Party All Night! Teenage Wasteland!

This follow-up really reinforces the decline of the slasher genre as a whole as expected when such a subgenre had been churning out product on the assembly line for a decade. It was inevitable that the intended audience would tire of the formula. I think perhaps the 90s endured so much difficulty from that oversaturation. Granted those of us who were teenagers in the 90s were playing catch-up anyway while those who were now in their 20s needed a break from the genre. It wouldn't be too long before the subgenre got a shot in the arm. Still, by 1989, the subgenre was in need of some alone time. 

Rewatching the film, I don't recall any of my friends from the past when we would talk horror before school started ever mentioning this sequel. "Unhappy Campers" (1988), on the other hand, while not at all a favorite of mine, was a hit from what I remember on video. I don't ever remember seeing it at the six or seven rental stores in the early 90s, either. The second film definitely was. It was rented a lot, often I'd pass by it and just the empty box was present. But "Teenage Wasteland" wasn't seemingly on the lips of anyone I knew. Watching the film, it has plenty of young adults as teenagers once again freely dropping the shirts and bras, giving the requisite naked chests expected in direct to video slasher exploitation. There wasn't a lot of budget for gore in this third film, either, despite Angela once again killing a bunch of folks. So maybe that is why it wasn't a hit with slasher fans. Upon it's DVD release in the 2000s, the film has gotten more exposure, though. I finally got to see it when it was available at Blockbuster in the mid 2000s. I had plenty to say about it in the user comments.

When I finished I felt this was one film too many with this Angela version. I get that those involved in the previous sequel thought it would be great to return to the well one more time. Pamela Springsteen's Angela has to be in the slasher killer conversation. She killed a bunch of fucking people. Like a lot of campers and counselors. Her resume for the slasher body count deserves to be in the conversation with the greats all things considering.