Felissa Rose has endeared herself to horror fans for nearly 40 years. The New York-born star was just 13 when she got her first role as a shy teen, turned killer in the now iconic Sleepaway Camp (1983). That role, as well as the film’s infamous ending (no spoilers), has stayed with her, launching a career in horror that has garnered nearly 120 roles on IMDb as well as recurring role as “Mangled Dick Expert” on Shudder’s The Last Drive In starring Joe Bob Briggs. Rose makes countless appearances at horror conventions throughout the country, and speaking from experience, there is no one more genuine and pleasant with guests. It was my pleasure to speak with her via telephone last week to discuss her career, current films, and the uncertainty of life in a true horror landscape.
The next Friday the 13th is going to be one to remember for horror movie fans as Joe Bob Briggs, America’s preeminent drive-in critic and expert on the sleaziest and looniest B-movies ever made, brings The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs to the horror streaming service Shudder.
For 24 straight hours beginning on Friday July 13, Briggs will screen 13 of the greatest horror flicks of all time in what he describes in the newly released trailer (which you can watch here below) as a “dusk to dawn to dusk to almost dawn again” marathon.
This week’s Digital Wire Blu-ray Releases has news on several impending video releases, including one of the most popular and controversial films of last year, two sequels in a classic 1980’s slasher franchise, and a pair of forgettable genre efforts from early this year.
Below you’ll find info on several future home video releases complete with technical specs, release dates, and links to pre-order at Amazon, as well as a list of titles coming out this week.
Sleepaway Camp Blu-ray + DVD Combo
Director: Robert Hiltzik
Screenwriter: Robert Hiltzik
Cast: Mike Kellin, Katherine Kamhi, Paul DeAngelo, Jonathan Tiersten, Felissa Rose, Karen Fields, Christopher Collet, John E. Dunn Scream Factory
Unrated | 87 Minutes
Release Date: May 27, 2013
If you’re a connoisseur of ’80s horror movies, odds are you’re familiar with Robert Hiltzik‘s 1983 cult classic, Sleepaway Camp. A summer camp slasher in the vein of Friday the 13th and The Burning, Sleepaway Camp is an ode to short shorts and side ponytails – and the wholesale slaughter of horny kids and camp counselors with Long Island accents, of course.
After a horrific boating accident killed her family, Angela Baker (Felissa Rose) is sent to live with her eccentric creepy, possibly schizophrenic Aunt Martha (Desiree Gould) and her cousin Ricky (Jonathan Tiersten). Good ol’ Aunt Martha sends the little kiddies off to Camp Arawak for the summer to enjoy the great outdoors.
Shoot ‘Em Up and Snakes on a Plane producer Jeff Katz has been trying to grab the rights to remake ’80s slasher flick Sleepaway Camp for years now with no luck…not until now.
Katz has acquired the right from writer and director Robert Hiltzik, producer Michele Tatosian, and actress Felissa Rose, who starred in the movie as Angela, a shy girl who goes to a summer camp where a killer shows up and starts taking out campers.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press