The Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland blu-ray looks a little bit better than II, but that's probably because so much of the movie takes place in sunny daytime exteriors. I'd say the two transfers are pretty comparable, neither is impressive but they get the job done. I was excited to continue with the second part of the Tale Of Two Sequels featurette and it didn't disapoint. I liked this one better than the first part. The same behind-the-scenes people return, along with four actors from the film: Mark Oliver (Tony), Sandra Dorsey (Lily), Daryl Wilcher (Riff), and Kim Wall (Cindy). They discuss why so much of the movie was filmed in the daytime, dealing with the MPAA, some of the ghost stories and scary encounters they had while filming at the abandoned camp, and share some interesting stories about Michael J Pollard. Really fun retrospective, but again, at under 30 minutes it left me wanting more. The full 85 minute VHS workprint is included, but I didn't bother watching it. It's neat that it's included though. The deleted scenes with all the extra footage is included separately, so I just couldn't see sitting through the entire film in workprint VHS quality when there's a hi-def version on the same disc. I hate that the MPAA butchered the film and that the uncut film elements are most likely gone forever, but I'm used to the film as it is so I will probably continue to watch the R-rated hi-def version in the future. The only other new extras are a harmless little 1-minute short film called Tony Lives! and the standard Scream Factory Still Gallery. Carried over from the Anchor Bay DVD are the Audio Commentary, the "Behind The Scenes" Footage, the Deleted Scenes from the Workprint, and the trailer. Missing is one of my favorite little extras from the Anchor Bay DVD, an easter egg with a brief little local news clip from the time covering the filming of Sleepaway Camp III. It could be included as an Easter Egg, but if it's on the disc, I couldn't find it. The back of the case and the slipcover both mention "News Promo" under the Special Features, which I'm assuming is referring to this, so you'd think they'd have it right there on the extras menu.
Enjoyed checking these out over the weekend myself. Haven't seen any reviews for these so I figured I'd post some caps (MPC-HC w/madVR) in case anyone wanted to see them. Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (workprint)
I love the big reveal at the end and the flashbacks right before it, both really add to the unique charm of the first one. The whole thing just gets glossed over with dialog in the sequels but I guess there was not much more they could do with it anyway. Just noticed that the Schote sisters are drinking Mad Dog 20/20 in one of those caps, which brought back fond memories of drinking back when I was underage... lol :]
I ordered directly from Shout and still haven't gotten mine...should have been here 3 days ago. 2 weeks early my ass! Anyone here still waiting on their order from Shout?
Wow that guy just shits all over these movies. The sequels are bad, yes, but to call the original lazy? I think he missed the point of the first movie COMPLETELY. I think it's one of the most interesting horror movies to come out of the 1980s. It deals with a lot of issues most films wouldn't even fucking touch. ~Matt
Just to make sure, the upgrade in image*/sound is negligible, the only real new extra is the making of with some behind the scenes people.?? And of course the workprint, but does that only include the extra gore, or does it include the scenes cut for pacing reasons as well'? Just a question for those who have seen it. Unless i'm crazy I thought I had read that somewhere. This is compared to the survival kit, still on the fence on this.
^ I would say yeah, pretty much. I'm sure there's an improvement, but I wasn't really blown away by it. The making-of is really fun though. I didn't watch the workprint, but I don't believe there were any scenes cut for pacing. The filmmakers said they were struggling to deliver even an 80 minute movie (required for distribution), hence the "Happy Campers" flashbacks. Given the MPAA cuts, I doubt they had footage to spare. For what it's worth, I was able to sell my Anchor Bay Survival Kit DVD for $40, which more than paid for the blu-rays of 2 and 3. I'd suggest seeing what you can get for the Survival Kit, it might wind up being a free upgrade. I had already upgraded the first one (which is a HUGE improvement and is definitely worth it if you haven't already), so I have no regrets. Supposedly the source material for the sequels was lost, so this is probably the best it's going to get. Missing from the Survival Kit is the Easter Egg local news footage from III and the bonus disc with the unfinished footage from Sleepaway Camp IV (Best Buy exclusive). The news footage would have been nice to have, but there's no way I'd ever sit through the raw footage from SCIV ever again.
I have the blu of part one no regrets. And I have the red cross survival kit with bonus disc, I can't see myself parting with it. I'd haveto buy them one at a time + postage (to avoid customs). Thanks for the reply CPT HOOK
Nope, didn't even get an order confirm. I ordered as a Guest, so I guess that's why? It didn't come today either, so I just emailed them and included a copy of my Paypal statement.
More Reviews: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Sleepaway-Camp-II-Unhappy-Campers-Blu-ray/79562/#Review http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Sleepaway-Camp-III-Teenage-Wasteland-Blu-ray/79561/#Review
I finally got this Saturday after emailing them. They said that there was a communication error between paypal and their site at the time I ordered, so my order never showed up in their system... The two Blu's and posters arrived crammed in a cardboard envelope that wasn't even sealed! It's amazing that nothing was damaged, but I did have a loose disc. Luckily it was just one of the DVD's and not one of the Blu's. I'll probably never order direct from Shout again due to their shitty packaging job.
I received Dog Soldiers from Shout and the package had been completely soaked in water. The poster inside was ruined. Didn't even open the blu-ray to see if it plays okay, it's all going back for a replacement. I'm not going to watch the movie just waiting for it to freeze or skip, I'd rather be able to enjoy what I bought. Most likely the post office's fault instead of Shout's, but their cheap cardboard envelope didn't do anything to help the situation.
