It took me a while to appreciate Sleepaway Camp for the entertaining low-budget slasher flick it is. I remember being drawn in by the poster art as a kid and not really getting much out of it until that Hell of a twist ending (which, by now, is probably one of the most talked about and memorable ones in horror history) showed up. Five years after its 1983 release the task fell to director Michael A. Simpson to helm two sequels that were to be shot back-to-back which was probably a daunting task considering, really, where do you go from that shock ending?

Thankfully, in the hands of scripter Fritz Gordon, Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers is played totally for kicks. Tongue-in-cheek from the get go and staying that way until mild attempts to make it a more serious horror flick in the finale, they've taken the basics of the original and run with them injecting this follow-up with lots of knowing winks towards summer camp movies, a quick pace that averages a death what feels like every five minutes, and even taking time to poke fun at the Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Texas Chain Saw Massacre franchises.

Right from the opening we know this isn't to be taken seriously as the counselors and campers at Camp Rolling Hills are telling each other scary stories around a campfire. Used as a way to quickly recap the events of the original, and take our villain into urban myth territory, there's no mystery here as to who's going to be knocking off the campers as Angela (Pamela Springsteen, the sister of singer Bruce) has taken up a job at the camp and does a little bit of pre-credits killing.

From there we're treated to a brisk 80 minutes of slasher goodness that plays on summer camp clichés for chuckles, gives our cast the bare minimum of character development before killing them off, throws the meek Molly (Renee Estevez) into a heroine role just because it's needed, and has Springsteen giving a charismatic performance as our goody goody murderer. Like I said, the body count here is high with little time in between but at least Simpson and company have seen fit to thrown in the required nudity (most of it courtesy of Valerie Hartman as Ally, who more than aptly fills the T&A quota and also gets the best/grossest exit), a panty raid moment, and even the much loved "Happy Camper" song. There's even a thinly veiled joke about co-star Estevez's famous siblings by naming the two peeping tom kids Charlie and Emilio.

Taking over for Felissa Rose as Angela, Springsteen is a lot of fun. She completely nails Angela's innocent disgust of her fellow campers and gets to have a few comedic moments that work much better than you'd expect - including one where she's trying to decide what weapon to use to kill one of the girls who's started questioning all the missing campers. She's one of the most engaging murderers this side of Freddy and stands out quite well amongst all of the joke cracking baddies following in Elm Street's wake during the late 80s. Estevez isn't too bad, if forgettable, as Angela's eventual rival and would also show up the following year in Scott Spiegel's pretty awesome Intruder. Character actor Walter Gotell has a brief roll as the camp owner Uncle John and still working Brian Patrick Clarke is mulleted fellow counselor T.C. Despite her multiple topless moments, Hartman would only appear in this and the erotic thriller Intimate Obsession before disappearing.

Due to its dopey tone, amusing kills and Springsteen's winning performance, this second outing to Sleepaway Camp turns out to be a highly entertaining one that's not only going to please fans of the first but also be a good time for anyone who likes their slasher flicks a bit on the comedy side. It's definitely my favourite of the series and set a blueprint they should've followed in the totally underwhelming third entry. (Chris Hartley, 5/12/14)

Directed By: Michael A. Simpson.
Written By: Fritz Gordon.

Starring: Pamela Springsteen, Renee Estevez, Susan Marie Snyder, Valerie Hartman.