Improves upon the original

The production values of "Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers" (1988) are all-around superior to the original 1983 slasher. Sure, both are "Friday the 13th" knock-offs, but they're distinguished by (1.) actual adolescents inhabiting the camp and (2.) the perverse uniqueness of the killer.

The only real campy element is Angela's blithe chippy-ness in carrying out her slaughter spree. Other than that, this plays out like a mid-80's coming-of-age drama with quality insights and surprisingly fleshed-out characters, which were the attributes of the first film as well. For instance, Molly (Renée Estevez) is very distinguished from Ally (Valerie Hartman) and Mare (Susan Marie Snyder). The mullets and short shorts on guys are amusing.

An additional highlight is the kick-axx soundtrack of semi-obscure mid-80's rock/metal, starting with Anvil's excellent "Straight Between the Eyes" during the opening credits (only hindered by the juvenile and tasteless lyrics, but what else is new?). "Outta Control" by John Altyn is featured later and Obsession's "Desperate to Survive" during the end credits.

The third film in the series came out the following year and is a rehash of this one with the same director/writer team and star (Pamela Springsteen), but of course a whole new cast of victims. It even features cuts by the same semi-obscure 80's bands: Anvil ("Wild Eyes"), Obsession ("Methods of Madness" & "Killer Elite") and John Altyn ("Sleepaway"). The main difference is a focus on tent camping and the mixing of "rich" kids with "poor."

In any case, the third one lacks the mojo of this film. There's less depth as far as human interest goes: The characters and their relations are so exaggerated it's campy, which kills any realism. Still, "Sleepaway Camp III" is spirited and has its entertaining moments.