Slumber Party Massacre

A bunch of teenage girls go on vacation at the spot where another bunch of teenage girls were killed by driller killer, Russ Thorne, in the 90's and discover that he's still out there, looking for fresh blood to spill.

Though billed as a reboot, Slumber Party Massacre could just as easily be another sequel in the original franchise. Director Danishka Esterhazy paces the film well with a good amount of comedy and horror. The script has a few twists and surprises up its sleeve and turns the tables where they needed to be.

..that tries a little to hard to with wink wink nudge nudge. A little more subtlety woud have helped. Overall I enjoyed this one and had a little giggle here and there. If you know your horror tropes and like them to be a little bit twisted around here and there while, you as the viewer, aswell as the film makers, are aware of the fact that it's done for fun, give this one a go. Just don't expect a serious Horror flick, this isn't one.

Slumber Party Massacre has this interesting idea; "reimagining" the original while trying to subvert the genre's clichés. Well, it fails. At least not too miserably, since its confusion at being either satire or parody will give you a good laugh or two.

It's sleazy not because it has TV-Movie quality written all over it, but because its idea was done half-baked. While not as smart as it thinks it is, nevertheless is a much better film than the latest Black Christmas.

When I sat down to watch the 2021 remake of the 1982 "The Slumber Party Massacre", I must admit that my expectations weren't high for director Danishka Esterhazy's movie. Why? Well, simply put, because this seemed to be yet another unnecessary remake from the well of inspiration that is running dry in Hollywood.

However, I got the opportunity to watch "Slumber Party Massacre" and being a horror fan, of course I opted to sit down and watch it.

And while this 2021 remake was watchable, it was by no means a grand horror experience. And as I had anticipated and feared, then it was utterly and completely another unnecessary remake, much akin to the likes of the "Poltergeist", "Evil Dead" and "Pet Sematary" remakes, to mention but a few pointless horror remakes. So if you enjoyed the original 1982 slasher movie from Roger Corman, then you might as well just skip on this 2021 version.

If you are a newcomer to the franchise, then sure, I suppose there is some enjoyment to be found in the 2021 "Slumber Party Massacre" from writer Suzanne Kelly.

For an avid horror fan such as myself, then this 2021 movie was a walk in the park. There was nothing scary about the movie, actually, unless you consider the strange way that Russ Thorn held his head tilted and stared with widely opened eyes. It was something that made me laugh every time I saw it.

The acting performances in the movie were adequate, taking into consideration the concept of the movie and the fact that it is a slasher flick.

As for the murder scenes in "Slumber Party Massacre", which is what the audience wants in slasher flicks, then they were actually adequate enough. Not really impressive or memorable, but watchable and fair enough.

The 2021 "Slumber Party Massacre" was a swing and a miss, and it is not a movie that I will ever be returning to watch a second time, believe you me.

My rating of "Slumber Party Massacre" lands on a generous but less than mediocre four out of ten stars.

...but this isn't the property to do with it. I had spoken to the producers during production, and they insisted they were being faithful to the source material. They weren't. They still could have subverted it the same way, but for some of these films, the over-the-top misogyny is the artistic point. I hate that many will break this review down to "there's no boobs so I don't like it", but hopefully this will ring true to at least a select few.

Again, I really *do* respect what they were *trying* to do.... I just don't think they quite stuck it with the landing. Feminism needn't exclude the female body entirely. Particularly with chests, a re-evaluation of the double-standard is necessary. I just feel like trying to subvert it *AND* shielding female chests is actually a step in the wrong direction. They could have embraced both, all while supporting the #FreeTheNipple movement.

Still, a fun enough watch. "They are out-slumber partying us!" Has it's moments.