Originally published on Oct 25th 2020.
Author’s Note: I’m republishing this review, because truly Slumber Party Massacre is a cult classic. The curse that all classics have is their remakes. SyFy is planning to release a reimagining /remake to the fold. Let’s remember what makes the original worth it before reviewing the remake.
I vaguely recall watching one of those top 100 horror movies list on tv and Slumber Party Massacre being on that list. It was closer to the bottom of the list, but at the time, I didn’t pay much attention to it. As I was thinking about what films to review on my #31daysofhorror, I came across another list that stressed the importance of this bit of soft-porn turned slasher flick. So I gave it a watch. My early Verdict: This is a must watch. It is very clear why this has a cult following, despite critic reviews.
At the time, one critic actually “deemed the film a “rousing thriller” that “delivers as many vicarious thrills as one could want from this sort of cinematic mayhem.” (Wikipedia). He took the words right out of my mouth. There is so much about this that shouldn’t work but does. And yes, there is so much of our senses being roused that it satisfies many pallets.
The Story: Someone with a power drill shows up uninvited to Trish’s (Michele Michaels) high-school pajama party. He’s not there to fix anything.
What I Loved: First let’s give kudos to female director, Amy Holden Jones, and film writer, Rita Mae Brown, for creating this genius. No one can tell a story of marginalized citizens better than those citizens. Others can try, but they won’t come close. So when it comes to slashers favorite victims, this duo captured something suspenseful but approached it in such a multi-layered way, it has lasting staying power. Is it comedy? Is it horror? Is it the titillating admiration for the female form (the tease) and all the fantasies men churn about them? The short answer: Yes. All of it.
From the opening sequence, the pace and tone is set just right. The dream like approach to an idyllic suburb only to be followed by the cue of funeral organs to announce the nightmare we’re ready for. And this is foreshadowed through with splashes of red in benign places or false jump scares. We are lulled into this dream along with our buxom and nubile protagonists. They laugh, moan, and frolic like innocently (a simplistic male view) but they are empowered and in charge of their bodies; they are repair workers; they discuss baseball and sex; they can take care of themselves.
What Slumber Party Massacre gets so right is this cat and mouse game so often done to women. They are gawked at, stalked, and chased by a killer wielding a phallic tool of male power, who is obsessed with them. It’s the thrill and horror of voyeurism. It’s genius.
And the feminist tone can not be overlooked. The surviving females are tired of the chase and triumph in the end. They attack with sharp and pointed tools of the man’s power. One heroine chops his drill in half and emasculates him. His corpse surrounded by his would-be victims in various stages of shock and disappointment.
This is a must watch this season for all the thrills and discussion it can generate. It’s an 80s slasher, and oh so wrong to watch, and oh so right.
I was so pleased with the first one, I watched the sequel, which is an 80s rock-video mess that misses the whole point. Skip that one.
Stay Ghoulish.