Death Time

An initiation task for a pair of pledges as part of a ceremony inducting them into a college sorority goes horribly wrong when a live round finds itself into a gun in a game of Russian Roulette, resulting in the death of a pledge. Years later, the surviving sisters are adults & lead various lives. They are contacted out of the blue for a reunion party in Mexico. But upon arriving at the secluded mansion for the party, they find the place belongs to the dead pledge's father, who is determined to find the person responsible for his daughter's death despite the police ruling it an accident. The sisters & a pair of male gatecrashers find themselves trapped inside the property by electric fence, slowly picked off one by one by the secret killer in their midst.

God bless the dirt-cheap budget DVD labels – how else can you find minor gems like Sisters of Death a good 39 years after its release? I initially thought that the film was going to be a borefest or a cheap telepic drama but once the film started, I saw that Sisters of Death was capable of much more than that.

Sisters of Death is a thriller that may have been made years before the slasher film became a fixture of the genre, but it does have certain elements that would make it a slasher film prototype (HALLOWEEN came out two years later). The plot reads like a slasher film in some regards, although the killer doesn't use knives but various methods to kill their victims & the killer's identity doesn't become clear until the very end, which when seen is an effective surprise. The actors do a good job of carrying the film along, which was a hallmark of the genre at the time – 1970s genre films were a bit talky but made a considerable effort to compose solid stories into their being. The setup is solid & the story is interesting, although it does veer into daytime telepic territory at times. Not a classic by any margin but it does have an interesting story & the twists are pretty novel.

Years after a pledge is accidentally killed in an initiation ceremony, the unrepentant and generally unsympathetic sorority sisters are called to a reunion at a remote house where they find themselves locked in by an electric fence and stalked by a killer. The identity and motive of the killer is pretty predictable, but there's still some unexpected surprises regarding his possible accomplice. This movie generally has a bad reputation, but I kind of liked it. The revenge-for-a-fraternity/sorority-prank-gone-wrong is a hoary old cliché in horror movies nowadays but it was pretty original back in 1972 when this movie was made. Similarly the fake class reunion plot was used in many other horror movies in subsequent years, some better ("The Redeemer"), some worse ("Slaughter High"). And it was even parodied at least once (in "National Lampoon's Class Reunion").

The movie also features an early starring role for drive-in queen Claudia Jennings. Jennings is less experienced (albeit also less drug-addled) than she would be in her later roles, and some will no doubt be disappointed that she doesn't take her clothes off. As a general rule it is a bad idea to cast a Playboy Playmate in a lead role and not have her undress (witness "Barb-wire" with Pamela Anderson or ANY movie with Jenny McCarthy). But while Jennings may have been well above average relative to other Playmates when it came to her naked charms, she was in a class by herself when it came to acting talent (with Shannon Tweed maybe a very distant second). She was probably the only Playmate in history who could have made it as a successful actress WITHOUT having been a Playmate. She's definitely the best thing in this movie as she is the ONLY remotely sympathetic potential victim.

The one thing I didn't like about this movie was that it was more in the style of an action movie than a horror movie (it takes place almost entirely in daylight, for instance). It kind of reminded of those stupid female action movies they make today for emasculated fanboys where 105 lb. fashion models go around wielding guns and beating everybody up. But this was the 1970's when feminism was still pretty feminine, and Jennings was one of the few actresses who was always believable in these scrappy roles. Sure this movie could have used some full-frontal nudity, but it's still pretty decent.

Six beautiful high school girls are involved in initiation ceremonies for their exclusive society,The Sisters.A shot from a presumably harmless pistol-part of the ritual-kills Elizabeth.Seven years later each of the remaining Sisters receive identical letters inviting them to a reunion in isolated estate mansion.With nightfall the reign of terror and madness begins as Elizabeth's death is revenged."Sisters of Death" is a pretty good low-budget horror.It's rather tame,but there is enough suspense and surprises to satisfy horror fans.The acting is surprisingly decent and the ladies are quite beautiful.Give it a look,if you're a fan of low-budget American horror.5 out of 10.

This PG-rated see-how-they-die thriller reunites five sorority sisters seven years after the death of a fellow pledge during a hazing ritual gone terribly wrong. Responding to anonymous invitations to gather at an isolated desert villa, the girls soon learn the day of judgement is at hand - and begin to die one by one.

Made in 1972, but not released until 1978, SISTERS OF DEATH is a passable time killer, but lacks interesting characterizations, thrilling setpieces or the trademark extremes that made drive-in going such a singular thrill. With a film like Bava's BAY OF BLOOD pulling out all the stops, SISTERS OF DEATH is just too tame. Still, the cast is game; check out Claudia Jennings (former Playboy Playmate of the Year), Arthur Franz (MONSTER ON CAMPUS) and Joe Tata (the wistful frycook on TV's "Beverly Hills 90210).

Five women, who were once members of a secret sorority, are invited to a lavish ranch in a remote area north of Los Angeles. It seems like a celebratory reunion until things turn deadly. What's going on and who's responsible?

"Sisters of Death" was shot in 1972, but not released until 1976-77. It starts off as an occult-oriented flick involving beautiful women, but morphs into a sorta Ten Little Indians situation with elements that would influence the forthcoming slasher craze, just don't expect a lot of gore.

The highlight is the five women, played by Claudia Jennings (Judy), Sherry Boucher (Diana), Roxanne Albee (Penny), Sherry Alberoni (Francie) and Cheri Howell (Sylvia). You would think that Claudia Jennings would win out on the beauty front, but actually Sherry Boucher and Roxanne Albee surpass her (Boucher is, interestingly, a Jennings lookalike). Elizabeth Bergen is also on hand as Elizabeth in a small role.

While there's no Starsky and Hutch, as amusingly suggested, the two guys sure are reminiscent of them (that particular TV series wouldn't debut until a few years after this flick was shot). It's somewhat similar to "The Beast Must Die" (1974), just without the werewolf angle. Like that movie, not enough focus is put on fleshing out the characters, which makes them uninteresting and this isn't helped by the one-dimensional location.

The entire mid-section of the flick is relatively dull, but things perk up in the end with a twist or two.

The movie runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot in Paso Robles, California, which is about 200 miles north of Los Angeles.

GRADE: C.