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"What a bad camper." -Angela after murdering Phoebe.

Angela Baker (Née, Peter Baker) is the main antagonistic/protagonist of the 1983 slasher movie Sleepaway Camp and its sequels.

He was the survivor of a horrible boating accident which claimed the life of his father and said to have also claimed the life of his twin sister until it was revealed she somehow survived - a horrific incident that scarred him and was left in the care of his domineering, mentally-unstable aunt. It was under her care that he was forced to be his "dead" twin sister, that is when Angela was truly "born".

At age 14, Angela was eventually sent away to Camp Arawak as an attempt to help her integrate into youth culture. The act proved fatal, as young Angela suffered a complete psychological breakdown and began murdering her fellow campers and counselors and the camp owner but most of them were out of revenge for picking on her and Ricky. After years of therapy and a sex change, which made Angela female for the rest of films, Angela was "cured." Five years later, she made another attempt at camp life but her mental state dissolved once again and she committed a series of murders. One year later, Angela tried again to fit in at camp, with the same outcome.

Background[]

Born as Peter Baker, Angela Baker grew up with her father and twin sister, with frequent visits to Aunt Martha and Cousin Ricky, who she was quite close with. While still very young, Angela and Angela (sister) spied on their father in bed with his lover, Lenny. (The original publisher said Angela was the twin sister's name, but we don't know Angela’s sister's name. Angela was just a name given to her because her aunt liked it a lot and "thinks it means angel" which explains why she calls [Angela] "my little angel".)

Films[]

Sleepaway Camp (1983)[]

Sometime in 1975, Angela (Peter), Angela (Real), John, and Lenny had a picnic and enjoyed their sailboat while they waited to meet up with Martha. During the boat ride, Angela and Angela (sister) pushed John into the water, capsizing their sailboat. Water skiers, not paying attention, ran over the family. John and Angela (sister) were killed in the accident and Angela survived with a head wound. Martha adopted her niece and brought her home with her while her son Ricky was at his father's house. Martha explained to Angela that she always wanted a girl and already had a boy, so Angela would be Angela from now on. She was giddy with excitement. 8 years later in 1983, 14-year-old Angela and 15-year-old Ricky were called downstairs by her aunt after they packed their bags to go to summer camp at Camp Arawak.

Angela rode on the bus to camp with Ricky, where he gave her a tour and introduced her to his best friend Paul. Angela doesn't respond to Paul but rather remains silent through the tour. Ricky shows her to her bunk. Angela is ridiculed and bullied due to her introverted nature and shyness, mainly by Judy and camp counselor Meg. Only Meg's friend and fellow counselor, Susie shows her any kindness. Meg asks Ronnie Angelo to help her deal with Angela since she hasn't eaten anything. Ronnie takes her to the kitchen to see if there is anything she likes.

Artie sees Angela and intends to molest her after taking her to the back room. Before any harm can come to Angela, Ricky storms in while Artie unfastens his pants. Artie is then scalded by Angela in the kitchen and she leaves the kitchen unseen. That night at a dance, Angela is accosted by Kenny and Mike, who both mock her for being weird and silent, which thus prompts Ricky and Paul to fight with them. Ricky and the other boys are sent back to their cabin by camp counselor Gene.

Paul stays behind and befriends Angela by telling her about the misadventures he and Ricky had gotten into in previous years. Angela doesn't respond until Paul leaves, when she speaks for the first time, telling him 'good night'. After Kenny overturns the boat, he is drowned in the lake by Angela. Later that day, Paul talks with Angela while she sits out of the volleyball game, much to the irritation of Judy.

Meg tells Angela that she either must participate or do nothing, which included talking to the boys. That evening, Paul and Angela go to the rec. room to watch a movie. Afterward, they leave hand in hand as a sign of their growing attraction. Paul attempts to kiss Angela when they are alone but Angela reacts badly and walks back to her cabin. The next day at the lake, Paul sits beside Angela and leaves when Meg arrives.

Meg asks Angela if she is going to swim but Angela doesn't respond. Meg angrily shakes Angela until Ronnie pulls her away and tells her to leave Angela alone. Judy approaches Angela and is angrily thinking that she got Meg in trouble. Then Judy begins mocking Angela again and asks her why she doesn't take a shower or go swimming or change clothes with the other girls. Angela refuses to answer Judy and grows so out of control that Susie slaps her. Angela leaves the stunned girls to go visit Ricky. One of her heroic acts was killing Mel Kostic and saving her cousin Ricky Thomas. The rest of the series is then set into 2 separate timelines.

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988)[]

5 years later, In 1988, after going through a gender reassignment surgery and 2 years of electroshock therapy, Angela was believed to be "cured" and was ultimately released for good behavior. Deciding to become a counselor at Camp Rolling Hills under the alias Angela Johnson, she tries again at camp life. The attitudes of the campers there lead her to believe that they needed to be "punished" for their behavior (drugs, drinking, sex, bad attitude, etc.) and she ends up killing them one by one. When she is fired by camp owner Uncle John for sending campers home without going through him first (She actually killed them), this leads her on a killing spree of those remaining, including himself. Sean Whitmore, one of the campers in attendance there, is the only person who was able to recognize Angela's true identity and her being the killer at Camp Arawak before he is killed by her. The only survivors of her rampage are one girl who had wanted to go home and possibly Molly Nagle, though her fate remains unknown.

Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989)[]

One year later in 1989, after killing Maria Nicastro in New York, Angela assumes her identity and travels to Camp New Horizons, a camp where several youths from both upper and lower class areas and of different ethnicities are to live and work together in "an experiment in sharing." Trying to adjust to camp life a third time, her sanity is broken through once again by the actions and behaviors of the campers and their assigned counselors.

This leads her to a third killing spree, killing all present, one her victims most notably police officer Barney Whitmore, who arrested Angela at Camp Arawak for her kills. He tries to avenge his son's death but fails. The only campers she spares are Tony DeHerrara and Marcia Holland, the latter who manages to stab Angela a few times with a knife for the murders she had committed. While in an ambulance being led away, she kills a paramedic and a cop with a syringe before they could consider finishing her off for her actions. When the driver asks what was happening in the back of the ambulance, Angela simply replies "Just taking care of business." (In a deleted scene, she could be heard rapping the same rap song heard during her killing one of the campers.)

Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor (1992 / 2012)[]

4 years later, 10 years after the Camp Arawak massacre, an amnesiac named Allison Kramer embarks on a voyage to discover if she is Angela Baker, which is ultimately proven to be true, rediscovering all of her memories at the film's climax, before returning to the psychiatric clinic she had been residing in since 1989.

Return to Sleepaway Camp (2008)[]

In 2003, Angela/Peter doesn't appear directly, but the real Angela is revealed to have survived the boating accident and returns as the main killer in this film, Peter presumably knows that her sister is alive and unfortunately well and serves as an unseen character in assisting her sibling. It is also implied that Peter stopped impersonating her.

Character[]

Angela in Sleepaway Camp is portrayed as quiet and reserved. Until she meets Paul, she doesn't speak a word to anyone, even to her cousin Ricky. She also refuses to eat and keeps to herself all the time. Due to her introvert behavior, she gets bullied by numerous campers. Her being primarily scarred by her aunt's desire to have a girl instead of a boy and her fathers death and her sisters alleged death and being additionally persecuted by other kids while emotionally dealing with bothleads to a murder spree. She is also sexually confused because of everyone taking her as a girl and Paul wanting to get romantically involved with her.

In Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers her motivation is much clearer, claiming to want to get rid of all the "bad kids" who can't follow the rules. Her character is completely changed; talkative, sociable and playful, but only on the outside. She has also become deceptive. She was attacked for calling some people.

In Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland her character does not differ much from the one in the previous movie, she is just more ruthless and less subtle, for example when she pissed off Barney Whitmore and teased him with mentioning his dead son, Sean. She was attacked again for killing some people (which she deserved for killing so many innocent people).

In Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor her character is more like hers from the original movie, attaining more and more traits of herself in parts II and III as she recovers her memories.

Behind the Scenes[]

In each film, Angela uses a disguise:

Some fans theorize that the Angela seen in parts II and III is a different character because of the change in mood and Actress.

Jonathan Tiersten (Ricky) performed the murder scenes in the original Sleepaway Camp because Felissa Rose was too young.

Archie Liberace apparently played Angela while she was naked in the ending, although it is not confirmed if you search the movie's title in IMDb Archie Liberace is credited as Naked Angela. Although it was theorized that the actor that portrayed Artie also portrayed Naked Angela when she shows her head before Paul's head falls.

Since the mother of Angela's actor didn't want her to wear a strap, the directors had to make a last-moment decision to get a male actor to play Angela while she was naked, they sculpted Angela's face and put it on the actor. The cast confirmed that the actor never wanted to come out publicly as they were too embarrassed.

Original Angela[]

Some have theorized that the character who Felissa Rose portrayed in Return To Sleepaway Camp was actually the real Angela, who everyone had assumed died in the boating accident from the beginning of the first film. We see the life-vest rise to the surface of the water at the beginning, and at the end we find out that Angela survived the accident and that the person who we thought was Angela (sister) throughout the movie was actually Angela. In Return, Rose's character may actually be the real Angela who also survived the boating accident and was assumed dead. Rose and producer Jeff Hayes confirm that the original Angela survived alongside Peter as implied at the end of the Return To Sleepaway Camp: Behind The Scenes documentary on the DVD.

Michael Simpson conceived a third sequel ending with Felissa Rose's Angela battling Pamela Springsteen's Angela, following off of the implication in Return to Sleepaway Camp that the original Angela was still alive.

Victims[]

  • Artie (1)
  • Kenny (2)
  • Billy (3)
  • Meg (4)
  • 4 young campers (5, 6, 7, 8)
  • Judy (9)
  • Mel Kostic (10)
  • Paul (11)
  • Phoebe (12)
  • Jodi Shote (13)
  • Brooke Shote (14)
  • Mare (15)
  • Anthony (16)
  • Judd (17)
  • Ally Burgess (18)
  • Demi (19)
  • Lea (20)
  • TC (21)
  • Sean Witmore (22)
  • Matt (23)
  • Charlie (24)
  • Emilio (25)
  • Uncle John (26)
  • Rob Darrinco (27)
  • Diane (28)
  • Truck driver (29)
  • Molly Nagle (Fate unknown)
  • Maria Nicastro (30)
  • Tawny Richards (31)
  • Herman Miranda (32)
  • Jan Hernandez (33)
  • Peter Doyle (34)
  • Snowboy (35)
  • Arab (36)
  • Cindy Hammersmith (37)
  • Lilly Miranda (38)
  • Bobby Stark (39)
  • Riff (40)
  • Officer Barney Whitmore (41)
  • Greg Nakyshima (42)
  • Anita Burtrum (43)
  • Paramedic (44)
  • Police Officer (45)
  • Eugene (46)
  • Jack (47)
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