Sleepaway Camp [Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray]
Director: Robert Hiltzik
Cast: Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiersten, Karen Fields
Release Date: Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray/ DVD Combo Pack Now Available
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Film Rating: 7.5/10
Disc Rating: 10/10
Plot Summary:
Slightly traumatized and painfully shy Angela Baker is sent away to summer camp with her cousin. Not long after Angela’s arrival, things start to go horribly wrong for anyone with sinister or less than honorable intentions.
‘Sleepaway Camp’ is definitely what one would have to consider a true cult classic in the slasher genre. It delivers a realistic look at camp, characters actually portrayed by actors relatively close to that age, some brutal, bloody and original kills, plus of course the extremely notable, unexpected and shocking ending that nobody could stop talking about and which is certainly a unique and original wrap-up for a slasher film and one that I’m pretty sure will forever live in infamy.
Robert Hiltzik wrote and directed ‘Sleepaway Camp’, though to my knowledge hasn’t done anything else other than the 2008 ‘Return to Sleepaway Camp’ since, one which I haven’t had the pleasure of thus far. The cast includes a number of the ever frequent over the top, cheesy performances us horror fans have surely come to be familiar with by this point. It does also include a number of pretty impressive performances as well though, namely from the two lead child actors: Jonathan Tiersten who does an impressive job in the role of Ricky, and Felissa Rose who is eerily perfect in her performance as the young and offbeat Angela.
Fans of ‘Sleepaway Camp’ will definitely want to pick up a copy of this Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray release to add to their collection. In addition to the arrival of the film on Blu-Ray (which is huge in itself), this release from Scream Factory is absolutely jam-packed with bonus content as well, including a 45 minute behind the scenes featurette, three audio commentaries and a whole lot more (you can read more information regarding the special features below) that is sure to have fans absolutely ecstatic.
VIDEO:
The Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray release of ‘Sleepaway Camp’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the film’s original 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio created from a new 2K scan of the original camera negative. The video presentation looks pretty great for a film of this age and budget and once again proves Shout/Scream Factory really cares about delivering a quality product to please the fans. The picture surely looks better than the film ever has before and while it’s clear and detailed, it still retains the grain, as well as the pops and other mild imperfections fans are sure to appreciate.
AUDIO:
The Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray release features a lossless 2.0 Mono DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. The soundtrack sounds pretty solid for the most part, with everything remaining pretty clear and discrete throughout, certainly eons better than it sounded last time the uncut version was released (which was on VHS I believe) to say the least. There are a couple moments where the music is a bit overpowering over the dialogue, but I’m pretty sure this is a result of the film and not the mastering done for the Blu-Ray release. Regardless, I’m pretty confident fans will be quite pleased with the lossless mono soundtrack on this one overall.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
As per usual with Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition releases, the ‘Sleepaway Camp’ Blu-Ray is absolutely loaded with bonus content. Included on the release are 3 separate audio commentaries, one newly recorded for this release, in addition to two others. Also included is an impressive and insightful behind the scenes featurette titled ‘At the Waterfront after the Social: The Legacy of Sleepaway Camp’ which clocks in at approximately 45 minutes and features a number of new interviews with members of the cast and crew. In addition to all of that we are also treated to ‘Judy’ A short film by Jeff Hayes, A scrapbook with a number of images from the set/film, a behind the scenes look at the scanning process done for the Blu-Ray and a whole lot more!
*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.