Sleepaway Camp Commentary = Gold!

[J.M. Vargas]

Thanks to these guys for making light of a movie near and dear to my heart in their first ever commentary track. Sometimes it takes a fresh pair of eyes to make you realize how silly and ridiculous something is. I've seen this movie a dozen times and never saw it for the insanely comedic odd duck that it is. Thanks for some hearty laughs and new, skewed perspective on a beloved 80's horror classic.

[Patrick Bromley]

Thanks, J.M.! That movie is insane in the best possible way. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. We had a lot of fun recording it.

[mavrach]

Stupid question - Is there any preferred way to listen to the commentary? Should I bring my iPod and its headphones to my living room and run the DVD as normal? Looking forward to checking this out.

[Patrick Bromley]

Hey, Mavrach! That would probably be the best way. I've tried it a few different ways, and it syncs up best to just the regular Anchor Bay DVD. We'll even tell you when to press 'play.' Hope you enjoy it! Thanks!

[mavrach]

Hey, Mavrach! That would probably be the best way. I've tried it a few different ways, and it syncs up best to just the regular Anchor Bay DVD. We'll even tell you when to press 'play.' Hope you enjoy it! Thanks!

Ok that works for me. Maybe I'll be able to give it a whirl this weekend.

I saw Sleepaway Camp for the first time last year and the ending freaked me out, really really well done. Though the rest of the movie was pretty terrible andmight be a chore to sit through again, this is the perfect way to check it out again.

Thanks, and I've been loving the podcast in general!

[J.M. Vargas]

I'm seriously addicted to this commentary, so much so that I've heard it on its own without the movie several times (and with the movie at least three times). Doug wins, indeed, scoring the commentary's biggest laughs when describing Angela's place in the baseball and volleyball scenes. 'Do you have a peanut allergy?' Too bad the commentary begins lagging behind the movie every 15 or so minutes, prompting the need from the listener to fast-forward a little every few minutes to catch-up with the DVD. Totally worth it for a gas of a commentary though, one that single handedly is tempting me to rent "Wet Hot American Summer" to check out the "Sleepaway Camp" references. More 'F This Movie' commentaries, please!

[Patrick Bromley]

Thanks, J.M.! Awfully nice of you to say. I have no idea why the commentary and the movie don't snyc up exactly as they should; I'm sure it's for technological reasons that I don't understand. The first time I listened to the raw recording, everything was fine; maybe something happened in the process of converting files and interwebs and Google. I appreciate your patience with it.

To give credit where credit is due, the "peanut allergy" line was Mike. The man made his words count.

I'm so glad you're digging the commentary, and I'll be sure to pass it along to everyone. We hope to do another one soon, but it's hard coming up with something as worthy as Sleepaway Camp...

[J.M. Vargas]

If you're taking suggestions Patrick (and since you're obviously not doing the Rifftrax thing of only going after movies that are DVD best-sellers):

-the new batch of 'anti-hero' hero movies ("Kick-Ass," "Super," etc.) that have hit the market. They're prime 'meta-on-meta' material commentary for people like you that know the superhero movies that inspired a new generation of filmmakers to make them (i.e. the commercial blockbuster necessity to have a PG-13 rating neutered the big studio superhero movies' ability to go as dark as they could have, leading to the over-the-top blodshed seen "Super" and such).
-"The Dark Knight" because (a) everybody owns it, (b) everybody has an opinion about it, (c) the 'down time' in-between scenes could be used to talk about the actors (i.e. how Gary Oldman is cast against type as Gordon), (d) the current version doesn't have a DVD commentary and (e) it'd be a nice tie-in with the building hype for next year's sequel.
-anything "cult" that has sold on DVD (not necessarily in the bazillions but sold well) that also happens to be available for streaming on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime (combination of either), etc. so that those that want to listen to the commentary but don't have the DVD have the option to stream the flick. Examples (of DVD ever-green "cult" flicks, not stuff available for streaming): Romero's "Dawn of the Dead," Carpenter's "The Thing," "Grease/Saturday Night Fever," etc.;
-Stuart Gordon flicks are a commentary gold mine, IMHO: "From Beyond," "Re-Animator," "Dagon," etc. They're borderline silly at times but have a strong backbone that supports both mocking and complementary comments. Personally I'd love to hear a commentary from you guys on Gordon's "Dolls" but I don't think enough people have seen it (or own the DVD) to make the commentary worth your while. A guy can dream;
-The first "Hellraiser" movie. It's a good flick that has, sadly, a lame commentary in which Clive Barker comes across as someone that doesn't want to be there;
-A David Cronenberg movie, take your pick. The man's had a fascinating career and his themes repeat enough throughout his work that doing commentary on one is like doing commentary on all of them. Personal choices: "The Fly" (my favorite movie of all time, and one of TIME Magazine's 100 Best Movies of All Time), "eXistenz," "Videodrome," "Dead Ringers," etc.