Return to Sleepaway Camp

"Kids can be so mean."

2008 1h 26m EN

😐

5.7

MID

⭐

4.2

IMDB

★5.7TMDB · 345★4.2IMDB · 3,824

HorrorComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When campers and staff at Camp Manabe mysteriously begin disappearing and turning into gruesome corpses, paranoid Ronnie can't shake the memory of a series of grisly murders that took place at Camp Arawak two decades earlier.

“Kids can be so mean.”

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Cast

Vincent Pastore
Frank
Jackie Tohn
Linda
Jonathan Tiersten
Ricky
Paul DeAngelo
Ronnie
Isaac Hayes
Charlie 'The Chef'
Michael Gibney
Alan
Felissa Rose
Angela / Sheriff Jerry
Lenny Venito
Mickey

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Robert Hiltzik
Writers: Robert Hiltzik
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

86 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Sleepaway Camp Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Robert Hiltzik, shot by Brian Pryzpek. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rodney Whittenberg. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ron Kalish shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Vincent Pastore and Jackie Tohn and Jonathan Tiersten carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Hiltzik directs. Brian Pryzpek behind the camera. Rodney Whittenberg scores. Ron Kalish cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Released 18 years ago.
4Part of the "Sleepaway Camp Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Robert Hiltzik, shot by Brian Pryzpek. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Rodney Whittenberg. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Ron Kalish shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Vincent Pastore and Jackie Tohn and Jonathan Tiersten carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Kids can be so mean.".
10IMDB entry: tt0382943 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "summer camp", "barbed wire", "forest", "bully".

The technical file

Cinematography: Brian Pryzpek
Original score: Rodney Whittenberg
Editing: Ron Kalish
Production design: Jody Asnes
Makeup / hair: Michael Maddi
VFX supervisor: Jerome Thélia
Sound: Scott Waz
Runtime: 86 min · 1h 26m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Return to Sleepaway Camp (2008)
IMDB rating: 4.2/10 · 3,824 votes
MPAA: R

Part of

Sleepaway Camp Collection

Slasher comedy films following killer camp counselor, Angela Baker.

Also by

Robert Hiltzik

Sleepaway Camp
1983 · ★ 6.3

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2026-02-14
★ 4/10
The writer/director of the first film returns for an unpleasant sequel This was shot in Sept-Nov 2003, 21 years after the original movie was filmed, yet it took five years to add special effects and get distribution, which explains its late 2008 release date, direct-to-video. It’s technically better than the first film since mastermind Robert Hiltzik had twelve times as much money with which to work. As of this writing, these happen to be the only two movies he’s made. “Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers” (1988) remains the most entertaining flick in the series, followed by the initial 1983 one and “Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland” (1989). That’s my order of preference anyway. Hiltzik incidentally had nothing to do with II and III (or the unfinished ‘film’ noted below). This one comes in last mainly because it’s so unpleasant. I’m talking about the emphasis on the bullying element that brings to mind “Carrie” (1976), just with the milieu of a summer camp. Unlike “Carrie,” however, the victim of the bullying isn’t much more agreeable than the bullies (although I have a soft spot for his friendship with the frogs in the forest). Bottom line, the flick is just too mean-spirited for its own good. Thankfully, there are a couple of likable characters, such as Petey (Kate Simses) and Ronnie (Paul DeAngelo), but they’re peripheral, particularly Petey; her role should’ve been bigger. You might remember physically fit DeAngelo from the first movie and there’s an amusing homage to his short shorts. Two other actors return from the 1983 film, but I’ll leave them for you to discover. A couple of other positives should be noted, such as the well-done opening credits with the titular song, as well as the amusing post-credits sequence at the very end (so stick around). Like the first three flicks, the proceedings are over-the-top, but here it’s to the point of unpalatable satire or black humor. Yet the last act takes a more serious turn and is genuinely disturbing, if that’s your thang. A fifth piece was sort of added to the franchise in 2012 called “Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor.” This was pretty much a gift to fans because it takes footage of the sequel to “Sleepaway Camp III” and mixes it with clips from the previous movies. The problem is that the production was shut down after a day or three in 1992 due to the company going bankrupt. So, it’s not a real movie; at best, it’s a glimpse of what could have been. Still, devotees of the franchise should find something of interest. The film runs 1h 26m and was shot mostly at Camp Starlight located in northeast Pennsylvania, but also five miles away across the border in Hancock, New York. The original movie was shot at a camp in Argyle, New York, which is 3h 10m drive northeast of Starlight/Hancock, about an hour’s drive north of Albany. GRADE: C/C-

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