The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) New World/Horror RT: 76 minutes Rated R (violence, gore, nudity, language, drug use) Director: Amy Jones Screenplay: Rita Mae Brown Music: Ralph Jones Cinematography: Stephen L. Posey Release date: September 1982 (US) Cast: Michele Michaels, Robin Stille, Michael Villela, Debra Deliso, Andre Honore, Gina Mari, Jennifer Meyers, Joe Johnson, David Millbern, Jim Boyce, Pamela Roylance, Brinke Stevens, Ryan Kennedy, Jean Vargas, Anna Patton, Howard Purgason, Pam Canzano, Aaron Lipstadt. Box Office: $3.6M (US) Body Count: 12
Rating: *** ½
I just love the title The Slumber Party Massacre. It says it all about the 1982 slasher flick yet it doesn’t tell you everything. On some levels, it’s typical of the genre. The plot concerns a group of nubile teens at a slumber party being terrorized by an escaped lunatic. It sounds pretty ordinary until you get to the killer’s weapon of choice. This particular killer, Russ Thorn (Villela, Wild Orchid), sports a big power drill. This is when director Amy Jones (Maid to Order) gets all Freudian on us. Sometimes a big power drill isn’t just a big power drill. In this case, it’s clearly a phallic symbol. You see, The Slumber Party Massacre is a slasher movie with a feminist slant and a wicked sense of humor.
In addition to being directed by a woman, the screenplay is written by feminist author Rita Mae Brown. She wrote Rubyfruit, one of the first novels to openly deal with lesbianism. Brown didn’t originally set out to make a straight slasher movie with The Slumber Party Massacre. It actually began life as a parody of the genre called Sleepless Nights. Brown wanted to subvert the usual “girls in jeopardy” format by upending a genre that typically exploits women. The (male) producers, who either didn’t get it or didn’t think it would sell, rewrote the script (without her approval) to make it a more serious slasher movie. Oh, it still subverts by virtue of it being written and directed by women. At the same time, it gives fans everything they’ve come to expect- i.e. blood and boobs- from the genre.
Now that I’m done with the analysis, let’s talk about The Slumber Party Massacre in more fun terms. We’ll start with the plot such as it is. You know what they say about what mice will do while the cat’s away? The same thing applies to teenage girls. With her parents out of town for the weekend, Trish (Michaels) invites her girlfriends Kim (Deliso), Jackie (Honore) and Diane (Hunter) over for a slumber party. Although it’s supposed to be a girls-only affair, Diane’s boyfriend Joe (Boyce) shows up as do horndogs Neil (Johnson) and Jeff (Millbern). Oh, I almost forgot about their other uninvited guest, Russ and his big drill.
Meanwhile, new girl in school Valerie (the late Stille) is stuck next door babysitting her 12YO sister Courtney (Meyers). She was invited to the slumber party but declined. Throughout the night, the sisters hear noises coming from next door they initially attribute to partying. They eventually become concerned and go over to investigate. BIG mistake! It puts them right in the killer’s crosshairs.
If I may return to the feminist aspect of The Slumber Party Massacre for a sec, I find it interesting that Jones cast women in bit parts- e.g. a telephone repair person and a carpenter- that would normally be played by male actors. The female characters have a definite edge over the boys and men, all of whom are depicted as boneheads and/or perverts. Take the neighbor, Mr. Constant (Kennedy), the parents ask to keep an eye of their daughter in their absence. You can’t tell me this guy isn’t a perv. At one point, Trish catches him sneaking around inside her house. He could very well be the inspiration for the Family Guy character Quagmire (except for the “giggity, giggity!”). Then we have Neil and Jeff. Not only are they both complete idiots, they’re also a couple of peeping toms. The first thing they do when they get to Trish’s house is watch the girls change into their skimpy PJs through the living room window. Welcome to being a teenage boy in the 80s. Before I get back to the fun, let’s sum up. Girls rule, boys drool. Okay, got it!
Is there any point in commenting on the acting in a slasher movie? In the case of The Slumber Party Massacre, there just might be. The level of acting is about on par with other entries in the genre. Nobody appears to be going for an Oscar, especially with all the dopey dialogue they have to say. All it takes to be in one of these movies is a hot bod and a healthy pair of…. lungs (for screaming). What did you think I was going to say? Yes, it helps to have a nice pair of those too. The girls aren’t lacking in any of these areas. However, they all look more like college students than high school students. As for Meyers, she is clearly older than twelve. I don’t have any personal information on the actress but I’m pretty sure she’s of legal age. Her performance feels like something from a perverted sex fantasy video. It’s just weird. As for Villela, his killer is mostly silent but wields a mean phallus…. er, power drill.
There’s less gore than you’d expect from a movie called The Slumber Party Massacre. Most of the murders occur off-screen. However, in addition to the drill kills, we get a decapitation, dismemberment and disembowelment. Some hapless pizza delivery guy shows up at the door with his eyes drilled out. It’s okay though, the pizza’s still hot as one of the girls points out when it’s observed that its bearer is cold and dead. This is a perfect example of the movie’s twisted sense of humor as is the purposely bad dialogue.
Although not technically a comedy, there are laughs to be had with The Slumber Party Massacre, a low budget job with none other than the great Roger Corman behind it (he goes uncredited as executive producer). It’s a great deal of fun if you like slasher flicks. At 76 minutes, it doesn’t wear out its welcome. It didn’t make much of a splash when it was first released, but has since developed a deserved cult following. I mean, how can you go wrong with a title like The Slumber Party Massacre? Don’t you just love that title?
