship to the previous sequels directed by Michael A. Simpson which was a good thing but hey, Halloween: H20 was a direct sequel to part 2 and ignored the other sequels so why can't this one too? Yet waiting for so long for this film to come out I expected it to be alot better than what it was as I was disappointed at the same time due to a lack of writing and not so creative ideas either along with cheesy special effects. Plus more slapstick which isn't Hiltzik's style at all.
To top it all off you're supposed to feel sorry for Alan but he was an asshole so once again the reasons for the murders didn't make much sense after this kid was being picked on by other bullies as he was looking for trouble regardless. Lots of fans were disappointed as I could see why but I liked it for what it was.

Most of the acting is quite good for this film but we have some stale performances too. We have a decent performance by Erin Broderick (Karen) as the lead teen camp actress who shows her frightening actions and intensity quite well. she does well acting embarrassed after someone waves hyperly towards her. A perfect freaked out reaction on her after discovering in her cabin the murder with the top bunk bed with the nails on them as she screams well towards her bunkmates and then runs away as it looked fairly intense. She does well by trying to struggle after being hung by the killer.
Michael Gibney
(Alan) who plays someone autistic seems to pull off his part but by no means is he an award winning actor but still seems to do okay with the character he played. However, he could have some limitations for future acting gigs. A good menacing expression on his face when a cook is nasty to him.
A good reaction on him acting dorky waving towards his onscreen crush. Great reactions by him choking and coughing while smoking a fake joint. Performed well with his devastating expressions when he spots his dead frogs. He is good spazzing out after the onscreen owner verbally attacks him. Does well running out in the middle of the campground while there's a chant of kids name calling him blowjob and a good energetic moment on him looking in the air and screaming.
Paul DeAngelo
(Ronnie) is back as the body builder camp employer and like before his acting isn't very good and is a little too melodramatic in this one but I guess this explains why he got very little work in other shows.
He was rusty when he gets paranoid towards his fellow actress trying to make out that she's Angela.
Vincent Pastore
(Frank) seems to do a fine job as a nasty camp owner since he's had numerous experience in other acting jobs but sometimes acts just a little too macho and gets carried away.
Still, he comes across well as a bully owner. He looked a little witty after he realises that his parrot says Your Ass Stinks when he's supposed to look angry as it seemed a little kooky. Yet does well freaking out at one of the campers at the canteen about what his parrot said.
Kate Simses
(Petey) plays a nice camp counsellor but however isn't too convicning to be a character actress as she seems too plain.
Brye Cooper
(Randy) seems to really pull his weight well as a nasty camp counsellor for the boys as he comes across as a typical egotistical asshole tormenting the outsiders and encouraging the bullies to continue doing their nasty deeds as he reminds me of a male Meg from the first one. You just feel like killing him he's so arrogant. Good work Brye.
Jackie Tohn
(Linda) was another one who played a good bitch counsellor in the film and had the perfect looks for her role too.
Christopher Shand
(T.C.) wansn't too shabby as the head bully camper in the flick as he seems natural as a typical teenage prankster. Does well by jumping in a scene after what he spots.
S
hahidah McIntosh (Bella) was great as a bad ass camper showing a tough tomboy attitude since she reminds me of those tough girls at school. She can go far with her career.
Stage veteran actor Paul Iacono (Pee Pee) acts his part out as a dweeb who wets his bed a little too much as he didn't impress me at all and seemed too slapstick.
Adam Wylie
(Weed) gets killed off halfway through the film but played a great stoner in the film and spoke his words greatly acting like a typical pothead. Of course he's done tons of acting gigs since he was little and is still going on strong. A worthy character actor indeed.
We can't forget about Jonathan Tiersten (Ricky Thomas) as the temperamental one in the first one who appears briefly in the middle of the film's run and appears close to the end of the film so his part wasn't too bog but he still has the knack as an actor even if he chose to be a progressive rock singer instead of acting. He certainly knew his stuff as Ricky again having more of a bad ass attitude too. However his outfit looked like his normal look when he performs with his band.
We have another descent brief performance by supporting veteran actor Lenny Venito (Mickey) as a douchebag bad ass cook as he almost reminded me of Artie the cook in the first film and shows some humoress aggression to his part in a good way.
Last but not least, we have a good couple of cameo scene's by the late Isaac Hayes (Charlie the Chef) as he shows the same humor like he did in South Park which was a real treat watching his performance and it was sad that he died shortly before the film's release.

Michael Gibney's character moons some girls at a sportsfield.

A head is melted in a deep fryer.
A teen's body is fried and explodes.
A frog is sliced.
A girl is slaughtered by some nails on the top bottom of a bunk bed.
A person's eye is stabbed through his head by a pointy end of what was once a broomstick
A camp owners stomach is eaten open by rats.
A counsellor is bloody wrapped in barbwire.
A teen is skinned alive lying on the ground towards the end of the film.

The music wasn't too bad as we had some descent susepnseful piano playing like in the first movie along with some dark synthesizer playing along with some techno type music (Which I didn't care for) along with some odd accoustic guitar playing when it shows the cabin of the cafeteria first thing next day that suits a teenage horror flick which was all composed by Rodney Whittenberg.

We have an annoying songtrack during the beginning of the film performed by a band called Goat and Friends performing the title song. Frankie Vinci it was a shame the producers didn't pick you to perform your songs again or even Jonathan Tiersten with his band Ten Tiers.

[repeated line]
Alan: Your ass stinks!

Mickey: Stay the fuck out of my freezer, or I'll cut your tiny little balls off!

Charlie the Chef: It's that damn fool, Mickey. Boy's useless as tits on a bull!

Frank: I don't wanna hear anymore of this Angela crap!

Ricky: Ain't life a bitch?
Sheriff Jerry: So are you, Ricky.

Kids chanting outside their cabin: Blowjob, blowjob, blowjob....

Ronnie (Staring in fright) It's happening again!

Karen (Screaming intensely): I tried to warn you but you wouldn't believe me!!!!!

Randy: [as the killer lowers a tiny noose toward his crotch] What, are we hanging mice tonight?