May 6, 2026

Sleepaway Camp (1983) Review: Cinema’s Most Shocking Ending

Sleepaway Camp (1983) Review: Cinema’s Most Shocking Ending
Sleepaway Camp (1983) Review: Cinema’s Most Shocking Ending
Parallel Frequencies with Just Blane and Coco
Sleepaway Camp (1983) Review: Cinema’s Most Shocking Ending
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Welcome to a very special "Whistful Wednesday" on Parallel Frequencies. This week, the universe sent us a signal we couldn't ignore. After Blane was struck by a late-night intuition to rewatch the 1983 slasher Sleepaway Camp, the news broke just 12 hours later that actor Jonathan Tiersten had passed away. Today, we honor his memory and the legacy of his character, Ricky, in one of the most unique entries in horror history.

We’re peeling back the layers of this low-budget masterpiece—from the "pure 80s chaos" of the opening speedboat accident to the "deeply weird, uncomfortable energy" that radiates from every frame. We talk Aunt Martha’s haunting performance, the infamous short shorts, and the ending that left an entire generation of horror fans speechless. Was it coincidence, or are we all just living in the simulation? Join us as we navigate the "woo" world of synchronicities and slasher icons.

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Transcript
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Think back to your first summer camp experience.

00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:06.940
That specific smell of damp pine, generic bug

00:00:06.940 --> 00:00:09.519
spray, and the low -grade anxiety of trying to

00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:12.419
fit in. Now imagine all that, but instead of

00:00:12.419 --> 00:00:14.980
a merit badge for archery, you get a body count

00:00:14.980 --> 00:00:18.739
in one of the most debated endings in cinema

00:00:18.739 --> 00:00:22.300
history. Sleepaway Camp. That's the flick we're

00:00:22.300 --> 00:00:25.219
going to talk about today. This is Parallel Frequencies.

00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:28.660
I am just Blaine. She's Coco, and you are the

00:00:28.660 --> 00:00:32.310
freaks. What's up, Coco? How are you on the wistful

00:00:32.310 --> 00:00:38.310
Wednesday? Not me tired from watching this sleepaway

00:00:38.310 --> 00:00:42.229
camp at 11 o 'clock last night. Yeah. Only got

00:00:42.229 --> 00:00:45.250
late. And we're going to talk about why we put

00:00:45.250 --> 00:00:49.369
it on the list today. We will. Well, I mean,

00:00:49.390 --> 00:00:51.109
we might as well just do it right now. It's wild.

00:00:51.570 --> 00:00:54.270
It's wild. It was a coincidence, a crazy coincidence

00:00:54.270 --> 00:01:01.280
that a couple nights ago. I can't sleep, so I

00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:04.180
put Sleepaway Camp on. It pops up on my Amazon

00:01:04.180 --> 00:01:07.159
Prime. As you do when you can't sleep. Oh, yeah,

00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:12.640
yeah, yeah. Or a movie to put me to gentle lullaby.

00:01:13.379 --> 00:01:16.260
No, that's my thing. I love watching horror movies

00:01:16.260 --> 00:01:20.659
and going to bed. Yeah, I put it on. But I have

00:01:20.659 --> 00:01:23.340
a rule that after midnight, it has to be something

00:01:23.340 --> 00:01:25.659
that's from the 80s or 90s. It's got to be vintage,

00:01:25.819 --> 00:01:29.859
nostalgic. It was like 1 a .m., couldn't sleep.

00:01:30.540 --> 00:01:32.719
So I'm like, you know what? I want to see Phyllisa

00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:36.040
Rose and Jonathan Tierston. I want to see them

00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:39.519
in Sleepaway Camp. Because who doesn't like a

00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:41.500
good campy movie? And this is where the camp

00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:45.079
slasher genre really, I don't want to say started,

00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:47.159
because we can go back and find some more. But

00:01:47.159 --> 00:01:51.260
this is the one that put it on the map. But The

00:01:51.260 --> 00:01:55.640
Coincidence is here. I'll watch it. Not 12 hours

00:01:55.640 --> 00:01:59.180
later, we get news that Jonathan Tierston passed

00:01:59.180 --> 00:02:03.680
away. And he plays Ricky in Sleepaway Camp, which,

00:02:03.739 --> 00:02:07.459
incredible role. And Coco, we had something else

00:02:07.459 --> 00:02:09.340
scheduled on the docket today, but we were like,

00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:12.340
you know what? It's Wistful Wednesday, which

00:02:12.340 --> 00:02:15.979
is a nostalgic movie we normally do. Yeah. I

00:02:15.979 --> 00:02:18.500
just watched Sleepaway Camp, and then the news

00:02:18.500 --> 00:02:21.500
broke that Jonathan Tierston sadly passed away.

00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:24.340
I think we got to do sleep away camp. That's

00:02:24.340 --> 00:02:27.039
that's how this came about. Right. Like, yeah.

00:02:27.180 --> 00:02:30.379
Yeah. Let's let's give tribute where we can,

00:02:30.500 --> 00:02:32.900
when we can. And definitely if there's been some

00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:36.199
sort of intuitive premonition, I think on your

00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:39.719
part to watch the movie. I don't think that I

00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:41.819
mean, obviously I'm in the woo world, but it's.

00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:44.840
Yeah. That's right. Like, I feel like something

00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:47.939
that's pushing us to do a certain thing. And

00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:52.280
then. something like that happens you gotta you

00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:56.080
gotta go roll with it so what's your witchiness

00:02:56.080 --> 00:02:59.240
say about that i think there's a lot more to

00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:02.740
uh synchronicities than people would give credit

00:03:02.740 --> 00:03:05.340
for i mean people like to say coincidences are

00:03:05.340 --> 00:03:08.879
coincidences sure that's that seems you know

00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:11.800
statistically if you want to map it out in a

00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:15.840
nice t -graph sure coincidences happen but I

00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:19.139
think that for people who pay attention, I think

00:03:19.139 --> 00:03:24.659
that people who feel and intuitively go with

00:03:24.659 --> 00:03:26.939
their gut feelings on a lot of things that they

00:03:26.939 --> 00:03:28.800
do, they understand that feeling when something

00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:33.159
is being pulled or pushed or prompted or in some

00:03:33.159 --> 00:03:36.060
way guided towards something. I think that was

00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:39.759
kind of the, you know. Could it possibly be coincidence

00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:41.840
that you just woke up and were like, I can't

00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:43.439
sleep and I need to watch something. I'm going

00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:46.400
to watch this movie of all the 80s movies, of

00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:48.319
all the horror movies, of all the different things

00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:51.319
you could have watched. And then just say, I'm

00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:53.479
going to watch this one. I mean, come on, people.

00:03:53.580 --> 00:03:57.120
I want to hear your stories, too. Have you ever

00:03:57.120 --> 00:03:59.319
had something where it just felt like, I don't

00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:01.139
know why, but I've got to follow this instinct,

00:04:01.340 --> 00:04:05.110
this prompting, this like. feeling to do something

00:04:05.110 --> 00:04:07.389
and then it turned out that it was just the exact

00:04:07.389 --> 00:04:10.030
right thing that you needed at that time? Yeah,

00:04:10.210 --> 00:04:15.009
what's the, I mean, what is the chances that

00:04:15.009 --> 00:04:17.490
that coincidence lines up and it's just a coincidence?

00:04:17.870 --> 00:04:20.149
You know, I don't know. A statistics major can

00:04:20.149 --> 00:04:23.170
figure that out for us. I took statistics in

00:04:23.170 --> 00:04:27.050
college and I barely passed. I could get myself

00:04:27.050 --> 00:04:29.730
out of a speeding ticket with a good discussion

00:04:29.730 --> 00:04:34.379
about, you know, differentiated. deviation, whatever

00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:37.779
it's called, but I was not very good at statistics.

00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:41.920
I was the one on the test who was like, what's

00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:44.180
the likelihood you're going to reach into a drawer

00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:46.360
full of batteries and some are packaged and some

00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:48.500
are not, and some have a charge and then you

00:04:48.500 --> 00:04:50.660
grab it for your flashlight. And what are the

00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:52.279
chances you're going to get one that works or

00:04:52.279 --> 00:04:54.019
some such thing? And I remember just being like

00:04:54.019 --> 00:04:56.439
a hundred percent because I'm going to grab the

00:04:56.439 --> 00:05:00.579
packaged batteries. What is this? So I'm, I just,

00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:03.360
I wasn't good at all the. configuration of numbers

00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:08.939
and i mean i think you know coincidence is just

00:05:08.939 --> 00:05:11.459
part of the simulation you know so that's yeah

00:05:11.459 --> 00:05:14.399
we can get into that for sure yeah we could totally

00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:17.079
get into that or you know the fact that we live

00:05:17.079 --> 00:05:21.079
in an algorithm or whatever else we got we actually

00:05:21.079 --> 00:05:27.000
lost a internet 1 .0 algorithm generator here

00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:29.860
back from way back and i don't know if you heard

00:05:29.860 --> 00:05:34.279
about this but we had a uh Sad funeral, maybe?

00:05:34.360 --> 00:05:38.579
I don't know. Here's the picture. Ask Jeeves.

00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:42.759
Do you remember the website? Was that still going?

00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:46.639
Well, not now. They had to shut it down after

00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:52.439
30 years. Jeeves? Ask .com. Ask Jeeves. Remember

00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:56.259
this guy? Here he is on the screen. But he's

00:05:56.259 --> 00:06:00.170
gone. We lost him. I got to say, though, that's

00:06:00.170 --> 00:06:02.430
Google, right? Am I right in remembering? I mean,

00:06:02.449 --> 00:06:06.189
I didn't I wasn't up on what was what was the

00:06:06.189 --> 00:06:09.350
technology advancing, but it was Ask Jeeves was

00:06:09.350 --> 00:06:12.629
before Google. I believe so. I believe so, because

00:06:12.629 --> 00:06:16.990
like I said, this was an early pioneer of the

00:06:16.990 --> 00:06:21.589
early Wild West days of the Internet. AOL, Yahoo,

00:06:21.889 --> 00:06:24.069
all these other ones. Ask Jeeves was right in

00:06:24.069 --> 00:06:28.240
there with with them. The kids out there, if

00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:31.100
there's any freaks who are younger than probably,

00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:34.480
what, 30, I guess, since it was 30 years ago,

00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:36.800
it said, yeah, if you're younger than that, you

00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:38.879
don't remember to ask Jeeves. They're all like,

00:06:38.939 --> 00:06:41.879
who is Jeeves? Who is this? Yeah. Yeah. I mean,

00:06:41.899 --> 00:06:44.360
when technology advances to a point where something

00:06:44.360 --> 00:06:47.160
else pops up and is more accurate in searching

00:06:47.160 --> 00:06:49.019
and more accurate in facts and, you know, it

00:06:49.019 --> 00:06:51.699
kind of trumps, one trumps the other until one

00:06:51.699 --> 00:06:54.160
becomes like the prominent way that people go

00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:56.699
to search information. So I think that that's,

00:06:57.019 --> 00:06:59.500
my guess on what happened. But it's interesting

00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:02.300
that we were just talking about using AI to assist

00:07:02.300 --> 00:07:05.620
us in things. And having a butler named Jeeves,

00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:09.240
even if it's an AI butler, is right up the alley

00:07:09.240 --> 00:07:13.220
of what's coming out in modern advancements.

00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:15.600
So, I mean, like, it's interesting that it's

00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:19.779
gone now when it's probably the time it should

00:07:19.779 --> 00:07:23.399
be coming up. Coming up. You know what? I'm working

00:07:23.399 --> 00:07:27.019
on an AI assistant for myself. Sure, I know.

00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:29.699
I'm just going to duplicate myself, but I'm going

00:07:29.699 --> 00:07:32.600
to name him Jeeves. I've been trying to figure

00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:35.040
out a name. I think Jeeves would be perfect for

00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:38.980
my AI assistant. Yep. A little tip the hat. Yeah.

00:07:39.779 --> 00:07:43.680
Keep them going. We're naming the next generation

00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:50.170
of helpful technology assistants. Yeah. I use

00:07:50.170 --> 00:07:54.089
mythology too much, I can tell. Let's get to

00:07:54.089 --> 00:07:58.389
Westful Wednesday and the movie. All right. Sleepaway

00:07:58.389 --> 00:08:03.230
Camp. The movie that really shouldn't work. It's

00:08:03.230 --> 00:08:07.850
low budget. The acting is inspired, maybe. And

00:08:07.850 --> 00:08:10.350
the fashion is aggressively 80s, but it becomes

00:08:10.350 --> 00:08:15.110
a cornerstone of the cult horror world. Why?

00:08:15.250 --> 00:08:17.290
Why does this movie still haunt us? Is it the

00:08:17.290 --> 00:08:21.180
gore? That's my question. Is it the deeply weird,

00:08:21.339 --> 00:08:25.660
uncomfortable energy? Like, that is radiating

00:08:25.660 --> 00:08:29.160
in every frame of this movie, by the way. You

00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:33.379
know, is it the short shorts? You know, I don't

00:08:33.379 --> 00:08:36.879
know. Those shorts were... It's some tight clothes.

00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:41.279
Yeah. On one camp counselor in particular. Big

00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:45.980
time. You know, he's standing while other characters

00:08:45.980 --> 00:08:50.120
are at sitting level. A little bit of uncomfortableness

00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:53.200
for me. Well, noticing that, but. Yeah. Yeah.

00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:58.899
Yeah. But let's get into this mess called Sleepaway

00:08:58.899 --> 00:09:02.960
Camp 1983. I said it's a mess. It really is.

00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:06.120
I mean, think about the opening scene, that speedboat

00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:08.659
accident. That's pure 80s chaos right off the

00:09:08.659 --> 00:09:12.000
bat. The first real star of the movie, first

00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:15.539
10 minutes, Aunt Martha comes in, you know. She

00:09:15.539 --> 00:09:19.559
sounds. Like, she's constantly reciting a dark

00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:22.960
nursery rhyme while being slightly over -medicated.

00:09:23.139 --> 00:09:27.460
It's almost, it's wild. So you've got this weird

00:09:27.460 --> 00:09:30.279
relative, this weird energy already at the beginning.

00:09:30.899 --> 00:09:33.519
Yeah. Yeah, what were you feeling? I just threw

00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:35.919
this one on you literally yesterday to watch

00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:39.159
this movie. And I will say, even from yesterday

00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:43.179
to today, this is a to -watch requirement. Oh,

00:09:43.179 --> 00:09:46.500
yeah. Like, I, you know, was going to watch it.

00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:50.000
So once yesterday afternoon, fine, all good.

00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:53.200
I went on a date with my husband last night and

00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:56.019
we got Ethiopian food, by the way. Oh, nice.

00:09:56.299 --> 00:09:58.600
Favorite food in the whole world. We were out

00:09:58.600 --> 00:10:00.240
to dinner last night and I started telling him

00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:02.500
about this movie. And I'm like, you got to see,

00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:04.700
like, I got to show you these scenes. And I'm

00:10:04.700 --> 00:10:07.139
like describing it. And then I get to a point

00:10:07.139 --> 00:10:08.559
where I'm like, all right, we'll just go home

00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:11.480
and watch it. So last night, you know, probably

00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:13.620
too late when we shouldn't have been up that

00:10:13.620 --> 00:10:16.950
late. We sat down and I was like. start to finish

00:10:16.950 --> 00:10:19.090
and even as I started watching it a second time

00:10:19.090 --> 00:10:22.769
I was like wait I don't remember that yeah oh

00:10:22.769 --> 00:10:24.950
I'm so glad I watched this the second time because

00:10:24.950 --> 00:10:28.049
there were things I was kind of googling the

00:10:28.049 --> 00:10:30.049
synopsis of certain things because I was a little

00:10:30.049 --> 00:10:33.870
confused the first watch and just so glad I watched

00:10:33.870 --> 00:10:36.350
it a second time yeah so glad that I like forced

00:10:36.350 --> 00:10:39.210
myself to do that but I have a question before

00:10:39.210 --> 00:10:43.139
we like really get into my thoughts a lot What

00:10:43.139 --> 00:10:45.360
you know, we talked about this being a cult classic,

00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:47.980
right? There are so many horror fans out there

00:10:47.980 --> 00:10:51.860
that like they dig deep into these particular

00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:54.000
type of horror movies, especially from there,

00:10:54.019 --> 00:10:57.320
from the 70s and 80s, where it might be low budget.

00:10:57.620 --> 00:11:01.240
They're kind of I mean, some of them are like

00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:03.840
you don't recognize a single name in the cast

00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:08.480
at all. But people love these movies. And I just

00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:11.840
want to know, because I'm not. ear on the ground

00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:15.500
in with that demographic. I want to know, what

00:11:15.500 --> 00:11:18.360
is it? What is it about this movie that they

00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:21.179
love so much? What makes it a cult classic? Do

00:11:21.179 --> 00:11:24.179
you know? I mean, I could guess. It's probably

00:11:24.179 --> 00:11:29.559
a mix of the atmosphere that the movie has. It's

00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:35.259
sure being at a camp because if you... Went to

00:11:35.259 --> 00:11:38.019
a camp as a kid. It was always cool. And if you

00:11:38.019 --> 00:11:40.600
didn't get to go to a camp as a kid, this was

00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:43.799
always kind of the way in. Weirdly enough, this

00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:45.879
was the way in to see what a camp life was like.

00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:49.700
I don't think I ever went to a camp, but I got

00:11:49.700 --> 00:11:54.919
to see it in this in these kinds of movies. And

00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:59.580
at this point, it just it's nostalgic. We get

00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:02.929
a look back at. what it was like in the 80s because

00:12:02.929 --> 00:12:04.950
that's a lost moment in time now i don't think

00:12:04.950 --> 00:12:08.389
they got campgrounds that are quite like this

00:12:08.389 --> 00:12:10.649
now i don't know i hope they do i wish they did

00:12:10.649 --> 00:12:12.889
if they do i'll sign up to be a camp counselor

00:12:12.889 --> 00:12:16.470
right now yeah for good reason i think they've

00:12:16.470 --> 00:12:18.909
gotten themselves kind of a bad rap some bad

00:12:18.909 --> 00:12:22.350
pr for wilderness retreats for kids things like

00:12:22.350 --> 00:12:25.509
that yeah and i think there are probably some

00:12:25.509 --> 00:12:28.490
excellent ones out there but i think even they

00:12:28.490 --> 00:12:32.129
know when they run an operation like that whether

00:12:32.129 --> 00:12:35.190
it's for therapeutic reasons or if it's one of

00:12:35.190 --> 00:12:37.590
these kind of just you know sleep away camp like

00:12:37.590 --> 00:12:41.169
a like a boarding school for summer um they have

00:12:41.169 --> 00:12:43.149
to be you know real careful they're working with

00:12:43.149 --> 00:12:46.070
kids and i think this movie highlights a lot

00:12:46.070 --> 00:12:48.649
of the reasons why it's very true though yeah

00:12:48.649 --> 00:12:52.870
very first thought in watching this movie was

00:12:52.870 --> 00:12:55.350
uh you know the kitchen staff obviously like

00:12:55.350 --> 00:12:59.430
the comments made about kids and i was like Already

00:12:59.430 --> 00:13:02.889
I was, you know, every muscle in my body is tightening

00:13:02.889 --> 00:13:08.409
up and I'm like, uh -oh. Yeah. I'm glad we're

00:13:08.409 --> 00:13:12.750
showing an example of something that even in

00:13:12.750 --> 00:13:15.370
1983, this movie comes out and they're like,

00:13:15.490 --> 00:13:20.409
this is bad. Yes. And it's real. These behaviors

00:13:20.409 --> 00:13:23.549
are inappropriate. Looking at kids this way is

00:13:23.549 --> 00:13:27.210
wrong. Like they were kind of displaying that.

00:13:27.629 --> 00:13:32.169
And also showing the evilness of it. Yeah. You

00:13:32.169 --> 00:13:34.850
know, it's like, let's not lose sight of that

00:13:34.850 --> 00:13:41.070
as we move into new. You see it, too, that the

00:13:41.070 --> 00:13:45.909
fat chef that tries to force himself onto the

00:13:45.909 --> 00:13:49.669
girl in the kitchen, he's one of the first to

00:13:49.669 --> 00:13:52.230
die. And we don't feel bad. No, I don't feel

00:13:52.230 --> 00:13:55.490
bad. We're like, whatever, bro. You know? Yeah.

00:13:56.750 --> 00:14:00.330
I'm a little more uncomfortable with the other

00:14:00.330 --> 00:14:05.190
kitchen staff members like Ben, who he felt safe

00:14:05.190 --> 00:14:10.169
enough to fully display his pedophile thoughts

00:14:10.169 --> 00:14:14.970
outwardly. And Ben's doing the whole like, ah,

00:14:15.129 --> 00:14:18.610
this is just locker room talk kind of thing.

00:14:19.190 --> 00:14:23.940
He wasn't like. what did you just say man um

00:14:23.940 --> 00:14:26.759
i need to get the police out here no he was like

00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:31.440
oh don't do don't say those things out loud and

00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:37.080
like walk out of frame i was like oh not only

00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:38.639
is it uncomfortable that he said the things out

00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:41.980
loud the thoughts out loud but like nobody's

00:14:41.980 --> 00:14:45.399
like catching on nobody's gonna slap him in the

00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:49.759
mouth like he deserves um I got to go back to

00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:53.059
the why this movie hits. And it is. Once again,

00:14:53.320 --> 00:14:55.899
it keeps coming back to me in my head. It's the

00:14:55.899 --> 00:15:02.559
camp. We got Camp Arawak here. Yeah. And it is

00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:06.360
its own character. Just like a Camp Crystal Lake

00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:09.320
in a Friday the 13th movie is its own character.

00:15:09.860 --> 00:15:12.659
So there's something that's attractive about

00:15:12.659 --> 00:15:15.580
that that brings us in, too. Yeah. You know,

00:15:15.620 --> 00:15:19.379
like I said, it's... the camp like i don't know

00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:21.720
there's something there's something and just

00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:25.460
intriguing about it yeah i mean the idea of a

00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:28.179
sleepaway camp it's a fun idea you're you're

00:15:28.179 --> 00:15:30.840
away from your parents i mean come on like whole

00:15:30.840 --> 00:15:34.279
summer with friends and there's activities constantly

00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:40.320
and you know outdoors and you know you're bunking

00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:42.620
with friends like a sleepover every night i mean

00:15:42.620 --> 00:15:46.879
the idea the general concept of camp is really

00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:50.279
appealing and fun and it is last and then in

00:15:50.279 --> 00:15:53.440
the movie here we get to see the the 1980s bullying

00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:56.379
because that's a big part of it here that all

00:15:56.379 --> 00:15:59.480
the way through this movie i mean judy my good

00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:04.899
lord judy she's the alpha bully archetype she

00:16:04.899 --> 00:16:07.120
doesn't just want to be popular she wants to

00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:11.059
mentally dismantle anyone who isn't wearing a

00:16:11.059 --> 00:16:15.580
crop top you know it's fascinating to watch how

00:16:16.169 --> 00:16:20.870
they portray camp life but it's essentially lord

00:16:20.870 --> 00:16:23.929
of the flies like that's what this thing is speaking

00:16:23.929 --> 00:16:25.990
of were you thinking that too where you're just

00:16:25.990 --> 00:16:28.149
watching this and going where where are the counselors

00:16:28.149 --> 00:16:31.809
why isn't anybody stepping up so weird because

00:16:31.809 --> 00:16:35.230
i watched this movie and lord of the flies literally

00:16:35.230 --> 00:16:38.169
just came out on netflix i watched it almost

00:16:38.169 --> 00:16:42.149
in parallel with this and i was like holy crap

00:16:42.149 --> 00:16:47.500
wait wait a minute this is Very similar. So Sleepaway

00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:50.919
Camp had Lord of the Flies vibe to it, you know.

00:16:50.940 --> 00:16:54.600
So exactly. But where are the counselors? Yeah,

00:16:54.620 --> 00:16:57.379
because I mean, in this day and age, you know,

00:16:57.399 --> 00:17:01.240
you would expect this kind of camp. Most of those

00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:06.019
adult supervision are all like 16 to 18 year

00:17:06.019 --> 00:17:08.460
old kids. Like they're not that much older than

00:17:08.460 --> 00:17:11.000
the kids that are participating. You know, they

00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:13.220
were hired to come and be camp counselors, but,

00:17:13.259 --> 00:17:15.759
like, Meg, for example, is a camp counselor,

00:17:15.859 --> 00:17:19.200
and she's just as awful as Judy. I mean, she's

00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:25.099
mean and terrible and gets her just reward, I

00:17:25.099 --> 00:17:29.819
guess. Yeah, she's a lot. She's a lot. That's

00:17:29.819 --> 00:17:35.140
all I can say about it. But we see this unfiltered

00:17:35.140 --> 00:17:41.000
honesty to— How mean these kids are. It's not

00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:44.079
a Disney. It's not your Disney Channel type of

00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:46.880
mean. Go ahead. Yeah. They definitely like we're

00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:50.019
earning their R rating. Like you. You sense this.

00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:53.920
I said this as I was watching it. It was almost

00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:56.839
like the movies you were warned about when we

00:17:56.839 --> 00:17:58.619
were kids. I don't know if you did this on the

00:17:58.619 --> 00:18:00.819
playground, but there was always that one kid

00:18:00.819 --> 00:18:05.619
who had seen a really bad movie. Oh, yeah. He's

00:18:05.619 --> 00:18:08.079
like this movie I saw one time. It was rated

00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:12.950
like. x x x or whatever i'm like whatever that

00:18:12.950 --> 00:18:14.930
even means but you know then they're like telling

00:18:14.930 --> 00:18:17.569
you about it and they're like they say bad words

00:18:17.569 --> 00:18:21.829
like this bad word and that bad word it was almost

00:18:21.829 --> 00:18:23.609
like this maybe was trying to live up to that

00:18:23.609 --> 00:18:28.369
i mean just the overabundance of insults and

00:18:28.369 --> 00:18:30.990
words even like from ricky himself when he's

00:18:30.990 --> 00:18:33.769
hurling insults at the other kids it's just like

00:18:34.379 --> 00:18:37.440
Every bad word I can think of is going to be

00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:41.279
stuck in my head. I love that. Eat shit and die.

00:18:41.579 --> 00:18:45.180
And then he yells back, eat shit and live. I

00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:48.980
think it's great. It's constant the whole movie.

00:18:49.339 --> 00:18:51.980
When the kids are on the roof throwing the water

00:18:51.980 --> 00:18:55.279
balloons, and I think it's Ricky there, is it

00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:57.680
not, that has his outburst yelling at the kids

00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:00.579
up there? And the old man comes out. And I love

00:19:00.579 --> 00:19:05.769
this because this. It's probably how I was as

00:19:05.769 --> 00:19:10.829
a younger kid. I'm talking, he went the fuck

00:19:10.829 --> 00:19:14.349
off on them on that roof. And the old man standing

00:19:14.349 --> 00:19:17.529
back, just letting it happen. And finally, he's

00:19:17.529 --> 00:19:19.750
like, okay, calm down. And I guarantee you, that's

00:19:19.750 --> 00:19:22.569
what I had in my life. I probably was allowed

00:19:22.569 --> 00:19:25.089
to get everything out. And then there was probably

00:19:25.089 --> 00:19:27.170
somebody near me to say, all right, now calm

00:19:27.170 --> 00:19:30.690
down. And I started thinking, I was like, I've

00:19:30.690 --> 00:19:35.400
got to. six year old and a three year old. And

00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:38.680
if they, not that they're throwing out F bombs

00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:40.339
and stuff like this, but when they have their

00:19:40.339 --> 00:19:42.940
moments, their, their, their, their freak out

00:19:42.940 --> 00:19:45.980
moments, I'm noticing that I'm that one. It's

00:19:45.980 --> 00:19:47.500
always kind of like, all right, all right, calm

00:19:47.500 --> 00:19:49.339
down, calm down. And I'm holding them back a

00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:52.619
little bit, but not like a, in a get mad at you

00:19:52.619 --> 00:19:56.259
type of thing. Yeah. I love that interaction

00:19:56.259 --> 00:19:59.559
though. Cause it reminded me. Yeah. But man,

00:19:59.799 --> 00:20:04.339
what a fireball. He really was. Yeah. You got

00:20:04.339 --> 00:20:06.579
to hand it to Ricky, you know, being kind of

00:20:06.579 --> 00:20:13.140
the, more or less the hero in this whole story

00:20:13.140 --> 00:20:17.200
because he's working so hard to defend his cousin

00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:21.380
and to be like, you know, putting everybody in

00:20:21.380 --> 00:20:25.339
their place and, you know, standing up for the

00:20:25.339 --> 00:20:28.990
little guys. All of that. So, you know, you kind

00:20:28.990 --> 00:20:31.569
of hand it to Ricky. Although my question about

00:20:31.569 --> 00:20:34.009
Ricky's character in this, and I want to know

00:20:34.009 --> 00:20:36.670
your thoughts, is I was asking myself all the

00:20:36.670 --> 00:20:41.049
way to the end, did Ricky know? Was Ricky made

00:20:41.049 --> 00:20:44.490
aware? Like we're made aware from the very beginning,

00:20:44.549 --> 00:20:47.869
as you mentioned his mother. Yeah. He's just

00:20:47.869 --> 00:20:50.390
kind of like, oh, there goes mom going off again.

00:20:51.089 --> 00:20:53.670
He's fully aware his mom is a little nuts and

00:20:53.670 --> 00:20:58.730
she's not all there. That, you know, that is

00:20:58.730 --> 00:21:01.450
clear. Again, on the second watch, I didn't recognize

00:21:01.450 --> 00:21:04.450
the storyline and the connection to the boating

00:21:04.450 --> 00:21:06.170
accident in the beginning. And when they say,

00:21:06.329 --> 00:21:09.609
oh, Dr. Thomas is coming and they're like, oh,

00:21:09.670 --> 00:21:12.130
Aunt Martha, is Ricky coming too? That's when

00:21:12.130 --> 00:21:13.589
I kind of started to piece together a little

00:21:13.589 --> 00:21:15.869
bit more of the details and the connections here.

00:21:15.970 --> 00:21:19.089
But my first watch wasn't totally clear on that.

00:21:19.170 --> 00:21:21.730
No, I wasn't. But then I'm like, okay, so we

00:21:21.730 --> 00:21:24.509
find out at the end, right? The big surprise,

00:21:24.650 --> 00:21:28.940
the big ending is. But did Ricky know that this

00:21:28.940 --> 00:21:31.500
cousin who came to live with them after this

00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:35.759
boating accident is this Angela or is it Peter?

00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:39.140
Does he know that? Good question. Freaks. I want

00:21:39.140 --> 00:21:40.680
to hear from the freaks. What do you think? Did

00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:44.259
he know? I want to know. I'm not sure. I'm not

00:21:44.259 --> 00:21:46.759
sure. I'm really not sure. It's not obvious,

00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:48.839
right? It's not obvious. Like, he's treating

00:21:48.839 --> 00:21:50.940
her like this is my cousin Angela. Like, this

00:21:50.940 --> 00:21:55.450
is... There's never any, like... or any hint

00:21:55.450 --> 00:21:58.769
or any clue from his demeanor or his words or

00:21:58.769 --> 00:22:01.289
anything he says or does that's, like, that he

00:22:01.289 --> 00:22:03.990
knows anything different than this is my girl

00:22:03.990 --> 00:22:07.750
cousin Angela, right? Yeah, and it's one of the

00:22:07.750 --> 00:22:12.049
few endings that genuinely feels wrong in a way

00:22:12.049 --> 00:22:14.529
that sticks with you. It, like, sticks to your

00:22:14.529 --> 00:22:17.670
ribs. Like, you're not getting rid of this. Yeah.

00:22:17.809 --> 00:22:20.289
I was a little mad that I made him watch it,

00:22:20.349 --> 00:22:23.650
to be honest. I mean... You got to see this ending.

00:22:23.789 --> 00:22:28.029
You got to see it. But is it a product of its

00:22:28.029 --> 00:22:30.750
time? Or is it a tragic story about a child who

00:22:30.750 --> 00:22:33.970
was forced into a box they didn't fit into until

00:22:33.970 --> 00:22:37.990
they finally just snapped? You know, I don't

00:22:37.990 --> 00:22:41.809
know. What is going on there? I think looking

00:22:41.809 --> 00:22:44.630
at it now through like a 2026 lens is a little

00:22:44.630 --> 00:22:48.430
bit different because we handle a lot of stuff

00:22:48.430 --> 00:22:52.430
differently now. Identity, trauma, gender. Yeah,

00:22:52.450 --> 00:22:56.609
the separation of gender for sure. And I felt

00:22:56.609 --> 00:23:00.210
– and this may be just my interpretation. Again,

00:23:00.289 --> 00:23:02.589
I love to know what the freaks think. I love

00:23:02.589 --> 00:23:05.470
to know like – because there could be a lot of

00:23:05.470 --> 00:23:07.250
interpretations in watching a movie like this

00:23:07.250 --> 00:23:09.849
and say this is how I – what I got. I felt like

00:23:09.849 --> 00:23:13.970
there was this underlying not explicitly said

00:23:13.970 --> 00:23:18.670
but the message or like what I was getting was

00:23:18.670 --> 00:23:21.920
– If this was Angela all along, if this had been

00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:26.680
the girl, Angela, she wouldn't have committed

00:23:26.680 --> 00:23:29.200
these murders. Like, she was committing murders

00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:31.519
because she was Peter. Do you know what I mean?

00:23:31.619 --> 00:23:34.180
I felt like this was like, oh, a girl wouldn't

00:23:34.180 --> 00:23:36.960
have done this stuff, but a boy would. Yeah.

00:23:37.619 --> 00:23:39.220
Exactly. That's kind of the message I was getting.

00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:41.599
And I'm like, I don't know if today, in the way

00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:43.940
that we, like, understand gender and we don't

00:23:43.940 --> 00:23:46.859
put things into these boxes of roles as much.

00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:51.539
Thank goodness, I hope. But, yeah, I kind of

00:23:51.539 --> 00:23:53.160
got that impression. I was kind of like, are

00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:56.420
they trying to say that, like, Peter is strong

00:23:56.420 --> 00:23:59.680
enough to, like, hold somebody down in the water

00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:03.000
or whatever? But, like, if it was Angela, it

00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:05.700
wouldn't have been. I don't know. Just my thoughts.

00:24:06.859 --> 00:24:11.079
That's my final. How about that? No final thought.

00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:13.380
Final question for the freaks. Does the ending

00:24:13.380 --> 00:24:16.160
still hold up? Is it a shocker? Or does it feel

00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:18.599
a little bit different now that we're more culturally

00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:23.740
aware? Go ahead, Coco. Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah,

00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:26.740
that's a great question. My final thoughts, if

00:24:26.740 --> 00:24:30.680
I can have the real horror, the only moment that

00:24:30.680 --> 00:24:32.880
I felt, okay, I actually have two final thoughts.

00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:35.680
Sorry. It just occurred to me that I have another

00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:38.950
one. The only real horror I felt like I got from

00:24:38.950 --> 00:24:41.690
this movie, because, you know, again, horror

00:24:41.690 --> 00:24:45.549
feels a little differently in a modern day than

00:24:45.549 --> 00:24:47.509
watching a 1983 version where you're just kind

00:24:47.509 --> 00:24:51.089
of like, oh, that's cute. Yeah. Oh, that happened.

00:24:51.410 --> 00:24:54.450
Well, the real horror for me was watching the

00:24:54.450 --> 00:24:56.730
beginning of it and seeing the chefs cooking

00:24:56.730 --> 00:24:59.130
for all those campers and seeing the piles of

00:24:59.130 --> 00:25:02.190
corn they had to cook up. And for a second, I

00:25:02.190 --> 00:25:05.259
imagined what it would be like to be like. camp

00:25:05.259 --> 00:25:10.980
chef or cook. To me, that's a real horror. Thinking

00:25:10.980 --> 00:25:12.660
about spending all day in the kitchens feeding

00:25:12.660 --> 00:25:17.539
however many 60 camper kids in the mess hall.

00:25:18.460 --> 00:25:23.339
That's a real horror story. Just 60 unappreciative

00:25:23.339 --> 00:25:25.319
campers because you know they're not coming in

00:25:25.319 --> 00:25:27.599
and they're being nice about... You're like,

00:25:27.660 --> 00:25:31.480
yum. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Although if they're getting

00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:34.500
real corn, like real ears of corn rather than

00:25:34.500 --> 00:25:36.700
canned corn or like creamed corn, which is what

00:25:36.700 --> 00:25:40.599
I would expect from most places. But they should

00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:43.160
be appreciative. That's pretty. In our day to

00:25:43.160 --> 00:25:44.519
day, we'd be like, do you know how much money

00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:48.720
that would cost? It's pretty expensive. I think

00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:52.200
we should find us a sleep away camp or have one.

00:25:52.299 --> 00:25:54.279
We should make one. I don't know. They're all

00:25:54.279 --> 00:25:59.119
haunted. I know. There's got to be a lot. There's

00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:02.480
got to be a lot near us. Yeah, I'm sure there

00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:04.259
are around here. There's some really good ones,

00:26:04.380 --> 00:26:09.720
by the way, for behavioral and therapeutic purposes.

00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:12.200
There's a couple out here that I've heard of,

00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:16.380
but they're actually top of the line, like incredible

00:26:16.380 --> 00:26:19.339
for kids struggling with behavioral issues or

00:26:19.339 --> 00:26:21.759
mental health issues. And so I just want to point

00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:23.319
that out. So if there was somebody looking for

00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:24.880
something like that, we have some good ones out

00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:31.930
here in Utah. I know I love to just circle around

00:26:31.930 --> 00:26:34.990
it, but I actually was pleasantly, pleasantly

00:26:34.990 --> 00:26:38.250
surprised at the quality of the horror effects

00:26:38.250 --> 00:26:43.630
in this movie. Like when it showed the guy, he

00:26:43.630 --> 00:26:46.349
was attacked by bees or when it showed the guy

00:26:46.349 --> 00:26:51.109
boiling, you know, in his face and melting off.

00:26:51.809 --> 00:26:54.869
I was actually really surprised at how realistic

00:26:54.869 --> 00:26:58.950
it looked. You know, for being like low budget,

00:26:59.089 --> 00:27:03.170
I guess we can classify this movie. I thought

00:27:03.170 --> 00:27:05.210
it was excellent. I just wanted to say that.

00:27:05.849 --> 00:27:09.930
Big time. Big time. And shout out to, once again,

00:27:10.089 --> 00:27:12.269
Felisa Rose. I follow her on Instagram. She's

00:27:12.269 --> 00:27:14.769
a great follower. Check her out. She's still

00:27:14.769 --> 00:27:17.210
active. She's still very active in movies. She's

00:27:17.210 --> 00:27:22.319
still active in the. con scene, and I don't mean

00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:23.799
that in a bad way. I'm talking about Comic Con,

00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:26.740
FanXs, those kinds of things. You got to go check

00:27:26.740 --> 00:27:29.400
her out. I would love to talk to her right here

00:27:29.400 --> 00:27:31.720
on the show. We could do another episode if Phyllis

00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:34.119
would come talk to us. I'd be amazing. Big fan

00:27:34.119 --> 00:27:37.259
of hers. Seen her on Joe Bob before. Her and

00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:39.420
Joe Bob are tight, so I know they've got a great

00:27:39.420 --> 00:27:42.339
relationship, but that's going to do it for this

00:27:42.339 --> 00:27:46.380
edition of Parallel Frequencies. Wistful Wednesday,

00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:51.599
once again. Sleepaway Camp. Rest in peace to

00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:56.779
Jonathan Tierston once again. Yeah. Yeah. Love

00:27:56.779 --> 00:28:00.299
to his family. And I am just playing. She is

00:28:00.299 --> 00:28:02.079
Coco. You were the freaks and we'll see you on

00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:02.559
the other side.