Day 50: Slumber Party Massacre

Slumber Party Massacre

Oh god. It's Bob Villa without a shirt on!

It's the 50 day anniversary of the 365 Days of Horror Movies blog. We made it, baby! And they said it wouldn't last. Believe me, there were times where I wouldn't think I'd last a week doing this. There have been some good movies and there have been some terrible ones. Here's to another 50. I decided to watch a movie I had been meaning to see for a while, Slumber Party Massacre. I had actually watched the sequel, Slumber Party Massacre II, a few years ago at a friend's house, so I thought it was time to see where it all began.

Slumber Party Massacre tells the story of Trish Devereaux who decides to throw a slumber party while her parents are out of the town. Trish wants to invite new girl Valerie Bates, but Valerie overhears Trish's friends badmouthing her and refuses to go. At the same time, serial killer Russ Thorn has escaped from prison and has set his sights and his power drill on the girls. Typical slumber party hijinks ensue, with alcohol and drug consumption and boys crashing the party. Thorn crashes the party and picks drills, slices and stabs through the girls. Valerie's younger sister Courtney decides to crash the party and Valerie goes after her to bring her back home. The discover one of the murdered girls stuffed in the refrigerator and hide from Thorn. The girl's basketball coach, Mrs. Jana, arrives at the house to check up on the girls and is attacked. Will Valerie, Courtney, and Trish be able to stop Russ Thorn or will he just add them to the growing pile of bodies?

Time to sink some fucking anchors!

When people think of a teen slasher movie, they mention Halloween, but more often then not, they're actually thinking about Slumber Party Massacre. It is the quintessential teen slasher flick. It's important to note that the movie was written by feminist activist Rita Mae Brown and was intended to be a parody of other popular slashers. The movie wasn't filmed with parody in mind, so what may have been intended as satire came off as overused slasher gimmicks. Within the first 10 minutes of the movie, we are treated to two scenes of nudity and one murder. It's nice to set the tone quickly, but this movie is the Usain Bolt of slasher cliches. No time for stories, lets get to the boobs and blood! And when I say blood, I mean blood. Buckets of blood cover the scenery along with decapitated heads, hacked off limbs, and spilled guts. Thorn must've had the worlds most powerful drill because this thing never runs out of power or gets stuck. Black and Decker could really use that type of space-age technology.

Slumber Party Massacre doesn't have sexual overtunes, it has sexual megatones. Phallic symbols smack you in the face like, well, you know. I give the movie credit for going with these themes as it gives the movie a deeper layer that some other slashers ignore. When Thorn finally speaks at the end of the movie, it all comes together and makes a bit more sense. There was one scene where the girls call the police but Thorn cuts the phone line. I know the police didn't hear the entire address, but they heard enough because we hear sirens a the very end of the movie. Why did it take them so long? If they can't get to a mass murder in progress quickly, I'd hate to see the short, flabby arm of the law try to help in a real emergency.

Penis! I mean, "Die!"

By-the-numbers is a good way to describe Slumber Party Massacre. You can practically mark off the slasher checklist when watching: Nudity, helpless girls, a crazed mania, no parents, and loads of blood. There are plenty of “don't go in there” moments as well. If you like your slashers simple and to the point, this one is for you. It does have a few deeper moments, but there certainly isn't much beneath the surface.

6.5/10