Pranks

When I bought 'P R A N K S' -aka- 'The Dorm That Dripped Blood', I was expecting to witness the worst of the worst in the slasher genre. The below average, run-of-the-mill, whodunit, 80's slasher. I thought it would be a film that consist of one or two unoriginal kills, slow pacing, plot holes, laughable acting (which I personally enjoy), annoying music score, bad lighting, and the standard ending that most 80's slashers have. Seriously, I thought it was going to be the typical-two-steps-below an 80's slasher like, 'Graduation Day' for example. Well, yes, my gut instinct was MOSTLY right. There are several unoriginal kills. My problem is not that the kills are unoriginal, it's that when I expect to watch a B-Slasher, I want GORE. It doesn't have to be realistic gore. It could be cheesy gore as in '100 TEARS'-style gore. There are only two scenes that gave me the gory goods. Most of the kills, the camera pans away. Also, 'PRANKS' does have somewhat of a slow pace but the parts that are slow, seem interesting to me. However, it would seem to be in the films favor if there was a plot hole. Haha. That's right. You heard me. Mainly because I don't understand why the killer becomes THAT nuts!!! It just seems out of nowhere in an uncool kinda way. Somewhat goofy. The acting isn't the best but again, I'm proven wrong on my prediction. I've seen much much much worse acting than this. Believe me. The music score is decent. Some of the sounds used for "fright" scenes worked for me. Yes, some bad lighting is a problem but it isn't as bad as some other Horror flicks like, 'HUMONGOUS' or 'The DEMON'. 'PRANKS' just needs better treatment because this edition is copied strait from VHS. At least it's a decent VHS copy. Doesn't have quite the Grindhouse look. Haha. The ending to 'PRANKS' is AWESOME!!! This is what makes it all worthwhile. It surprised me. All in all, I was entertained and am glad to have it in my Horror collection.

'PRANKS', in my opinion, is a slasher that doesn't rank up there with 'Graduation Day' or even 'Slaughter High'. Just as 'Graduation Day' and others I've mentioned don't rank up there with other 80's slashers such as 'MANIAC' or even 'Intruder'. 'Friday the 13th' being a perfect example of being right at the top level of 80's slashers. 'PRANKS' does rank with 'Girls Night Out', 'Night School', 'Honeymoon Horror', 'The SLAYER', 'Blood Hook', and 'The PREY'(1983). I do find 'PRANKS' to be far better than 'Don't Go in the Woods...Alone!', 'The FOREST', and 'Scalps'. I do like 'Don't Go in the Woods...Alone! and those others i've mentioned, but for different reasons. I hope this is a helpful way in my part by using the "slasher grading system". A nutty system in my head when comparing to other 80's slashers. I know I'm not the only one that does this. Let's just say that if you didn't enjoy 'Prom Night' and you think that's a boring flick, than you better stay far away from 'PRANKS' and other slashers I've mentioned ranking on that same level.

I'd say you should have a wide variety of Horror in your collection because you never know what your going to be in the mood for. Plus, your attitude towards certain Horror titles may change in time. I actually enjoyed all of 'Don't Go in the House' for the first time tonight. I remember not liking that one but now I love it. But that will be another "review".

I LOVE this film- with all the reviews I read before I bought the actual DVD- everyone made it sound as if the DVD quality was EXTREMELY BAD. It was in some ways a little bad- but when it first came on my tv screen I thought it would be heaps worse! Its okay for me but the dark scenes (night) are often hard to see. It is heavily cut which kinda sucks- but all in all I still love it. I wish they finally came to their senses and made a normal DVD version from a company like CODE RED or ANCHOR BAY. They should keep all the gore intact and have it as the dorm that dripped blood which sounds more appealing with full original cover art! This movie rocks and if you're a slasher fan like I and an 80s one at that, then you should love this film! CHEESY at times and "different" acting but good. If you ever come across this on video BUY IT it'll be uncut and great! If you even find a DVD R uncut version then BUY THAT as well. However I still do recommend this to everyone. I loved it heaps!

The Dorm that Dripped Blood also known as Pranks is a cookie cutter slasher from the early 80's, 1982 to be exact.It doesn't offer us anything new or special.
It's cheese appeal isn't even that sticky.That being said I still like this movie because It's a retro Slasher flick and I love retro slashers,I love everything about them,the formula,the cliches. One of the cliches being the last girl standing battling it out with the maniac in a cat and mouse, life and death power struggle,this is a staple in most of the post Halloween slashers and this one is no exception.The lead actress is probably the most unattractive heroine in Slasher film history..(Laurie Lipinski).. "forgive me,if you read this"..This Blue Ray/DVD combo is the unrated version so it is quite a bit better than "Pranks" which is the same film with a different title,it was released on DVD in 2003.
There are a few good kills in this version but the acting left quite a bit to be desired.It was after all Developed by a group of UCLA students on a ridiculously small budget..I'm sure Daphne Zuniga of Melrose Place and 'The Initiation' winces every time she thinks about her role in this movie,She only has about 10 minutes of camera time.
If you're a Die hard retro slasher lover pick it up because again it's everything we have come to love and expect from our stalk and slash fests.There is supposed to be footage in this that wasn't included in the original VHS version..So that's a big plus.I'm buying this when it hits the shelf.

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