The Slumber Party Massacre Collection (Roger Corman's Cult Classics)

The ever suprising Shout! Factory keeps consistantly blowing me away with their breathtaking, film geek-friendly releases of content ranging from popular cult TV like "MST3K" and "Freaks and Geeks" to the "Gamera" monster film series and the seemingly non-stop "Roger Corman Collection". Here, they release the infamous, beloved "Slumber Party Massacre" trilogy for the first time on DVD for horror fans everywhere. All 3 films come complete with all-new commentaries, as well as photo galleries and a "making of" feature and a trailer for the first film. Good stuff.

"The Slumber Party Massacre" (1982)- A jean coat-wearing, drill-toting maniac escapes from a mental institution and makes his way to a slumber party being held by cheery, athletic girls. Who will come out alive?! Infamously developed from a screenplay by femenist Rita Mae Brown, this is a fun thriller that lightly makes fun of the genre, but actually mostly gives us a straightforward classic thanks to a number of darkly comical moments, likable characters, and some gooey death scenes. Reccomended viewing for all slasher and horror fans.

"Slumber Party Massacre II" (1987)- An all-girl rock band, including a survivor of the first film, head up to a high-class neighborhood for a weekend of practice and good old fun. But the survivor suffers from increasingly bizzare nightmares and visions, including a punk rock reincarnation of the previous film's killer, who may or may not really be coming to get them. Here it is, the infamous SPM sequel. Infamous, for it's sequence of events and ending(s) which considerably blur the lines of reality. It is because of this reason that SPM2 is my least favorite of the series. The ending whole is like a big, convoluted middle finger to the audience, who has been waiting patiently for nearly 40 MINUTES for any sort of major horror content; much before that is made up of semi-comical teen antics. On the upside however, we're treated to more gory kills and other wild makeup FX concerning the survivor's grisly hallucinations, more likable characters, and a scene-chewing, only occasionally annoying killer who wields a stupidly over-the-top but memorable take on the first movie's murder weapon, all of it adding to the film's zany but still overall nonsensical atmosphere. Worth a watch, but don't expect your typical slasher movie.

"Slumber Party Massacre III" (1990)- In this quasi-remake of the first SPM, a group of lovely young ladies have a slumber party to top off a long day of beach volleyball and staring at boys. But one by one they get knocked off by another drill-toting maniac who seems to be any one of more than a few unexpected guests. Made long after the slasher genre hit rock bottom, SPM3 is still a suprisingly decent followup to the last two movies. Although the acting is a bit more sub-par and and the death scenes not quite as elaborate, the characters are still a cute and likable group of close-nit girls. Most notable about this entry, however, is its dark feel. SPM3 abandons the darkly comical nature of the first movie and the surreal zaniness of the second in favor of a more grim tone, packing in sadistically prolonged death scenes, girl beatings, and even an attempted rape, making easily the darkest of the trilogy. Regardless, despite the darker, cheaper feel, it's still a good watch and is a good look at what some slasher movies were like past their prime.

I) The five star rating is based upon the strength of the first film. The movie starts out with organ music, the type you would expect to see in a Vincent Price movie. The first nude scene comes quickly as Corman always shoots the all important scenes, such as young girls getting dressed first thing in the morning. What is most funny about the film was the choice of murder weapon, a battery powered drill. Anyone who has ever used one of these things on a human knows that it is okay for flesh, but as soon as you hit bone it stops or slows down and runs out the battery. Sometimes it spins back.

The movie contains several noteworthy scenes such as the "peeper" scene which carried over into the two sequels. This one also had the memorable shower scene (pass the soap please). For you youngsters, this was an era when 18 year old teens could legally buy alcohol. The Jim Jones and Kool-Aid reference was also of the era. Note the telephone color co-ordination of red and turquoise, all in the same model. BTW, the correct way to ease drop on an extension phone is to disconnect the receiver, unscrew the mouth piece and remove the diaphragm, reconnect the receiver then listen.

II) Courtney survived the first one and has bad dreams going into the second one. She is in an all girl band who go away for the weekend. They have a pillow fight and are spied upon by boys. Only one girl goes topless for the lone nude scene. The killer in this one is a greaser from Courtney's dream. He has more character than the killer in the first film, but this movie makes less sense and doesn't have the "fun" aspect of the first one.

III) This movie is the final installment as it starts out with beach volleyball. This time when the girls get together they play striptease until the boys walk in on them. More nudity than the second one, but the killer was more boring.

The first film is worth owning as a cult classic. The other two leave something to be desired. Unless you can find the first film at a decent discount, you might as well get the 3 pack with the commentary.

Trish Devereaux (Michelle Michaels), an 18 year old teen decides to throw a slumber party while her parents are away and their neighbor Mr. Contant (Rigg Kennedy) is given the job of checking in on the girls during the night. That morning, she gets up, dresses and heads to school. Meanwhile, a mass murderer with a fondness for power drills, Russ Thorn (Michael Villella), has escaped from prison, killed a telephone repair woman (Jean Vargas) with a power drill and steals her van. Trish meets up with her friends Kim (Debra Deliso), Jackie (Andree Honore) and Diane (Gina Hunter) and the girls on her basketball team. The new girl, Valerie Bates (a sweet Robin Stille) is invited by Trish, but refuses after hearing Diane talking cruelly about her.

Russ Thorn watches the girls leave school from the van and a girl named Linda (Brinke Stevens) goes back inside the school to retrieve something, but is attacked by Thorn and murdered with a power drill. That evening, the party and the bloody decimation begins of the girls, as they smoke pot and talk about boys. Valerie lives next door conveniently and is babysitting her younger sister Courtney (a refreshingly innocent if slightly annoying Jennifer Meyers). Diane's boyfriend John (Jim Boyce) and two other guys from school Jeff (David Millbern) and Neil (Joe Johnson) who spy on the girls undressing. Thorn kills Mr. Contant, drilling through his neck, and meanwhile, Courtney is begging Valerie to go crash the party, but Valerie protests. All hell is about to break lose at this party.

Probably the best known of the popular "girls have a sleepover and get murdered one-by-one" subgenre of horror movies. "Slumber Party Massacre" is fun, a little bit cheesy, and quite outdated. The film moves at a snail's pace throughout the first half and when the killer is reveled, he isn't exactly frightening. This is a prime example of ripe 80's cheese. That being said, this film is a blast. Sure it a bit slow but the deaths are pretty damn interesting and it is nice to see a final girl who is actually willing to fight back. At a lean 75 minutes, this is the kind of meat and potatoes horror movie that Hollywood simply doesn't make anymore. "Slumber Party Massacre" has the breasts, the blood and the beauties. What else could you want from an 80's slasher flick?

Interesting Facts about SPM:
* The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by New World Pictures in November 1982. It was later released on VHS by Embassy Home Entertainment.

* Director Amy Holden Jones made a shot a promo film of the original script's prologue for a $1,000 dollars so she could get a directing job from Roger Corman. Corman was so impressed by the promo that he asked Jones to make a feature length movie from the script.

* Andree Honore is the only cast member featured on the original theatrical one sheet poster. The blonde woman lying on the floor is late actress Jillian Kesner.