Felissa Rose Discusses the Queer Horror of ‘Sleepaway Camp’ [Interview]

In the four decades since Robert Hiltzik’s cult slasher Sleepaway Camp was released, the controversial film has elicited a myriad of responses and interpretations over its portrayal of lead character Angela Baker, played by Felissa Rose. Reactions to the film have included accusations of sensationalism and transphobic exploitation. In the present day, however, it has also been hailed as a prescient – if not complicated – queer horror story that explores gender identity, bullying, and trauma. 

Released in 1983, Sleepaway Camp tells the story of Angela, a shy and quiet girl, who is terrorized by campers and staff at Camp Arawak. A killer is targeting those who bullied her, the body count rising as they’re taken out by way of hot curling iron, stabbing, and dismemberment. The violence culminates in the film’s shocking ending when it’s revealed that Angela is the killer and that she’s been keeping a secret. Naked and covered in blood, she makes guttural, animalistic noises and looks completely deranged. Angela’s nudity reveals her secret – male genitalia. We then learn, through flashbacks, about her traumatic past. After her father tragically dies in a boating accident, she’s sent to live with her Aunt Martha, who strips Angela of her autonomy and agency, forcing her to live life as a girl.

Interweaving personal and professional insights, Rose takes us through a retelling of Sleepaway Camp through the lens of queer horror and reflects on how attitudes toward LGBTQ+ communities have shifted since the film’s debut. Rose, who views Angela as a trans character, contends that the girl enshrined in ‘80s horror cinema deserves empathy and a deeper look into how trauma shaped her life and murderous actions. “I feel like I raised her over these 40 years,” Rose explains. “I’m protective. I care for her.”

DC: What was it like playing the lead character Angela Baker?

Felissa Rose: I auditioned to play the role of Angela in May of 1982 when I was twelve. She was like myself: a young person wanting to kiss someone, wanting to be around other people, wanting to feel comfortable in her skin and find the core of who she truly, authentically, was. In navigating this world today, I look back and I see someone strong and someone I look up to. I look at the character as someone who dealt with a lot and I feel empowered by her and I admire her for having gone through all that she did.

DC: Do you think Sleepaway Camp is transphobic?

F.R.: I absolutely don’t feel like it’s transphobic. I feel as though Angela was a typical adolescent trying to find her gender identification and sexual orientation and I thought that was extremely exciting for 1982. It was ahead of its time. You can see with her father and his lover as well as her relationship with Paul [her camp crush], who she was trying to understand her relationship with, I feel like it was an adolescent story of a young person coming of age, with all of the murders on the side [Rose laughs].

DC: What was it like to play a transgender character? 

F.R.: I feel absolutely grateful. I feel so wonderfully connected and welcomed into the community. I have so many friends who are trans and LGBTQ+, so it’s just sort of natural. And I couldn’t think of anything more exciting than to have done this role and feel connected to the community. 

DC: How do you think Sleepaway Camp would have played out if Angela had been assigned female at birth but forced to conform as male?

F.R.: I think it would probably have been just as difficult. I feel (and this is just my philosophy) that when you’re not authentically you and comfortable with yourself or are forced to be something other than who you are in your heart, it’s so tragic and so traumatizing. What is life like when you wake up and you’re not able to be truly the person you are?  I don’t think it could ever be right or ever be okay. I think what happens is when people, especially young people, feel that and prey on that. And that’s why it would have been just as bad because that young person, no matter who they are, is being messed with and pushed. So I think it would have been just as awful because it’s a person who’s not comfortable and unable to be who they are. 

DC: How did the physical and mental trauma Angela endured affect her?

F.R.: I feel as though Angela sort of felt rightful in her actions, if you will, having been traumatized by what she saw with her family in the boating accident, up to living with Aunt Martha who is clearly unhinged. I think there was a lot of buildup and I think it all came to this kind of screeching halt, and she needed to completely release. So I think that in the final moment, the primal scream, the growl, the eyes not being able to focus on what was right in front and looking to the side, was the culmination of having been really tortured, being an anti-hero, if you will. And I think the quiet was the calm before the storm. And I do take it seriously with Angela because I liken her to being one of my children. I’m protective. I care for her. I feel like I raised her over these 40 years. And I am proud of where she is today – someone who released that and got all of that out and now stands strong today. 

DC: Can you talk about the Sleepaway Camp prequel you would like to make?

F.R.: I really would like to do a prequel about Aunt Martha. It’s super important not only for myself to find the answers, but sort of on this path of where we are today. What were the living arrangements? What was happening in the house? What was the daily routine, the emotional life? I feel like if we knew the story in the home, we would know better where Angela’s steps would be in walking through life, presenting as a boy. 

DC.: In the 40 years since Sleepaway Camp’s release, how have attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community changed?
F.R.: My father opened the first gay resort in New York in 1977. I was eight years old, and interestingly enough, six years later, I got this role [in Sleepaway Camp]. It was completely different back then. Mark Patton [star of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2] is one of my dearest friends and if you watch his beautiful documentary, Scream Queen, we see what has happened from the eighties up to today. There’s so much more love, acceptance, kindness, happiness, living authentically and being kind to your fellow neighbor, your friend, the people in your class – it has changed so much. And I hope to continue to see that progress. It all has to do with being kind and wanting everyone to be authentic. A best friend of mine is transitioning, and we speak every day and he’s so happy and feels so amazing. And his boss just said, ‘hello, sir’ yesterday and it was a major milestone. I’m happy to hear that, rather than it being condemned 40 years ago or not feeling like you could come out or speak about it.

Tags: Felissa Rose Sleepaway Camp