The House on Sorority Row

"The House on Sorority Row" an 80's slasher flick has now become somewhat of a cult classic and midnight viewing event, and it does entertain and give chills in typical 80's manner. It has all the common things from the 80's horror films sex, nudity, blood, gore, and a past secret that twist. The story is pretty simple young college sorority girls who are just days away from graduation set out to throw one last surprise party and celebration, however the old lady the matron of the old house hides a horrible secret long buried away in memory. After a freak accident one by one bodies and deaths start to happen all are on the brink of madness and decay! Overall okay 80's horror film that flew under the radar give it a watch if you like that decade and the genre of skin and gore.

I will always have a special place in my heart for The House on Sorority Row. Back in 1982, my father was vice president of a small company in Washington, D.C. called VAE (Visual Aids Electronics). They had contracts with all the major hotels in D.C. to provide their audio visual equipment for all the meetings and conferences that were held there (microphones, TV's, overhead projectors). The company was doing so well, that the president of it (John Ponchok) wanted to branch out and try different things. They started a record company (which failed miserably), and then wanted to try their hand at producing movies. Their first (and only) project: The House on Sorority Row. Filming took place during the summer of 1982 in Baltimore, MD. One day during the summer, my father drove me, my sister, and my mom out to Baltimore for the day to watch them film the movie. I was 7 at the time. We watched them film the scene where they had just shot Ms. Slater, and they were trying to revive her by the side of the pool. I had a blast. I remember meeting some of the girls, and the lady that played Ms. Slater. Later in the afternoon, my family and I were taken up to the attic where the final scene takes place (I'm not sure if it was Mark Rosman or not that took us up there). While my parents were talking with whoever took us up there, I was cruising around the attic on a toy pedal tractor that was up there. In the movie, that same tractor that I rode on is used by the character Peter. One more thing. When they are trying to revive Ms. Slater by the side of the pool, one of the girls screams "Oh my God, the band's here!" A shot is then shown of a station wagon and a white truck coming up the driveway. That white truck was actually one of VAE's old company trucks that they lent them for the scene. After they were done using it in the film, my father bought it from VAE to use as a moving truck for my family's move to Northern Virginia that summer. After we were done with the move, we parked the truck in the woods below our house where it rotted away for the next 15 years, before it was finally towed away to the junkyard.

Better than average slasher flick about a group of sorority babes who accidentally kill someone during a prank and try to cover it up. Later they're murdered one by one by until the inevitable 'final girl vs the killer' showdown all these things seem to have. It's a good movie of its type with some humor and gore (although probably not enough to appeal to gore hounds). Starts out with some Miss Marple-type music that, back in the day, had me double-checking the VHS label to make sure I had the right movie. The cast is pretty good, with early roles for Eileen Davidson and Harley Jane Kozak, and a nice leading role for Kate McNeil. My favorite scenes are Eileen Davidson showing off her breasts and the Sea Pig scene. Given her age you would assume Lois Kelso Hunt (playing the sorority's house mother) was a seasoned pro, but her acting is so bad that she's outshined by everyone in the cast. Even the Sea Pig. There's also a corny band that screams 1980s. It's a fun movie, if you like '80s slashers (which, I assume you do or else why would you be watching this). Might lose a little punch if you've seen a lot of similar movies that came after. Oh, and avoid the 2009 sort-of remake at all costs. It's garbage.

The House on Sorority Row is formulaic, but I'm sure it only feels that way because so many slashers have taken its template and mined it for their own use. We follow the good girl, the girl who is sure to be our final girl, and we're introduced to the other characters who all reveal flaws that will surely lead to their deaths at the hands of our killer.

In this movie, the first act introduces a motive for our killer, and we spend the rest of the movie trying to guess who it might be, while also wondering when and where our next victim will be offed. Some kills are better than others, but that can be said for all slashers.

Unlike the best the genre has to offer, the movie never makes you truly care for any of the victims, they all played a part in a crime early in the movie, and that hinders the movie's ability to get you invested in their fates, but it's still a fun time. I enjoyed the scenes at the party, particularly one scene where the camera in one smooth shot follows each of our sorority sisters as they try to act naturally as they keep a terrible secret.

For any slasher fan this is a can't miss. For anyone looking for something more, you can probably do better elsewhere.

Back in junior high , we love sneaking in to R movies especially slasher films. I remember this one because my older sister and her friends were hooked on the Young and the Restless, me and my annoying little friends couldn't give a sht about the drama, but being 12 & 13yrs olds we sure did love the women in that show, particularly "ASHLEY" in YR. Well to make a long story short, we(my friends & I) heard Ashley from the YR (Eileen Davidson) was starring in this movie and get this y'all was naked that's right Naked in a love scene. No big deal right, WRONG to 5 boys going thru this stage in life was about as good as it gets!! Since then I've become a horror/slasher movie junkie and I've seen them all and this movie was pretty good, there have been many since that have stole the plot, better production but this one can stand on its own and is a lost gem, besides it didn't disappoint us (5 young boys) to witness what at the time was one of the "finest" LOL girls in the world in her birthday suit. Now that I'm older and feel even older I've seen this movie many times and even added it to my collection, but this movie still takes me to a special place in my life and though it's not a well known slasher film it's one I remember fondly and takes me back to the good ole days.