Slumber Party Massacre II (1987) Concorde/Horror RT: 75 minutes Rated R (violence, gore, nudity, some sexual content, drug and alcohol use) Director: Deborah Brock Screenplay: Deborah Brock Music: Richard Cox Cinematography: Thomas L. Callaway Release date: October 16, 1987 (US) Cast: Crystal Bernard, Kimberly McArthur, Juliette Cummins, Heidi Kozak, Patrick Lowe, Joel Hoffman, Scott Westmoreland, Cynthia Eilbacher, Atanas Ilitch, Jennifer Rhodes, Michael DeLano, Hamilton Mitchell. Box Office: $1.3M (US) Body Count: 7
Rating: ***
As a general rule, sequels aren’t equals. They’re generally inferior product. This is especially true of horror sequels that bypass theaters and go straight to video. Just like with every rule, there are certain exceptions. I’m not saying that Slumber Party Massacre II is better or even equal to the 1982 original. It doesn’t suck either. It’s just, for lack of a better word, different. Take the new “Driller Killer” (Ilitch) that terrorizes a new group of nubile teen girls at their slumber party. He’s a cross between Freddy Krueger and Danny Zuko from Grease. He’s born of the nightmares of one of the girls. He sings and dances like John Travolta. His weapon of a choice is an electric guitar affixed with a big drill bit. That is some whacked out s***. I love it! It saves Slumber Party Massacre II from being just another horror sequel.
The heroine this time is Courtney (Bernard, Happy Days), one of the survivors of the previous slumber party massacre- i.e. the 12YO little sister. Now a high school senior, she still experiences nightmares stemming from the trauma that put older sister Valerie (Eilbacher) in a mental hospital. The star of her bad dreams is a leather jacketed greaser who tosses off one-liners Freddy would reject for being too corny. For her birthday, her overprotective mother (Rhodes) allows her to go away for the weekend with her friends Amy (Playboy playmate McArthur), Sheila (Cummins, Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning) and Sally (Kozak, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood) at Sheila’s father’s new condo. Did I mention they’re also a girl rock band? Well, now you know.
Their parent-free slumber party consists of the usual activities; junk food, booze, drugs, sex and dancing topless in the living room. All the things that made being a teenager in an 80s slasher flick great. That is, until the Grim Reaper comes calling to exact his toll. It takes a while for that to happen in Slumber Party Massacre II. The first half (roughly) consists of the girls dealing with the dumb shenanigans of their male friends Jeff (Westmoreland) and T.J. (Hoffman) and Courtney crushing on hunky football player Matt (Lowe) while she slowly loses her mind. True to horror movie form, the nightmares get worse and she starts experiencing hallucinations causing her friends to look at her funny. Then the killer shows up and drills his way through the group.
I can safely say that Slumber Party Massacre II is one of the better horror sequels that didn’t play in theaters. According to Wikipedia, it did open in theaters briefly. I know it didn’t open in Philly; I’d have been all over it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a DTV (Direct to Video) job. I didn’t rent it when it came out even though I always saw the box sitting on the shelf at my usual video stores. I figured it would be lame. I didn’t watch it until years later. It’s not lame. In fact, it surpasses the original in one (and ONLY one) crucial area. Despite having a lower body count, it has more gore and splatter. Victims are drilled through various parts of the body. One poor sucker gets gutted with the killer’s instrument of death. Good thing I like my slasher movies messy.
Another thing that stands out about Slumber Party Massacre II is that it’s funny. I never saw a slasher movie where the killer breaks out into song and dance until I feasted my eyes on this twisted flick. He does a rockabilly number called “Let’s Buzz” as he closes in on one victim. It’s one of the best scenes in the movie. It’s also not the only musical break; the girls’ play a couple of tunes too. Okay, so they’re not actually doing their own singing and playing; it’s still pretty good for cheesy 80s rock music. The way these kids dress makes it crystal clear they’re living in 1987.
Once again, I see no point in commenting on the performances in Slumber Party Massacre II. What is there to say really? The guys are good-looking boneheads; the girls are hot airheads. A couple of the girls take off their tops and reveal their boobs while Jeff and TJ peep at them through a window. What is it with peeping toms in these Slumber Party Massacre movies? Incidentally, McArthur is NOT one of the boob flashers; she didn’t want to do any nude scenes after appearing topless in her three previous films including the Rodney Dangerfield comedy Easy Money. Remember, she played the sunbathing neighbor with the huge breasts? ANYWAY, it’s cool seeing a couple of Friday the 13th actresses- one past, one future- together in the same movie. Kozak looks especially good. Bernard is okay in the lead even if she tends to oversell the crazy. Ilitch is great as “Driller Killer”. Hey, I guess there are a few things to say about the performances after all.
I like how Slumber Party Massacre II gives props to other horror movies. The two cops who come to the house are named Krueger and Voorhies. Courtney’s last name is Bates. Sally’s last name is Burns, a call out to both actress Marilyn Burns and the character she played in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I’m glad this movie has a sense of humor. Without it, it would be fairly routine and boring. It’s written and directed by Deborah Brock whose only other major credit is the stinky sequel Rock ‘n’ Roll High School Forever. She does a decent job with Slumber Party Massacre II. Although feminist in nature, it doesn’t stray too far from slasher movie formula. It even has one of those tricky “gotcha!” endings that are commonplace in the genre. I can’t say that this movie breaks any new ground but at least it gives us an entertaining Driller Killer.
