31 Days of Halloween, Day 8 – The kids are NOT alright. It’s KILLER KID WEEK!

Countdown to Halloween:
Killer Kid Week

“Thank Heaven, For Killer Girls” Hall of Fame Inductees … Part II

Angela of Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Angela has a secret.

And if no one has spoiled you yet, you won’t see it coming. That’s what’s great about it. You don’t see it coming because it is incredibly random and one of the greatest what the hell just happened moments in movie history. BUT THEN…after some serious consideration of the plot (because I do that sort of thing), it all makes complete sense and in many ways is a beautifully constructed story; something worthy of…well, maybe just V.C. Andrews, but still. Also, in some ways it represents everything that is ugly about being a child in the 80s. Most of being a child in the 80s was amazing, but sadly we did wear those tube sock.

Angela is cute, withdrawn, shy, aloof and somehow manages to single-handedly turn blank-yet-calculated staring into an art form.

I was already digging Sleepaway Camp, long before its WTF finale, but WHATTA FINALE. I can’t imagine anyone else playing Angela with such amazing … i-don’t-know-what. (-and I refuse to acknowledge the existence of any terrible sequels in which anyone else would try.) Angela is in a category all by herself. A mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in tube socks and 80s camp wear. Angela – you are the reason showing Sleepaway Camp to friends is so much fun. (*Props to my friend Scrappy, who introduced me to SW embarrassingly late into my adult life.)

The Little Girl in Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)

Dear Little girl in Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III:
I don’t remember much about you, but I do remember you, and outside of remembering you and that Ken Forree is also in the movie, I don’t remember much about TCM III. So I guess that says something about you. I’ve heard the unrated director’s cut of this is worth a spin and that could mean you have some really great killer kid moments. Maybe not. But you’re a member of the Sawyer clan and you’re badass enough sit on Leatherface’s lap …

… and that’s close enough.

~ by Number5ive on October 8, 2011.