Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers (1988) Review

It's about a bunch of teens getting slashed by Angela, their cheerful transsexual camp counselor, over summer break.

Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers was directed by Michael A. Simpson (who also directed Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland) and stars Pamela Springsteen, Renée Estevez (from Intruder) and Walter Gotell (from The Damned).

When you go camping just take the essentials.

Sleepaway Camp 2 picks up 5 years later when Angela, instead of being a shy quiet homicidal camper, is now a super cheerful and extroverted homicidal camp counselor. Why the abrupt change? Well, because they switched actors and clearly had no interest in following the style of the original. The original plot was tragic and involved a mounting psychological break. Sleepaway Camp 2 had no time for tragedy or mounting anything. It wanted to lampoon slasher flicks and found a charismatic new Angela who could do just that.

This Sleepaway camp went an entirely different direction from the first. Instead of being a serious horror built on mystery and suspense it went full on comedy, offering nothing but high body counts, bare boobs and bad one-liners. But, this actually isn't a bad thing at all. The entertainment value of Sleepaway Camp 2 is through the roof! I mean, there's a kill followed by corpse mutilation in the first 5 minutes. And there's bouncing boobs in the first 10. Then there's the cast of characters which are just so much fun. They add color to the movie despite a choppy script and sketchy acting.

The first Sleepaway Camp was all about Angela and Unhappy Campers is no different. It's just a very different Angela this time around. Not only is her personality completely different but she also plays the role of morality police, offing girls who behave "improper". And that's no spoiler. The other thing that makes this Sleepaway Camp sequel different is that you know Angela is the killer from the very first scene. She's the killer and she kills throughout the runtime. That's the entire movie. 

One thing this Sleepaway Camp has in common with the original are the creative kills. And there are a LOT of them in this sequel. Angela kills with scissors, drills, grills, knives, toilets, guitars and battery acid. It really is a sight to see.

There's also a lot of singing which is kinda weird for a horror movie.

There's the official Camp Rolling Hills song wholesomely performed by Angela:

"Ooooh, I'm a happy camper, I love the summer sun. I love the trees and forest, I'm always having fun! Ooooh, I'm a happy camper, I love the clear blue sky, and with the grace of God, I'll camp until I die!"

There's also another version performed by Brooke, a rebellious camper:

"Ooooh, I'm a happy camper, I love the clear blue sky, but only when I'm shitfaced, so everyone get high! Ooooh, I'm a happy camper, I love to drink and fuck, and if you pay me money, on my titties you can suck."
 

Worth Watching? 

I personally loved it and would watch it again. It's dated and cheesy for sure, but that's also part of the charm. It reminded me of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, which also went an entirely different direction from the original but also nailed it.

Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers Review (1988) Worth Watching? - ALL HORROR Tweet it