SHOCKtober Day 11

 

For someone who grew up on horror--and particularly on slasher movies--I came to the Sleepaway Camp series quite a long time after they were born. In fact, the powers of my science-computer show that it was late 2002, when the Sleepaway Camp: Survival Kit box set released. A horror pal told me to just get it because I would love those movies and because I always do whatever people tell me to do so they will think I'm cool, I got it. And he was right, I sure loved 'em! Part II, in particular, got me but good. 

And you know what, it still gets me! In particular...

WOMAN IN TRUCK IN SLEEPAWAY CAMP II: UNHAPPY CAMPERS (1988)

After Angela has killed just about everyone at Camp Rolling Hills (spoiler), she catches a ride out of the area with this truck driving queen who seems to have rolled in straight from an episode of Hee-Haw, and I couldn't be happier. From the moment she answers Angela's "Thanks for picking me up" with "Hell...ain't no skin off my tits" to that where she's dispatched to the great honky tonk in the sky, actress Jill Jane Clements makes the most of every moment and delivers every ridiculous line with a twang and a gusto that only a true character actor can provide.

Woman in Truck is very Ethel from Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning-adjacent, so much so that they could be sisters. Who are these over-the-top women with their over-the-top and completely out of place accents? Listen, if there's anything I've learned from every Halloween movie after the original, the less we know about a movie maniac or a dirt-farming/truck-driving honky tonk angel, the better. They are simply here to make our days a little brighter (and Woman in Truck sure does, even with a mere minute of screen time) before they get stabbed or poked or whatever, and I couldn't be more thankful for them.