My expectations are rather low when we're talking about sequels. Let alone, when the budget is evidently low and the story looks predictable to begin with. Regardless, I was very excited about 'Return to Sleepaway Camp' anyway. I am a big fan of the original film and I was actually eager to give this sequel a chance. Leaving aside the fact that sequels tend to be very inferior, the fact that three of the original actors were willing to reprise their roles, was a good sign. I assumed that the story and the script were decent enough for that reason alone. Another good reference, was the fact that Robert Hiltzik, who wrote and directed the original film, was also in charge of the same tasks for this sequel. Unfortunately, my guess is that these three cast members and the director, only returned because they needed the money. I honestly didn't think I would be this disappointed. I'm guessing I'm not the only fan of the original film who ended up being actually furious after seeing such a horror classic being disrespected. My main problem with this film, is not the fact that it is bad. My main problem is that they connected the story to the original 'Sleepaway Camp', which should have been left alone.

I don't like to feel like I'm sabotaging a film, so I'll try to be a little bit more specific and enumerate the reasons why 'Return to Sleepaway Camp' is not exactly my cup of tea. The first thing that gave me a hint that this movie was going to be bad, was the fact that the so-called jokes and humorous situations, were completely unfunny. All slasher fans know very well that these movies usually have a modest share of humor. Fortunately, in most flicks, this 'humor' is at least tolerable. Well, in 'Sleepaway Camp', the desperate attempts to create any kind of humor, are simply terrible. All the jokes, situations and remarks seemed to have been written by someone who got stuck in the 80s or something like that. Everything sounds and looks exaggerated.

Leaving aside the bad attempts to create humor, I was also annoyed by the fact that the interaction between the characters was overly violent and exaggerated. I know we're discussing a movie and not real life, but the fact that all the characters were so incredibly mean and cruel, was unrealistic to me. People are not that awful in real life. In the original 'Sleepaway Camp', there were obviously a lot of rivalries between the main character (Angela) and the rest of the kids, but this is just too much. And the rivalries were poorly portrayed anyway. Even though I do acknowledge the existence of nasty people in this world, it's not realistic to fill a movie with people swearing all the time, constantly using physical violence and insulting each other 24-7... I just don't buy it. And the main character, who is the one we're supposed to emphasize with, is not even likable to begin with. How can we empathize with a character that is no better than his detractors? Alan (that's the main character's name) is everyone's favorite target when it's time to pull pranks. However, Alan is also a disgusting bully who goes around yelling and being a pain to everyone. However, Alan is not even the worst character in the film. The award to the most ridiculous character would definitely have to go to "Sheriff Jerry", which turns out to be... Angela in disguise! That is correct, ladies and gentlemen. Felissa Rose, who originally played Angela in the first movie, came back reprising her role. Unfortunately, this time, Angela walks around the camp with the tackiest disguise ever, which is a policeman uniform, a beard, a fake rubber nose and a voice simulator. I know it sounds terrible, but in reality, is much worse than that. The idea of putting Angela back in the road was not bad at all, but why did they have to make it so far-fetched? It was perfectly clear from the very beginning, that 'Sheriff Jerry' was obviously someone in disguise. While we're at it, I was also very displeased with the ending. There were several things to do and many characters to butcher, but way before you know it, the movie suddenly ends and everything is left undone. I admit that I very much enjoyed seeing Felissa Rose's maniac face again, but that doesn't make up for the lack of action and a decent denouement.

Now, I'm afraid I'm going to have to be fair and enumerate the few things I enjoyed about 'Return to Sleepaway Camp'. First of all, the killing scenes were pretty creative and gory to me. I enjoyed most of the murders and even though some of them were a little bit far-fetched, I still think they were good enough for the slasher sub-genre. I may be discontent with the film on the whole, but I can honestly say that the murders were a delight. On top of that, the image of the film resembles what the movies from the 80s used to look like. My wild guess is that this was intentional, which I highly appreciate. For moments, I felt like I was actually watching a flick from the 80s, which fills my heart with a strange horror nostalgia, if that's even a real feeling.

My summarized advice would be: watch it if you're really curious about it and you're bored. The movie is entertaining and watchable, but that doesn't mean it is good. On the other hand, if you are sensitive, please refrain from watching 'Return to Sleepaway Camp', because it's a major disrespect to the first film and it hurts a lot to see a sequel that is so incredibly inferior in every single way.