Back to ‘Camp’: Kenan Thompson and Original Director to Lead Reboot of ’80s Slasher ‘Sleepaway Camp’

It’s time to pack up your bathing suit, extra socks and sleeping bag and head back to Sleepaway Camp.
The 1983 film with the shocking (at the time) surprise ending is going to be rebooted by none other than Kenan Thompson of Saturday Night Live. The SNL star’s production company AFA, which he owns with Johnny Ryan Jr., will work closely with Robert Hiltzik, the director of the original, on the project.
No details on story or casting are known yet, but Hiltzik will be very involved in revitalizing the franchise. Hiltzik and his wife have resisted offers to release the franchise rights to other filmmakers over the past few decades, but Thompson and Ryan’s AFA gives creative control and ownership to the original artists on its projects.
Released in 1983, Sleepaway Camp is a summer-camp slasher made on the cheap (its budget was only $350,000) about Angela Baker (Felissa Rose), a shy teen whose summer at Camp Arawak became even more awkward when campers started dying in very unpleasant ways.
Hiltzik shot it at Camp Algonquin in Argyle, New York, the same camp he attended as a kid. The film grossed around $11 million and has endured as a cult favorite, spurring four sequels/related movies, the last coming out in 2012. Pamela Springsteen (Bruce’s sister) took over the role of Angela for the second and third outings, while Rose returned for the fourth movie in the series, which served as a sequel to the first movie, ignoring the second and third. The fifth and last movie starred Carrie Chambers as Angela and used archival footage from the first through third movies and was technically a sequel to Sleepaway Camp III.
Hiltzik told Deadline, “I am both thrilled and humbled to be working with AFA on the reimagined Sleepaway Camp. Though I have been approached by several companies regarding the remake of Sleepaway Camp, only AFA has shared my vision and is excited to have me helm the film, therefore preserving the integrity of the original film for the fans, as well as introducing Sleepaway Camp to a whole new generation. Be prepared for a new member of the Sleepaway Camp family.”
Deadline also quotes Thompson as saying, “Excited to work with the original genius Robert and bring back to life a camp classic!!!”


