Sorority Movies Mini-Marathon!
(Aka there were so many of these friggin' things in the 80s I decided to watch a whole stack of 'em.)
14) The House on Sorority Row (1982) [Mark Rosman] (Oct 14)
After a prank goes wrong, a group of sorority sisters attempt to hide their mistake while still hosting their graduation party as they begin to go missing one-by-one.
The House on Sorority Row is a pretty standard early slasher. Definitely the most fun thing about it is how the characters come off as a bunch of bumbling idiots as they attempt to hide a body for most of the movie. A great orchestrated score adds to the quality, and actually makes it feel more like something from the early 70s rather than the 80s. Spoiler:
The typical one last scare made the ending feel too abrupt and left a bad taste in my mouth, though.
Overall, a fun and well made slasher that's not all that unique today, but that probably wasn't an issue for it back in 1982.
Worth checking out. 3 / 5
15) Sorority House Massacre (1986) [Carol Frank] (Oct 15)
I don't even need to write a synopsis for this one. It's
Halloween 1-2's plot with some
A Nightmare on Elm Street inspired nightmare sequences thrown in.
As soon as I started up
Sorority House Massacre and saw it was only 74 minutes, I knew I was in trouble. That's one of the telltale signs a cheap cash-in made to fill up shelves at video stores in the 80s. And well, that's what it turned out to be.
I wasn't expecting a good movie, but I also didn't expect it to be so lethargic. I have no idea how they managed to make 2 sequels out of this lifeless bore, unless they're totally unrelated plot-wise. Perhaps the most interesting thing about
Sorority House Massacre is that everyone is dressed like a 1980s real estate agent.
Just dull. 1.5 / 5
16) Sorority Babes in the Slime Bowl-O-Rama (1988) [David DeCoteau] (Oct 16)
When an 80s hazing prank goes horribly wrong, a group of college students free a mischievous imp from his imprisonment in a bowling trophy they were tasked to steal.
Sorority Babes in the Slime Bowl-O-Rama's only claim to fame (aside from the mouthful of a title) is that it stars the 80s scream queens trinity, Linnea Quigley, Brinke Stevens and Michelle Bauer. Other than that, there isn't really much to it. For a comedy, it's not particularly funny and they clearly didn't have any money for effects work, so aside form a decent imp puppet and some severed heads, there isn't much else. Most of the violence is shot so everything is either obscured by something else or just cut away from before anything happens. They did have a fire stunt though! I didn't expect that to be in the budget.
At least at only 80 minutes
Sorority Babes in the Slime Bowl-O-Rama doesn't have the time to drag on and become boring. It's not the worst movie I've seen, but there's really nothing worth your time unless you're a massive fan of the 80s scream queens.
Skip it. 1 / 5
17) The Initiation (1984) [Larry Stewart, Peter Crane] (Oct 17)
"Marcia? Marcia!"
A sorority pledge who is haunted by nightmares of her amnesia shrouded youth is forced to partake in a pledge ritual in a mall after hours were a hazing prank goes horribly out of control when a crazed killer crashes the party.
The Initiation focuses more on suspense like
Halloween rather than extreme bloodletting like other early 80s slashers. The plot is kind of all over the place as it starts off more of a psychological horror movie, then switches over to a slasher for the second half. There's nothing overly memorable aside from having Vera Miles, Clu Gulager and Princess Vespa in the cast, but there's just something about it that makes it work.
Overall,
The Initiation is kind of messy, but the empty mall makes for a great location and the characters are likeable and fun. It has a charm to it that I liked quite a bit.
Hardly a classic, but worth checking out. 3 / 5
18) Hell Night (1981) [Tom DeSimone] (Oct 18)
When yet another hazing ritual goes wildly out of control, a group of sorority pledges who were tasked with spending the night in a murder house must survive more than a couple bad pranks.
Okay, wow. How is
Hell Night not spoken about more often? I thought it was fantastic. This blend of old dark house thriller and 80s slasher may not the most unique or ambitious movie in the world, but I thought they nailed everything they set out to do. I'm not sure if it was their intent, but it feels like they tried to make a modern (well, modern for 1981, anyway) Universal horror movie. The production values are incredible for what it is. Amazing location and costumes, an exciting monster and great actors who make their characters a lot of fun. The kills were also crazy exciting. They're all swift and brutal as hell, even if it's not overly gory or excessive as other early 80s slashers. I especially enjoyed all the little things they set up earlier to have them pay off later. It's refreshing to see an 80s movie actually have a continuity like that.
I honestly don't understand the lukewarm reception
Hell Night seems to have gotten. I thought it was a blast from start to finish. It's one of the highlights of my month for sure.
Definitely recommended. 4 / 5
Bonus - Masters of Horror
In my first year of the marathon, I began watching the
Masters of Horror series and was counting them as movies. I only managed to get though the first 2 Blu-rays before deciding my time would be better spent watching full movies, so I shelved the rest. Now being my 10th year, I've decided to finish off the first season as bonus viewings.
Bonus 02) Masters of Horror - Incident On and Off a Mountain Road (s01e01) [Don Coscarelli] (Oct 18)
Don Coscarelli (the
Phantasm series) starts the series off with
Incident On and Off a Mountain Road, a
Texas Chainsaw Massacre style tale about a woman being stalked by a maniac in the woods after a car accident.
Overall, nothing too original, but there's a cool twist to it which I won't spoil. And it's nice to see Angus Scrimm have a role with more dialogue than The Tall Man, so we get to enjoy another performance from him.
A decent start to the series. 3 / 5
