Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers

***Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers*** (released as ***Nightmare Vacation II*** in the United Kingdom) is a 1988 American slasher film written by Fritz Gordon and directed by Michael A. Simpson. It is the second installment in the *Sleepaway Camp* film series, and stars Pamela Springsteen as Angela, and Renée Estevez. The film takes place five years after the events of the original, and features serial killer Angela, working as a counselor, murdering misbehaving teenagers at another summer camp.

*Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers* has elements of black comedy and references various horror franchises, such as *Friday the 13th*, *A Nightmare on Elm Street*, and *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre*.

It was followed by a direct sequel, *Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland* (1989), one year later.

## Plot

Five years after the events of the first film, a girl named Phoebe, tells a group of boys at a campfire about the killings at Camp Arawak. Her head counselor, Angela, forces her to go back to the cabin. After the pair get into an argument, Angela hits Phoebe over the head with a log before cutting out her tongue. The next day, campers Molly, Ally, Mare, Demi, Lea and sisters Brooke and Jodi, question Angela on the whereabouts of Phoebe. She tells them she had to send her home. Later that day, Angela discovers Brooke and Jodi smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. She initially let them go only to find them fornicating with one of the boys the next day. Angela chases the boy off. Afterward, Brooke wakes up on a grill and discovers Jodi's charred remains. Angela then pours gasoline over Brooke and burns her to death as well. That night, the boys start a panty raid which Angela breaks up. During a jock strap raid against the boys Mare flashes her breasts. Angela decides to drive her home and murders her with an electric drill. The next night, campers Anthony and Judd try to scare Angela, dressed as Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. The plan backfires when Angela, dressed as Leatherface, slashes Anthony's throat and murders Judd with a chainsaw. The next day, Angela sets a trap for Ally and forces her down an outhouse, drowning her in feces, urine and leeches. That night, Demi reveals to Angela that she phoned the families of the girls "sent home" and discovered the girls aren't at home. Realizing she could be caught, Angela strangles Demi with a guitar string, before stabbing Lea to death when she finds Demi's body. The next day, head counselors Uncle John and T.C. fire Angela for "sending too many campers home". Molly and Sean go into the woods to cheer her up but the pair discover the bodies of the other campers, before Angela ties them up. After learning the whereabouts of Molly and Sean, T.C. goes after them but Angela throws battery acid in his face, killing him. Sean is decapitated after he realizes Angela is the murderer from the Camp Arawak incident five years ago. Later, Angela leaves the cabin and Molly frees herself. Upon returning, Molly knocks Angela out and escapes. After an extended chase through the woods, Molly falls onto a rock and is presumed dead. After killing the remaining campers, Angela hitchhikes but the driver quickly annoys her and she kills her. Molly regains consciousness and makes it out of the woods but the truck pulls up behind her. Molly is horrified to learn that Angela is the driver and she screams, ending the film.

## Cast

Further information on individual characters: List of *Sleepaway Camp* (film series) characters

Further information on cast members: List of *Sleepaway Camp* (film series) cast members

Pamela Springsteen as Angela Johnson/Angela Baker

Renée Estevez as Molly Nagle

Tony Higgins as Sean Whitmore (credited as Anthony Higgins)

Valerie Hartman as Ally

Brian Patrick Clarke as T.C.

Walter Gotell as Uncle John

Susan Marie Snyder as Mare

Terry Hobbs as Rob Darrinco

Kendall Bean as Demi

Julie Murphy as Lea

Carol Chambers as Brooke Shote

Amy Fields as Jodi Shote

Benji Wilhoite as Anthony

Walter Franks III as Judd

Justin Nowell as Charlie

Heather Binion as Phoebe

Jason Ehrlich as Emilio

Carol Martin Vines as Diane

Tricia Grant as Girl Sent Home

Jill Jane Clements as Woman in Truck

## Production

A YMCA youth camp in Waco, Georgia was used for the fictional Camp Rolling Hills. Filming began and wrapped in August 1987.

## Releases

Like *Sleepaway Camp*, *Sleepaway Camp II* was released theatrically on a limited basis. It was released in theaters on August 26, 1988 before being released on VHS in the United States by Nelson Entertainment two months later.

### Home media

The film has been released twice on DVD in the United States by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The first release was in 2002 with a single DVD edition, as well as in the *Sleepaway Camp Survival Kit*. Both these releases are currently out of print.

Anchor Bay Entertainment also released this movie on DVD in the United Kingdom on the 31 May 2004, whilst Futuristic Entertainment released it on VHS in the nineties under the alternate title "Nightmare Vacation 2"; also release on DVD via 23rd Century Home Entertainment.

Scream Factory, under license from MGM, released *Sleepaway Camp II* and its sequel, *Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland*, for the first time on Blu-ray disc on June 9, 2015.

## Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, *Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers* holds a 50% approval rating, based on 10 reviews with an average rating of 4.3 out of 10.

Tim Salmons of The Digital Bits said that "[Blu-ray release of the film] is half of one of the most enjoyable high-definition horror experiences of the year". Brandon Peters of Why So Blu? wrote "It's unfortunate that the original negative, master what have you has been lost, but I still think the film looks better than it ever has before".

According to William Harrison of *DVD Talk*, the film is "purposely not scary", adding that "it, instead, ramps up the self-aware humor and ridiculous death scenes".