404) Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988) and 405) Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989)

404) Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988) Dir: Michael A. Simpson Date Released (DTV): October 1988 Date Seen: November 19, 2009 Rating: 1.5/5

405) Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989) Dir: Michael A. Simpson Date Released (DTV): July 1989 Date Seen: November 19, 2009 Rating: 1/5

Michael A. Simpson's two Direct-to-Video sequels to Robert Hiltzik's memorable and surprisingly thoughtful slasher parody Sleepaway Camp are both as rancid as they come. Lil Pamela Springsteen, Bruce's sister, stars as a surgically enhanced Angela (incidentally, this was right around the time when Pamela's career hit a brick wall hard; wonder why). She pouts, she reminisces about happy times at camp that never really happened and she kills everybody who doesn't behave well. No matter how funny some of the death scenes in the film may be (I'm partial to the outhouse death, myself), both Sleepaway Camp II and III are complete failures, terrible straight-up slashers made on the cheap with no skill and very little sense of humor. The fact that the black kid with the ghetto-blaster and the switchblade in III is the most relatable character in both films says a lot about Simpson's lack of any commendable artistic merits. To quote said kid: "What?"