“Sleepaway Camp IV” has an interesting history to say the least. Starting production in 1992, the funding studio’s bankruptcy ultimately led to the project being shelved. 30 minutes of footage was previously released in a Sleepaway Camp boxset, and eventually, in 2012, the film received a full released, subtitled “The Survivor.” Reception was….mixed. As wikipedia (the most academic of sources) tells us, the final Sleepaway film was a Frankenstein’s monster mishmash of a film.
“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 production to shut down. Roughly 34 minutes of footage was shot before shut down. However, it was completed in 2012 by mixing the original footage with archive footage from the previous three films, and was given its own release.”
Full disclosure, I’ve never seen “Sleepaway Camp IV” before, or any of the “Sleepaway” sequels for that matter (I know, I know.) I’ll commend the projects makers for trying to give fans closure, but a greatest hits release of the 30 year old franchise is probably not what fans wanted in a new Sleepaway film.
But as reported on the “Sleepaway Camp” Facebook page, a new blu-ray release of the film will be a “Final Cut” edition, different from previous releases.
SLEEPAWAY CAMP 4 COMING TO BLU-RAY! It’s true, for those wishing to complete the saga on their collection (there’s still one more yet to hit blu-ray, but we have no control over that one). The DVD is now on moratorium as we commence to completely recompile the movie, from the campground up! The new edition will the “final cut”, be in hi-definition remastered quality and contain new extras. This long-lost sequel combined the original trilogy into one feature jam-packed with hidden easter eggs & revelations for the eagle-eyed hardcore fans – not to mention all 30 death scenes in a cavalcade of carnage, Angela-style! At this stage, we’re looking to gage interest so we can determine the number of copies we do for the run, so if this is something you’re interested in purchasing – LET US KNOW HERE
Whether the final cut is actually any different from previous, well as of yet, only the film producers know that. If you want to grab a copy up though, head on over to the “Sleepaway” Facebook and give them a yell.
