Son of Sleepaway Camp aka Memorial Valley Massacre (1989)

 

Imagine renting a movie called Son of Sleepaway Camp, discovering it has nothing to do with Sleepaway Camp, and then learning it’s also an edited version of another film.

That’s essentially the story of Memorial Valley Massacre, a low-budget slasher that spends 92 minutes proving its alternate title is the most interesting thing about it.

This was common practice in ’80s and ‘90s horror cinema, most notably in Italy. Night Killer (1990) was retitled Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3. Shocking Dark (1989) was released as Terminator 2. Son of Sleepaway Camp is just another example of a distributor hoping a familiar title would do some heavy lifting.

The plot centers on a group of campers spending Memorial Day weekend in the woods while a feral hermit wages a one-man war against littering. More or less anyway. Take the destruction-of-nature themes from Avatar and add them to a Friday the 13th sequel. A unique premise? Sure. 

That doesn’t make it good. 

Even as someone who loves the slasher era, I found this one more tedious than entertaining. There are a few fun kills scattered throughout, but the pacing is far too sluggish. I suppose whatever enjoyment you’d get out of this depends on your patience. 

Ironically, it also features an obnoxious overgrown brat character who would fit right in with the cast of 2008’s Return to Sleepaway Camp. An entry so grating, I think I’m having a better time with this non-sequel.

As far as Sleepaway Camp goes, or its “son”… if you’ve seen the original Sleepaway Camp, then you’d know that’s not happening. Like, logically.

The title isn’t the only thing borrowed. Son of Sleepaway Camp also lifts music directly from Sleepaway Camp, including its stinger theme. You can even hear snippets of dialogue from that film underneath the music, as if nobody bothered to separate the audio tracks first.

And if that wasn’t enough, add some out-of-place scenes of hardcore porn, and you got yourself the international cut of Memorial Valley Massacre. Congratulations.

The standard cut of the film is easily accessible to watch online. Or, if you’re a physical media collector, boutique label Vinegar Syndrome has released it on Blu-ray. I hear the picture quality is the best it’s ever looked.

As for me, I did indeed purchase an unofficial Son of Sleepaway Camp copy. A DVD sourced from VHS footage. Because a sucker is born every minute.