Inside
“What a daughter needs, a mother knows.”
A year ago, my favorite coworker to talk movies with recommended two Halloween films: Inside and Sleepaway Camp. I didn’t get around to them last October, so I saved them for 2024. Since they were both short – under 90 minutes each – I decided to pull a double feature today. It’s surprisingly easy to do homework while watching a slasher film.
First up, we have Inside. I watched this 2007 French slasher film with subtitles, so I managed to follow along. All I knew going into it was that it was about a pregnant woman, so the villain’s motivation felt obvious. And yeah, it’s not too hard to figure out where the plot’s heading. You’re just here for the ride.
Strangely, I found myself greatly appreciating the fact that our MC, Sarah, could hide from her stalker in her bathroom. It felt like a video game-esque “safe zone,” and it was easier to relate to an MC who tries to hide and wait out the villain rather than one who openly and repeatedly attacks. It makes the eventual loss of that sanctuary all the more gutting (pun intended).
There are multiple near-saves across the movie’s runtime, bringing up your hopes just to send them crashing back down. As expected, there’s lots of squirting blood and death via scissors. There’s also an impressive move near the film’s end with an aerosol can. It doesn’t bear much rewatchabilty, but Inside still makes for as gory a slasher as you can expect.
Sleepaway Camp
…holy SHIT.
And then we get to the second rec. The one where I knew nothing but the incredibly innocuous title. Seriously, has there ever been a greater understatement in film history?
Right up until that ending, I was thinking “huh, this isn’t too crazy, just an old cheesy slasher flick.” And even when I thought I knew what would happen… oh man, I could not have been more wrong. Wow.
Sleepaway Camp’s MC is Angela, a young girl dealing with past trauma. As she and her cousin Ricky attend summer camp for the first time, mysterious deaths pile up and close in around her. Who’s behind all this killing?
Honestly, it’s kind of satisfying how Angela’s almost always defended from her rampant bullies by other counselors or Ricky. Ricky’s one of the best parts of this movie, honestly – he’s a total sweetheart in his intense protection for his cousin.
But it’s not for the realistic child actors, weird nudity, or graphic murders – as freaky as some of them are – that Sleepaway Camp lives on in infamy in the minds of horror fans. It’s that ending.
Oh man, prepare yourself. Just when you think you know how the story will end… I promise you, you don’t.
There’s definitely a discussion to be had on the modern-day implications of this twist, but its shock value hasn’t dissipated over forty years later. I turned on this movie expecting a Friday the 13th knock-off, and I left feeling genuinely disturbed at the final scene.
*spoilers here*
Felissa Rose’s acting deserves all the acclaim. Her initial portrayal of a shy, quiet, subdued girl sharpens the final contrast with horrifying precision. To see her become wide-eyed, wild, and hissing… holy shit, that visual does not leave you. The change caught me so off-guard that I had to rewind the movie to catch that last twist of the plot.
If you watch this movie, I definitely recommend checking out Dead Meat’s “Kill Count” video for it. It gives some great background on the creation of the film and the finer details that went into the special effects.
Oh man, day three of my 31 Days of Frights and I’m already feeling horrifed. Maybe I’ll pick something slightly lighter for tomorrow, yeah? Do I have Beetlejuice out from the library yet?
…nope. Damn it.
