SWAP AFTER DARK RETURNS JULY 15
Film photos of the March 2023 Swap After Dark by MMAC programmer Hayes Morrison
Austin VHS Swap & Austin Cinemaker Space are joining forces for another SWAP AFTER DARK— the best way to beat the heat! On July 15th starting at 4pm guests can browse a wide collection of VHS & enjoy refreshments in Austin Cinemaker Space’s air conditioned 4,300 sq ft venue, then at 8pm both vendors and guests alike can enjoy an After Dark screening of Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers.
This event is free & open to the public.
ABOUT THE FILM
SUMMER IS BACK… AND SO IS ANGELA BAKER
5 years after the events of the first Sleepaway Camp (1983), Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988) follows a now adult Angela who has picked up a job as a camp counselor at a new sleep-away camp with all the same delicious ‘80’s tropes & violent tendencies.
If you’re looking to attend this Sleepaway Camp II screening, we highly recommend a watch of the original Sleepaway Camp beforehand to digest the “twist” ending.
The following description contains spoilers to the original Sleepaway Camp film.
Unhappy Campers strikes a different tone!
Going into Unhappy Campers, Angela has not only aged into adulthood but is now canonically transgender and has changed her name to Angela Johnson to start over at a new camp. Director Michael A. Simpson decided to go beyond the campiness of the original film, leaning into satire and gore for the sequel. Simpson still asked the original lead, Felissa Rose, to reprise the role of Angela— however Rose just didn’t seem to land the many one-liners and amped up style of the adult character. Enter Pamela Springsteen (yes, there is direct relation to The Boss) who nails this over-the-top role, delivering iconic kill lines & a horrifyingly chipper camp song.
The Sleepaway Camp franchise’s path to reclamation by the queer community—
Initially blending in with the mass influx of camp slashers post Friday the 13th, then rejected by many because of it’s damaging portrayal of a transgender character, Sleepaway Camp and it’s sequels have now come full circle to being endeared by many queer horror fans.
There are endless personal theories and explanations to the magnetism this movie holds for so many LGBTQIA+ viewers— watching it through Angela’s lens as a vengeance tale, acknowledging that the problematic representation still offered many teens the first glimpse of a character they identified with, or reading the plot as a critique of homophobia, just to name a few.
For those looking for more context on Sleepaway Camp’s controversies & redemption, After Dark programmer & non-binary filmmaker Hayes Morrison recommends the Bloody Disgusting: Horror Queers podcast, Harmony Colangelo’s article on “The Transgender Defense of Angela Baker”, or this Queer Reading of Sleepaway Camp video analysis.