The franchise primarily focuses on serial killer Angela Baker and the murders she commits, largely at summer camps.

Sleepaway Camp IV began filming in 1992 but was not completed; some footage that was shot on the first day, just over half an hour long, was released as an exclusive fourth disc included with some editions of the Region 1 Sleepaway Camp box set.

The footage was compiled and improved by the makers and official Sleepaway Camp sequels website creator John Klyza and made into a 70-minute film, which was released on March 23, 2012, with online distribution.

The film opens in an idyllic lake in summer, and shows a man, John Baker, and his two children, Angela and Peter, swimming around and on board a boat.

The film then cuts to a few years later, with a shy and quiet Angela, played by Felissa Rose, living with her eccentric aunt Dr. Martha Thomas and cousin Ricky.

It is not revealed until the twist ending of the film that the killer is in fact "Peter", who survived the boat accident and was raised as his deceased sister Angela by his aunt.

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers was made and released in 1988, directed by Michael A. Simpson and written by Fritz Gordon.

It follows a "survivor" of the original three films, Alison, who seeks psychiatric help after having nightmares about the camp site and the murders that took place there.

Murders are again committed by an unknown person at the camp, but it is revealed that Angela has made a return in another disguise, a male police officer named Sheriff Jerry who uses an artificial voice box due to supposedly having had throat cancer.

Hiltzik reportedly planned a further sequel following Return titled Sleepaway Camp Reunion, initially announced to be released in October 2011, but it is unknown if it evolved past the pre-production stages.

It was prospectively titled Sleepaway Camp: Berserk and reportedly introduced supernatural aspects into the series,[2] but as of 2017, nothing has materialized.