Review #2604: The Slumber Party Massacre.
Cast:
Michelle Michaels (Trish Devereaux), Robin Stille (Valerie Bates), Michael Villella (Russ Thorn), Debra Deliso (Kim Clarke), Andree Honore (Jackie Cassidy), Gina Mari (Diane), Jennifer Meyers (Courtney Bates), Joseph Alan Johnson (Neil), David Millbern (Jeff), Jim Boyce (John Raden Minor), Pamela Roylance (Coach Rachel Jana), and Brinke Stevens (Linda Dawn Grant) Directed by Amy Jones.
Review:
Sure, let's go with a slasher movie directed and written by women. Well, for the most part. The original screenplay was written by author and activist Rita Mae Brown, who envisioned a parody of the slasher genre. Instead, it got turned into a straight slasher...for the most part. Enter Amy Holden Jones. She had won first place at a student festival for the AFI with a short she directed in 1975 that had Martin Scorsese as one of the judges. One year later, when trying to make a living without many funds, she found a way to reach Scorsese and asked for advice, which saw her subsequently called to serve as an assistant on Taxi Driver. Scorsese later felt that the best person to get in contact with for what she wanted was Roger Corman, who had her serve as an editor on films such as Hollywood Boulevard [1976]. Aspiring to direct, she had come across the discarded script (labeled "Don't Open the Door") and heeded the advice of Corman of "you've got to direct in order to direct." She rounded up people from UCLA and equipment to shoot a few scenes (showing off some action and dialogue) over a weekend (complete with editing on a moviola) that made for a seven-minute reel to show off to Corman at New World Pictures. Impressed at the reel and its cost of $1,000, he soon asked how much she could do the rest for it, and while she wasn't exactly keen on doing that particular picture, she replied with $250,000 (it ended up being done for a bit less) and got a chance to go with the movie to fulfill her wish of being a director (the other choice was reportedly being an editor for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, a decision she never regretted), albeit with some re-writes to "emphasize the comic elements" that was shot in 20 days, which resulted in a moderate success with audiences. Jones subsequently directed three further films (with one more for Corman in Love Letters [1983]) while becoming noted for her screenplays for films such as Mystic Pizza [1988] and Indecent Proposal [1993]. A sequel was released in 1987 that had Corman serve as a co-producer along with director/writer Deborah Brock (incidentally, Sorority House Massacre [1986] was directed by Carol Frank, a personal assistant to Jones on Slumber Party).
It's the kind of movie that just dabbles in showing some pretty women, a lack of motive for its driller killer (aside from an escape that unlike Halloween [1978] is one where we don't see) and a few chuckles alongside the usual slasher fare that runs at a comfortable 76 minutes. The murders happen because a bunch of people all happen to congregate in one neighborhood (complete with dudes that change into pajamas or, heavens to betsy, the pizza man). What's not to like? It manages to have a few charming characters that happen to be having a party when mayhem ensues, complete with a synthy soundtrack (apparently done on a Casio). Apparently, the killer was originally dispatched in the living room without the bit involving the drill. Honestly, I did get the biggest chuckle for payoff in seeing a fight result in...a drill bit cut to pieces. Could it have been better as a straight spoof? Maybe, maybe not (I do wonder if the original script was a "get it? get these slasher tropes?"). It's the kind of movie where a person decides to go for the pizza box right by the recently dead pizza guy. For some, the movie was probably their only prominent role in a movie (for Stille, it was her debut). It's not exactly a showcase of great acting, but I suppose acting natural for a chunk of time within ordinary conversations is better than nothing. Stille and Meyers make a suitable sibling duo to eventually stumble onto things besides girl-talk, while Villella does make for a creepy enough killer to sneak through for terror (the gore is selectively shown within drills). You get a bunch of gags within the blood that for me manages to make it as a "guilty pleasure" slasher movie that I can't help but like. It plays fast and loose with the surroundings of house-bound terror with likable enough people and worthwhile execution that makes it a suitable recommendation for slasher enthusiasts.
Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
*Somehow stumbled onto an apparent scare-checking site, wonder if it's interesting - The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) — 25 Jump Scares | Scarechive
*Stille tragically killed herself in 1996 at the age of 34.
