Can't a Horror film ever just be SO good that it's above having sequels? No, it can't. The better a movie is, the more of a chance it has of gaining a following. And the more of a following it has, the more of a chance there is of at least one sequel being made. Call it greed, call it smart. It can be annoying. Not always, but we've all been annoyed once or twice after hearing of plans to follow up on a story that needs no follow up. Most of these are nothing more than obvious cash-grabs which offer nothing new, but some, you know the ones, just plain don't need to exist. From a fan's standpoint, I mean. Some sequels may even manage to ruin the original for some. Or so they say. That's not exactly where I'm going with this, though. I'm not saying I hated Sleepaway Camp II and III enough for it to affect my feelings on the original. I don't even hate them at all, really. There's actually nothing wrong with either movie, considering they're nothing more than late 80's Slashers. BUT do they really need to be Sleepaway Camp sequels? Does Pamela Springsteen really have any business playing older, more hypocritical Angela Baker? You know what? Don't answer that...
OK, then. Absolutely anything is fair game, even if the original director or none of the actors are available. Point taken. I guess all one can do is something different at this point. And that is absolutely what we get with 1988's Sleepaway Camp II. A Slasher sequel which comes off more like a light parody of all the Camp Slashers of the day. One could say it's more like an example of certain people not giving a shit about continuity or anything that made the original great. Certain people who were probably hoping all the Horror fans would just shut up and have fun with it. Ugh... Fine!
Let's just forget everything we would expect from Angela Baker, five years removed. The creators of this movie basically start from scratch, and not so much replace the character, but rather redefine it. That's where Pamela Springsteen comes in. Pamela is a new kind of Angela Baker. An Angela who has left the past behind. No longer will she let her penis make her feel inferior. No longer will she let past tragedies and a questionable upbringing drive her to murder. I mean, Angela still murders... ALOT, but it's mainly when someone annoys her. Plus, she does now seem fully aware that it's actually happening. If nothing else, that is a step in the right direction.
Due to there being practically no story, here, I feel no obligation to get too specific, but this film is about a super-positive yet irritable camp counselor, who is obsessed with providing the perfect summer for everyone. However, in her eyes, the perfect summer is impossible if everyone isn't being perfect. I'm not sure when Angela decided she had the right to hold everyone to the highest possible standards, but considering her past, Angela Baker has a lot of nerve, acting like that. Nevermind her present. Anyone who gets out of line, breaks the rules, or just gets on Angela's nerves, gets "sent home". Or atleast that's her story. Angela has been killing again, and unlike that last killing spree, she seems to be having a lot of fun with this one. Will Angela still be having fun once she realizes she's killed literally everyone, this time? 5/10
Why do these movies always come in 2s? Basket Case 2 and 3, Toxic Avenger 2 and 3. You know what I mean. And naturally, Sleepaway Camp II would also lead to an even more pointless companion piece. Good God, why, though? Because 1989. That's why! They even went the extra mile and gave Angela some blonde highlights because she just wasn't already different enough from Felissa Rose. While, in all fairness, a disguise isn't the worst idea in the world after that shit she pulled last year. In fact, if it's still an option for Angela to change back into her original form, now might be a good time. Instead, Angela murders some girl and steals her identity. Whatever works, I guess.
Maybe those mean girls from the original movie were right. Maybe Angela isn't that bright, after all. Or maybe the writers just weren't all that creative because Angela immediately does the one thing that a killer should never do: She heads back to the scene of the crimes. Without hesitation, Angela jumps on a bus and heads back to Camp Rolling Hills, now known as Camp New Horizons. At this new camp, we find there is some kind of program for teenagers going on. "An experiment in sharing", they call it. Pairing up dickish rich kids with pissed off, inner-city thugs, I guess, to ruin their weekend. All the kids are named after Brady Bunch siblings, and the people running the show are Herman and Lily. No, really! Herman and Lily! Herman is played by that one guy from Bonnie And Clyde who seems to look more and more like a child molester, the older he gets. Well, I just thought that needed to be pointed out. Unlike in part 2, though, Angela seems to have decided that everyone is going to get it before they can even do anything to piss her off. How very "Jason" of her.
Unfortunately for Angela, there's also a cop hanging around. A cop who had a son who was decapitated around here about a year ago. He knows who did it, and when he finds her, he's going to blow her head off. Of course, he's going to have to find her, first. Thank goodness for bleach, eh? Angela will worry about him, later. Right now, there are some very annoying teenagers who need to be brutally murdered in the most creative ways possible. Some of them casually use racist terms. Some, only when provoked, some are just in the way. What I find strange about this movie is that, while Angela does seem to be killing more for fun, this time, these teenagers actually seem far more deserving than those from last year. Pretty much everyone in this movie deserves to die... besides the obvious. 4/10So, what would be better titles for these movies? Sorry. Sleepaway Camp II and III aren't cutting it for me. There are only two, in my opinion: The one with the twist and the one with the fat piece of shit. I don't know. Any generic title would do. These movies aren't anything special, but they're entertaining enough to not need to ride the coat tails of a good movie. And they're certainly better than any other slashers that were coming out at the time. So, never let it be said that I never said anything positive about these bastard sequels. I will say this, though. I've never seen the point in bringing back the character of Angela without the original actress. Especially when replaced with someone who looks/is nothing like her, but if that's not an Elephant in the room to you, then, that's great. While I do like Pamela Springsteen and these movies (mildly), sorry. Not buying it. Never will.
#Review
I recently watched The Faculty for the countless time. I've always been a fan of that movie. Back in 1998, I was 11, not a fan of most horror, and I didn't know shit about sci-fi outside of The X-Files. Something about The Faculty appealed to me however. Was it the cast and characters? The late '90s music? The school setting I could sort of relate to? The body snatcher scenario? These days, the last one's definitely a big part of the appeal. It adds something interesting to the movie. The main characters, high schoolers already struggling to get along due to their social differences, don't know who's an alien or who to trust.
I like the first three adaptations a lot and The Invasion is okay. They almost feel like they could be sequels that take place at the same time due to the different locations. 1956 is in the small town of Santa Mira, 1978 is in San Francisco, 1993 is at a military base in Alabama, and 2007 is in Washington, DC. Plus the lead actor from the 1956 version appears in the 1978 version playing basically the same character. There are differences that make it improbable that they're actually meant to be connected outside of their source material, but that hasn't stopped me from watching the first three together a few times before.
These are all the body snatcher movies that come to mind right now. I think it's a fun concept that hasn't been done to death, yet. While all the movies I mentioned involve aliens doing the body snatching, I suppose it could be another invading force. Maybe some mutated plant or insect already on Earth.