BADass SINema Unearthed - Blu-ray 4K UHD Review

Finally, the long wait is over. Angela Baker is coming home … again.

There are very few writers who truly understand how comedy can support horror and vice versa in the filmmaking community. Fritz Gordon, the screenwriter of Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland, knows his stuff when it comes to merging the two genres into a cohesive whole. Together, he and director Michael A. Simpson took an effective horror film that was still not forgotten by the general public and built a franchise full of laughs and bloodcurdling screams. Shout! Factory's horror imprint Scream Factory – always the reliable supplier of chills, spills, and bloody thrills – celebrates all things related to summer camp, teen sex, and buckets of blood with their release of these two sequels.

After 1983’s Sleepaway Camp (which, if you are interested, was released in 2014 on blu-ray also by Scream Factory) complete with its head-twisting ending involving (cough) Angela’s (cough) “secret” (cough), disappeared into the ether of the slasher genre with its Freddy Krueger and its Jason Voorhees, its director and creator, Robert Hiltzik, sold the rights to producer Jerry Silva and went to law school. Don’t worry, he eventually gets the rights back but the move was a financially solid one, allowing Simpson and Gordon to build upon what he originally created.

Injecting more black humor into its campfire tale and a hell of a lot more blood, the “rogue” Sleepaway Camp sequels were both commissioned to shoot over a 6-week period at a YMCA youth camp in Waco, Georgia with the same crew. Starring Pamela Springsteen, the sequels quickly fill in the prolonged gap since audiences last saw Angela on the lake’s shore with an insane smile plastered on her face and her dick swinging free in the night air. That’s right, campers. Angela’s a boy. But you already knew that … especially if you are interested in reading about these two flicks.

In the time between the original movie and Sleepaway Camp II, she’s been snipped and equipped; she’s all woman. She’s also gone through therapy. But still, as a camp counselor, she hungers for the hunting of hormonally-charged teenagers who can’t abide by camp rules. This time her kills are precise and creative. Some are roasted on huge grills. Some are gutted by drills. And one, the most promiscuous of the ladies (played by the often topless Valerie Hartman), is shoved headfirst into the toilet of a leech-infested outhouse. It ain’t pretty what she does but it sure the hell is funny. And the one-liners that come zinging out of her mouth are exquisite. And that’s just the first sequel.

Things get much worse (in a good way) with its immediate follow-up. Critics are far too harsh in their diatribes against the third film. Having murdered everyone in one camp, Sleepaway Camp III opens with Angela on the run. She assumes the identity of a teenage girl – with the words “milk” and “shake” tattooed on her breasts – who is invited to yet another camp (after running her down in a Mack truck and placing her body in a trash compactor). The new camp is already in the news as its primary purpose is to unite rich and poor teenagers of America under one banner of equity. It is an experiment in sharing and camp councilors Herman (Michael J. Pollard), Lily (Sandra Dorsey) and Officer Barney Whitmore (Cliff Brand) will oversee the cruelty destined to occur as serial killer Angela quickly returns to her established patterns.

So neither one of the sequels compares to the tone in the original film but, in all honesty, that is not their purpose. Needing to bring something new to the slasher genre, both films inject some long overdue humor and sharp satire. Sleepaway Camp II is still a breath of fresh air. It is rich with solid laughs and some pretty gruesome practical effects. I know I should like its immediate sequel less than I do, but there’s something about the frankness of Sleepaway Camp III that I find disturbing and appealing all at once. It’s politically incorrect but wears that like some badge of honor as, one by one, a whole new round of hysterical murders are initiated; one with a lawnmower after a person has been planted in the ground.

Gross, right? Welcome back to camp, trooper. It’s hell on earth disguised as teenage anarchy. 

These films are special as they depict a time in fashion sense when men weren’t afraid to wear cut-off shirts and tight shorts with headbands and socks pulled to their knees. In all seriousness, though, these two films transcend the entire kids-get-hacked-to-death-at-summer-camp motif of the first and become something so bizarre and unique that they are worth revisiting on a yearly basis. The entire trilogy (because we certainly can’t count what happened after 1989) is unique in the brand of horror that it offers. A transgender killer. I mean, what other horror film offers that? The Crying Game should be ashamed of itself. Angela Baker was first and much, much better at what she does.

So I cordially invite you to return to Sleepaway Camp II & III, where the moments of sadistic satire are as sharp as the knives.

4K Ultra HD Deluxe Limited Edition

Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - August 12, 2025
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free

This 4K UHD release features a new 4K restorations of the 35mm interpositive, presented in Dolby Vision and the results are pretty damn impressive. 

VIDEO

This 4K restoration from Shout Factory is mined from the original camera negative and the results are glorious.  The greens in the woods are crisp and the rocks are sharp.  The details are scrumptious both in and surrounding the camping areas.  Black levels are strong throughout, too.  Colors are bolder and brighter than ever before and the gore is deeper in hues, too.  And the flesh on display is supple and pointy!

AUDIO

A Dolby Digital 5.1 track is presented here for your enjoyment. Screams and sighs are clear throughout.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• See Below for the scoop!

Special Features:

The bonus features on the discs include:

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers

• Audio Commentary With Director Michael A. Simpson And Writer Fritz Gordon
• NEW “Return To Sleepaway Camp II” – Looking At The Making Of The Film With Counselor Jeff Hayes, Author Of Sleepaway Camp: Making the Movie And Reigniting The Campfire
• NEW “I’m A Happy Camper” – An Interview With Actor Brian Patrick Clarke
• NEW “Camp Carnage: Inside The Make-Up Effects” – An Interview With Special Make-Up Effects Artist Bill Johnson
• A Tale of Two Sequels – Part One
• Abandoned – The Locations Of Sleepaway Camp II and III
• Behind-The-Scenes Footage
• Home Video Trailer
• Sleepaway Camp III Teaser
• Whatever Happened To Molly? Short Film
• Still Gallery

Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland

• Audio Commentary With Director Michael A. Simpson And Writer Fritz Gordon
• NEW “Return To Sleepaway Camp III” – Looking At The Making Of The Film With Counselor Jeff Hayes, Author Of Sleepaway Camp: Making the Movie And Reigniting The Campfire
• NEW “Weeding Out The Bad: Inside The Stunts” – An Interview With Stunt Coordinator Lonnie Smith Jr
• NEW “Angela’s Greatest Hits: Inside The Sleepaway Songs” – An Interview With Songwriter/Performer John Altyn
• A Tale Of Two Sequels – Part Two
• Behind-The-Scenes Footage
• Sleepaway Camp III Workprint (From VHS)
• Deleted Scenes
• Home Video Trailer
• Tony Lives! Short Film
• Still Gallery

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