Sleepaway Camp

‘80s HORROR MARATHON

The film will be screened in a newly restored print.

Directed by: Robert Hiltzik
Starring: Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiersten, Christopher Collet, Mike Kellin
Duration: 88 minutes
Year of Production: 1983

If one of the most unexpected and shocking endings in cinema history belongs to a relatively unknown (and largely unexplored in our country) creation of the 1980s, then its screening as part of the 15th Athens Open Air Film Festival is quite an event.

But before you rush to discover the film, we must advise you not to read anything about it beforehand, to avoid the inevitable spoilers that flood the internet. Because if Sleepaway Camp has earned its cult reputation for life, it’s not due to the plot — which, up to a point, follows the well-trodden path of many other slashers that ruled theaters at the same time (with Friday the 13th being the most prominent example). Rather, it’s the film’s sudden and almost traumatic climax in its final minutes that, however outrageous and politically incorrect it might seem by today’s standards, guarantees to leave the entire audience utterly stunned. Loukas Katsikas