The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

One gets exactly what one is promised in this somewhat low-budget slasher film that would go on to spawn at least a couple sequels. The film's premise is about a group of girls & company(voyeuristic boys, a neighbor, a basketball coach, etc...)spending an evening together for a slumber party only to have things go awry when an escaped serial killer with a penchant for drilling people to death comes onto the scene. This film has two points to make primarily: one, kill as many people as possible in the most unnatural ways possible and two, mix as much senseless nudity, sexual innuendo, and sophomoric humour into the film without turning it to a comedy rather than a slasher flick. Well, Slumber Party Massacre is fairly successful on both counts. There are a lot of murders, particularly with characters that are not characters(pizza guy?). The film is fairly gory but not hyperbolic by any means. I was more disturbed by the screenwriter's lack of humanity and the director's lack of good taste and sense more than what I saw on screen. One can make a film like this and create characters we care about and place some value on life. When one character dies after another in some weird way, the audience becomes removed from what is going on in the film and what is going on in the film becomes something distant. OK, enough of my sermonizing on the need of directors, writers, and audiences putting a little more value into human existence. As for the film, it is not a good one ,but it is not real bad either. I have seen far worse. The actors and actresses, despite the ridiculous lines that must utter, are efficient. The girls too are lovely to look at. The killer is, well, a type that has been unfortunately seen in far too many films despite his lack of dimension and purpose.

Fmovies: The Slumber Party Massacre is loved by some and hated by others, i thought it was good for the most part. there is a big deal since it's written and directed by women, not to be sexist but most horror films i have seen by women suck, only Debra Hill can do horror, when it comes to acting then i would rather see women, director Holden Jones does a halfway decent job, this is one of the few horror films by women i do like. the story is simple some guy named Russ Thorn killed 5 people in 1969, he is in a mental hospital and one day he breaks out, thats all we find out about him, then we have Trish she is left home alone so she invites a few friends over for a slumber party, Trish wants to invite the nice shy girl Valerie over but her friends don't want her to. well as the movie goes on the driller killer shows up and starts to take out the girls, Valerie who is watching her younger sister Courtney end up getting stalked by driller killer. may not sound to great but if you like 80's horror you should like this one. i have the dvd version the good thing is it's in wide screen the bad thing at times when the characters talk you can not make out what they are saying. oh yeah and some women complain about the nudity in horror films well they can't say anything anymore since there is tons of nudity in this and The Slumber Party Massacre is done by women, i give The Slumber Party Massacre 7/10 worth a check if you like 80's horror like i said in it's own way a classic.

R.I.P Robin Stille who played Valerie sadly she killed herself a few years back

Many critics of the time, Siskel and Ebert as I recall, and others considered the "slasher" films of the time to be misogynistic. I presume mostly because many women/girls died deaths as grizzly as those suffered by the males. One thing they missed, and apparently not lost on Rita Mae Brown, was that it was almost always a female that "dispatched" the killer at the end, sometimes with the help of a male lead. On the one sheet for this movie we see the killer with a drill hanging between his legs like an oversized penis and the message is clear--fight back women and you wont get "drilled". But dont get me wrong guys, on the way to her womens lib message, the director provides more than her share of titilation for your average slobbering teenage(or older) boy. Brinke Stevens also does one of her famous butt shots in this one. Read the message, ignore the nudity, or enjoy the nudity and ignore the message: This movie works both ways.

The Slumber Party Massacre fmovies. i love the 80's well...almost at it's best. I've seen more gore in other 80's horror flicks. but if you want nudity and lots and lots of screaming girls getting knocked off one by one by a mad man with a power drill...it's a real safe rent. the scares will not make you jump out of your seat...but really...it's just a movie meant for you to sit back and laugh at. For slasher fans...it's a must see. hold on though...is it breaking a slasher movie rule to have the killer talk to his victims??? i was wondering that when it happened. still though it doesn't take away from the overall experience. oh yeah. just watch this one...don't bother with the others. they are not at all worth it.

kjfear@yahoo.com

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've always had a soft spot in my heart for "Slumber Party Massacre" ever since I first saw it at the ripe old age of 11. Sure it's not the bloodiest, scariest, well acted or written horror movie that wonderful 80's produced- but it does have something that makes it special and a standout on its own.

Trish (Michelle Michaels) is a popular basketball player whose parents have gone away for the weekend. Just so happens that the night before, convicted killer and mental patient Russ Thorn (wonderfully played by Michael Villella) has escaped from confinement. Awww...timing is everything! Val (Robin Stille) is the new girl in school as well as on the basketball team, who also happens to live right next door to Trish. Of course, Trish decides to gather her girls for a night of fun at her empty house. She suggests they invite Val, and is of course is rejected by her snobby & trampy friend Diane (Gina Mari).

Cut to the chase...the girls have there slumber party. Of course Russ has been following them around all day and is just waiting for his moment to strike. Val on the other hand is alone too next door, with the exception of her boy crazy 13 year old sister Courtney (Jennifer Meyers). When the pizza delivery boy shows up dead on Trish's doorstep- mayhem ensues. The girls (along with some boys who have crashed the Slumber Party) are scared to death. They are afraid to leave the house - so the boys volunteer to make a run for it.

One by one our teenagers get hacked away. Eventually Val and Courtney get involved in the goings on and before you know it our girls are in some serious trouble.

The movie works due to some genuinely funny comedic dialogue- and Michael Villella's great portrayal of the Driller Killer. When he says "I love you" in his sick and twisted way- you genuinely feel creeped out! The music is also quite good as well. With a 77 minute run time- Slumber Party Massacre doesn't drag and keeps pace quite nicely. If you collect horror and are a big fan of the classic cheesy horror movies from the beloved 80's, Slumber Party Massacre is worth an entry into your DVD collection.