MovieChat Forums > Sleepaway Camp (1983) Discussion > How they got that weird closing shot

How they got that weird closing shot


I've always been mystified why Sleepaway Camp's "Holy shit!" Crying Game moment looks so bizarre. I just saw the doc "Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film"from 2006. Sleepaway Camp is praised for its unexpected reveal. The actress who played her, Felissa Rose, says that was not her at all in the final scene. They called in an 18 year old boy stand-in (the nudity is real) who wears a face mask of the actress. This is why she has only one facial reaction even though the camera is in motion. It makes for a bizarre, unsettling effect almost as surprising as the penis! Felissa Rose in that doc seemed pretty cool and knew such slasher movie trivia like some kill sequences in Friday the 13th Part 2 were derived from Mario Bava's classic giallo Bay of Blood (a.k.a., Twitch of the Death Nerve). She also loves Dario Argento's stylish gialli especially Suspiria.

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the ending is so spooky and fucked up. this whole movie is such a fucking gem. it captures the 80s so well, i wish i was able to grow up during that time period. i saw 5 years of the 90s as a kid and it was the best time of my whole life. the 80s seemed even more badass version of the 90s i wish i could have been there. what a time capsule of a movie this is. i love this movie so much gotta watch it again next time i go back home to my harddrive i have it pirated on

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I haven't seen it in years and frankly was a little disappointed it wasn't gorier like similar movies from that era like The Prowler, Maniac, or The Burning, all of which had Tom Savini's masterful gore effects. But a friend of mine had warned me not to stop the movie before the end because of its "surprise". I've never forgotten the experience of seeing it the first time. One Gen X friend of mine and I will still watch clips of the finale in Sleepaway Camp from time to time just for the laughs.

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it is fucking funny as shit. the killer is holding a head but the surprise dick is what the camp consolers catching the he/she are talking about (fairly so lmfao). trans people are super pissed at this luckily when this movie they were in their place and nobody took em seriously. these days this movie would never be allowed to be realized by the powers at be

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I liked Christopher Collett in that movie. If you have HBOMAX, he's in the Wargames-style nuclear thriller Manhattan Project from 1986. He works really well with Altman alumna Cynthia Nixon and the always-reliable John.Lithgow.

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nice i will give it a look. i aint got no hbomax but i know how to navigate the mighty seas of the pirate bay!! arrrrrdghhhhhh matey!!!!!!!!

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I liked him as well.. my favourite with him is, “Firstborn” with Corey Haim. Great film! The Manhattan Project is really good.

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I read he and his wife now own a pilates studio in Brooklyn. Wish he hadn't stopped acting.

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I remember reading that a couple of years ago. I completely agree, he should have kept it up. I love 80’s movies.. so many loveable characters and actors that just stick with you.

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this movie is an all-around genius effort by all parties involved.
get it on criterion stat.

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I know Criterion enough to know they will never release it. However, that doesn't rule out other distributors of cult films like Scream Factory, Arrow, Olive, or Kino Lorber.

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Ha. I remember that spooky ending. Quite interesting to know how they filmed the scene.

Unrelated to the topic, I cannot remember but did this film feature horse head bookends?

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I haven't seen it in at leaat 20 years so I'mafraid I can't help you!

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[deleted]

lmao, so that's why the whole shot is so weird, creepy, and uncanny. XD

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I couldn't figure out how they did it for years until i saw that slasher doc.

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Si senõr

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Gracias

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Youre a real sweety-pie!

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