Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor
| Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor | |
|---|---|
|
Original 1992 poster | |
| Directed by |
Jim Markovic Robert Hiltzik (Part I Footage, 2012 Final Cut only) Michael A. Simpson (Parts II and III Footage, 2012 Final Cut only) |
| Produced by | Krishna Shah |
| Written by | Tom Clohessy |
| Starring |
Carrie Chambers Victor Campos John Lodico |
Production company |
Double Helix Films Rainbow Productions |
Release dates |
|
Running time |
34 minutes (footage made available in 2002) 70 minutes (2012 Final Cut) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor is the fourth entry in the Sleepaway Camp series. The film remained incomplete for many years as it shut down during production in 1992, however it was completed in 2012 by mixing the original footage with archive footage from the previous three films, and was given its own DVD release. In 2014 it was re-released on a limited edition VHS. The film is the last of the series to follow the continuity of Sleepaway Camp II and III because Return to Sleepaway Camp directly follows the first movie and ignores the interim sequels.
History
Filming began in October 1992 at Camp Tamarack in Oakland, New Jersey. Unfortunately Double Helix Films, the film's production company, went bankrupt during this time, causing the film's production to be shut down. About 34 minutes of footage was shot before production was shut down; a trailer for it was also made. In 2002 the footage from the first day of shooting was released as an exclusive fourth disc for the Best Buy Red Cross edition of the Region 1 Sleepaway Camp Survival Kit DVD box set. There were 2 versions of the Survival Kit released, with only the Best Buy edition including the fourth disc. Both versions are now long out of print, with the 4-disc edition being the rarest and more sought after by fans and collectors.
Some fans, because of the film's failed production, do not consider this to be part of the series at all and refer to Return to Sleepaway Camp as the fourth installment of the series. Some also consider Allison to actually be Angela in disguise, citing such details as the similarities between their names as well as Allison's flashbacks to events that only Angela would remember.[1] It is the last to follow the timeline of the second and third films as Return to Sleepaway Camp ignored the events of II and III and directly followed the events of the first film, therefore ignoring this film's continuity as well.
Plot
Allison Kramer (Carrie Chambers), a survivor of the original Sleepaway Camp, is being plagued by nightmares which gruesomely force her to revisit the camp site. Unable to recall the actual occurrences due to a forced mental block, she seeks the help of a psychiatrist in overcoming her insomnia.
After numerous visits and hypnosis, Allison's psychiatrist advises her that she is a survivor of a massacre which occurred at a camp over a decade ago. Her disbelief for the whole situation inclines her doctor to advise her to return to the site for an afternoon, in hopes that if she were to see the scenes of the crimes, she would remember them and overcome them.
Doubtful, Allison sets out for the camp she attended but never remembered. When she reaches her destination, she finds the camp to be closed and abandoned, the land now Federal Property. She remininces about the events that occurred in the original trilogy. Allison narrates over many of these scenes. Archive footage from the first three film are organised into themes, such as Angela being afraid of water. Allison looks for the ranger, Jack (John Lodicos), that her psychologist, Dr. Lewis, advised her to meet up with. The ranger tries to have sex with her, but Allison decides things are going too far and runs away. The ranger chases her through the woods. Allison stops because she can run no longer. Then she is found by a hunter, Eugene (Victor Campos). Later on, she approaches the ranger with a gun and threatens to kill him if he doesn't stay away from her. She then approaches the hunter and shoots him. In the next scene, Allison is standing in the sun with a knife, which the sun is reflecting light off of. The ranger approaches her, but she whirls around and the film freezes as she holds the knife near him. It then cuts to a cabin, where you see the ranger's dead body. The credits then roll over the image of his dead body.[2]
It is implied in the opening crawl that Allison may actually be Angela, as it states that she "is a woman without identity," and asks "But who is Allison, really?" This may also be supported by the fact that she had flashbacks of certain scenes throughout the original trilogy that only Angela was present for or survived through.
Availability
In November 2010, Fangoria magazine made an official announcement of the film's completion. The final version was announced to run just over 70 minutes and was released on DVD on March 24, 2012. It is available at CreateSpace and Amazon.[3]