Sorority House Massacre

I was bored and not sure what to watch. As I’m scrolling through the menu and I see the 1986 Sorority House Massacre. A slasher movie as well as an 80’s horror movie. What could go wrong? Apparently some things can go wrong.

<img src="sororityhousemassacre.jpg" alt="Sorority House Massacre.">

Photo Credit: Concorde Pictures

Released: Oct 10, 1986

Runtime: 74 mins

Director: Carol Frank

Writer: Carol Frank

Actors: Angela O’Neill, Wendy Martel, Pamela Ross

PLOT

College student Beth and her sorority sisters are stalked by an escaped psychopathic killer who shares a strange telepathic link with her.

MY THOUGHTS

There’s about thirteen kills in this movie. Nothing too creative. Almost all were just stabbings. Not even a lot of blood either. With as many people the killer is stabbing you would think there would be a lot more blood. But, sadly no there isn’t.

The acting isn't really anything outstanding either. I know Sorority House Massacre is an 80’s slasher movie, so I shouldn’t expect much, but it was just meh. I will give props to Angela O’Neill for sticking to her guns and not being nude in this movie. The “trying on clothes” montage was very cringy. I know it was just to get maximum naked breast shots as possible, but come on. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but when I had sleepovers we never got nude in front of each other as we changed clothes. But it does fit in with 80’s slashers like Slumber Party Massacre.

Angela O’Neill plays Beth, who decides to stay with some friends in a sorority house. The minute she gets there she starts having weird visions and dreams about a man killing people. While Beth and three of her friends have the typical fun time at a sleepover, we see a man in a mental institution freaking out and finally escaping.

When the girl's boyfriends show up, they tell the story of what happened in the sorority house before it became a sorority house. A young man went crazy, killed his parents, and then killed his sisters. What the girls eventually find out is that Beth is actually the only survivor of that attack. The killer is her brother and he’s returned to the house to finish her off. 

I settled into my recliner, with my comfy blanket and popcorn and started the Sorority House Massacre. Yes, it’s technically a slasher from the 80’s. But it just wasn’t good or even so bad it’s good. I felt really disappointed and didn’t really enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would. If you want a good 80’s slasher, I suggest just putting on Slumber Party Massacre. If you have some time to kill then maybe watch this while doing something else. 

And now for your Forever Final Girl Exclusive…Did you know?:

  • The blonde woman in the poster artwork is actress Suzee Slater. She does not appear in the actual film.

  • Angela O'Neill, who plays Beth, was hired without knowing that her role required nudity and wasn't aware until she received the script. She refused to do the nudity and was told "It's in the script, so you have to do it." She threatened to walk off set and with such a tight shooting schedule, they relented and agreed to let her keep her clothes on. Noticeably, during the "changing clothes montage", she's sitting on the bed, conspicuously out of sight in the shot of her three friends changing clothes and flashing their breasts.

  • Carol Frank was Assistant Director on the 1982 The Slumber Party Massacre prior to writing and directing this feature. There are several similarities between the two films, both of which feature a group of young woman being targeted by an anonymous male killer while having a party in a house with no adult supervision, where their boyfriends show up, and they barricade the bedroom door with a dresser to keep the killer out, only for him to make his way into the room through the window. There is even a scene where they are watching The Slumber Party Massacre on TV. 

  • Sorority House Massacre is similar to the Slumber Party Massacre trilogy, and was marketed as part of the "Massacre Collection".

Check out my other reviews here: Forever Final Girl

Let’s get into the rankings:

Kills/Blood/Gore:2 /5

Sex/Nudity: 3.5/5

Scare factor: 2/5

Enjoyment factor: 2.5/5

My Rank: 2.5/5

IMDB: 4.4/10

Rotten Tomatoes: critics:  0/10  audience:  2.1/10

Letterboxd: 2.4/5