Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers Blu-ray Movie Review

"Let this be a lesson to you... say no to drugs!"

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown January 3, 2025

Sandpiper Pictures is releasing 'Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers' (originally 'Nightmare Vacation II' in the UK), following the film's 2015 Shout Factory Collector's Edition, which is no longer available. The first sequel in the cult slasher franchise was directed by Michael A. Simpson and stars Pamela Springsteen as Angela Johnson (taking the reigns from the first movie's Felissa Rose), Renée Estevez, Tony Higgins, Valerie Hartman, Brian Patrick Clarke, Walter Gotell, Susan Marie Snyder, Terry Hobbs, Kendall Bean, Julie Murphy, Carol Chambers and Amy Fields. 'Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland' was also released on the same day.

"It ended up that the killer was the shy 14 year old girl that everybody picked on. Only this girl, she wasn't a girl. She was really a he. His aunt had been dressing him up like a girl ever since he was four years old. They found him naked on the beach holding the chopped off head of another camper. About 30 people were killed and the camp had to be closed down."

It's summer, and a new slew of hormonal teenagers is once again making do in the woods, telling campfire stories about the carnage that occurred in Sleepaway Camp. All but one of the campers at the gathering are male (pay attention to the names—both of the Sleepaway Camp sequels have quite a bit of fun with names that reference either real life people or iconic characters), and the lone female, Phoebe (Heather Binion), is soon accosted by her counselor who wants to get Phoebe back with the girls where she belongs. The counselor of course turns out to be Angela, evidently no worse for wear after having taken out most of the supporting cast of the first film. It doesn't take long for Angela to return to her "roots" (a probably horrible pun, considering her first weapon is a piece of a tree).

Click here to read the rest of Jeffrey Kauffman's review of the film, which he calls "fun" when it comes to "the nonchalant way Angela marauds her way through a series of boorish victims." Adding, "on that level, this is one camp worth visiting."

If you've just come to the Sleepaway Camp series following the shock ending of the original 1983 cult classic, welcome! The series is an utter guilty pleasure, from its first film all the way through its final direct-to-video sequels. There are five entries in all: Sleepaway Camp, Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988), Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989), Return to Sleepaway Camp (2008, despite being the franchise's second film chronologically) and finally Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor (2012). The fourth and fifth films have yet to come to Blu-ray, but quite frankly, you aren't missing much.

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sandpiper's release of Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers either features a slightly improved 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer or one I subjectively found more satisfying than my colleague did when reviewing the presentation's 2015 Shout Factory Collector's Edition. Colors are warm, sunny and relatively natural, primaries are vibrant (particularly reds, despite the sequel's surprisingly less-than-liberal blood-letting), black levels are nice and deep, and contrast is dialed in well, without too much in the way of crush or diminished shadow delineation. Detail is where things get a bit wonky. Some shots are razor sharp while others are soft to the point of being a distraction. Thankfully, the latter is the exception rather than the rule. At its best, edges are clean and precisely defined, textures are revealing and image depth is given a boost. There is, however, some compression artifacting to contend with, as well as some irregularities in the grain field. Not enough to spoil the proceedings, but enough to wish for a fuller remaster or roomier encode. All told, you could certainly do worse in high definition -- many a horror sequel has -- and fans will be (mostly) pleased, even if the bargain bin film doesn't come with a bargain bin price.

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers offers a modest DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that doesn't have a lot to work with. The film's sound design is merely fine; an overly practical mix forged on a dime in a low-budget horror sequel that doesn't invest a lot of value in realism. Cartoonish effects and cheesiness is par for the course, and the lossless track follows suit. Dialogue is clear and intelligible, with only a slight amount of air hiss, and music is decently supported. It doesn't sound quite as good as the track accompanying Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland but it's hard to muster much of a complaint.

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While the 2015 Shout Factory Collector's Edition release of Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers featured a rather large complement of extras, the Sandpiper Pictures release only offers an audio commentary with director Michael A. Simpson and writer Fritz Gordon, alongside the film's theatrical trailer. Missing is Part 1 of an hour-long production documentary, a locations featurette, behind the scenes footage and more.

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"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!"

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers will leave modern horror audiences, well, unhappy. Those who love a bit of cheese with their slasher, though, particularly '80s cheese, will have some good fun with the corny kills and bloody nonsense the sequel serves up. The Sandpiper Blu-ray is a mixed bag too, with (mostly) satisfying video, decent audio and little more than a filmmakers' audio commentary.