The Slumber Party Massacre

Slumber Party Massacre, Quickie Review:

Oh classic slashers! Where would we be without them? And hey, it don't get more classy than this! If you read the title, you know what you're getting with this. Sexy women being butchered by a madman. With a great big drill. Hey, for what it's worth, it's not that bad. I've also seen Slumber Party Massacre III, and let me tell yah, that is some purile sh*t right there. This one, on the other hand, at least has being the first movie in that series on it's side. So it feels at least a little refreshing. It has decent atmosphere and story--from the early to mid 80's when slashers were in their prime of course. But we're really watching this for nudity and slayings. Which we get, the film's not too shy. The nudity and gore are pretty average and nothing all too special. The driller killer? Just an escaped lunatic with a big-assed drill. He doesn't wear a mask, just a grimace. Some decent tension and a pretty good climax (ha ha) prevent the film from failing--though, the story and setting are really damn average. Worth a gander for horror and especially, slasher fans. 5/10

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Without further ado, this simply is an early 80's slasher that's worth seeing (at least once). If not for any other reason, then watch it for the fact that this was written and directed by two women. I still can't believe it! All women in this film are portrait as helpless victims (except for two or so). Most of the killings are bloody and gory. And after only 8 minutes in the movie, the whole teenage female basketball-team goes fully nude and hits the showers(!). The camera gratuitously focuses on boobs and buttocks. Who said women can't make a decent horror movie? Haha! So boobs galore, spiced up with some good-looking gore. Unfortunately there's no story (the movie's title actually is the story). And we know who the killer is right from the start of the movie (we see his face all the time). It's just a crazy man escaped from the loony-bin. I was at least expecting some kind of twist, but about halfway through the movie I gave up this wishful thinking and just enjoyed the rest of it, being as there weren't going to be any surprises anyway. But still, this is a must-see for everyone who calls himself an 80's slasher-fan.

I'm guessing the flick has about the largest female dead body count on Hollywood record. If the girls aren't running around half-nude, they're pumping out blood like human pin cushions, thanks to a looney guy who apparently flunked highschool mechanics. I'm not surprised 50's schlock maestro Roger Corman produced this near-parody of the slasher flick craze. After all, he mastered the teenage drive-in trade with epics such as Little Shop of Horrors (1959) and Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) back when I was a teen- maybe not Oscar fare, but still lot's of fun.

I wish I could say the same about this bloody mess. Except for the promising beginning, there's no real story, just a succession of dark menacing and anti-climaxes that're overdone and soon lose impact. At least the pacing is brisk, while the girls' shower scene may be the film's centerpiece, at least for us guys. Then too, it may be a cast of unknowns, but the girls do well even if short on acting experience. Can't say the same about the madman who's about as scary as an unshaven milkman. Anyway how about that power-drill that's not exactly a surgical instrument. My take on the madman's problem is that his own power-drill doesn't work, so he uses a symbolic mechanical one to get even with his female frustrations. However that may be, the over-done flick's not good enough to be either a parody or an effective fright fest.

Totally unpretentious '80's slasher is a cheesy, but fun ride.

Some lovely young ladies decide to throw a get together, only to have some loonie with a drill stop in to kill them all.

Slumber Party Massacre is a slasher fan's guilty pleasure with a pretty silly edge to it! One might just gather that from the DVD cover or poster for this film. It takes the predictable elements of the "splatter" film and with a complete lack of seriousness has a ton of fun with them. It makes sense considering that this film was originally written to be a slasher parody, and frankly still works well as a parody. The acting, directing, and special FX are all B-grade stuff, but overall that helps rather than henders the mood of the film.

At any rate, this film is strictly a good-time party kinda film, certainly nothing to be taken serious, but just enjoyed for it's humor (both intended and unintended) with the horror genre.

*** out of ****

This is a movie from the early 80's and it contains the word "massacre" in the title, so you know the…um…DRILL! Standard, by-the-numbers slasher except that this is supposed to be a feminist slasher! In all honesty, I don't really get it. Portraying dumb but hot-looking girls stalked & killed by a homicidal maniac is a sexist crime, but if this exact same formula is presented by a FEMALE director and a FEMALE scriptwriter, it all of a sudden becomes a parody and/or a feminist statement? The male characters in this movie may be a bit dumber than usual but the teenage beauties are all still defenseless little lambs to the slaughter, so where exactly lays the girl-power element? Oh well, since I absolutely don't wish to receive negative feedback from female readers, I'll just restrict myself to reviewing the actual movie and leave the speculations of possible deeper meanings behind. Talking purely in terms of 80's horror, "The Slumber Party Massacre" is a pretty good effort with likable characters, a fair amount of suspense and a handful of excellent gory killings. With her parents away on holiday, a schoolgirl invites her friends for a sleepover party with the usual pizzas, beer and soft drugs. Unfortunately for them, an escaped lunatic with a gigantic power tool still terrorizes the area and he shows up as the party-pooper, drilling holes in everyone whose path he's crossing. The only hope for rescue in the new girl who lives across the street but – oh no – she wasn't invited to the party! The identity and motivations of serial killers are usually kept secret in 80's slashers until the ending (as they're frequently acquaintances of the victims), but you don't have to worry about that in this case. Right from the opening minute, newspapers and radio bulletins loudly announce that a psychopath escaped from the local asylum and he doesn't even bother to wear a silly mask, as he's already carrying the drilling device – which symbolizes a male penis – instead. There's little else you need to know, except that nearly all the girls willingly take their clothes off and that the obligatory after gym-class shower sequence comes early in the movie. Hooray for feminism!