The Slumber Party Massacre

Finally got down to seeing the sneaky and subversive feminist slasher, Slumber Party Massacre (1982). It's so jarring, as this film opens up with like insane amounts of nudity, accompanied by just the most pedestrian lingering camera views. This immediately establishes what director Amy Holden Jones is about, as she recreates the male gaze--cleverly parodies it--as the boring, uninspired thing that it is, the dull objectification of women. Still, there's a ton of female nudity, and it is an extremely slippery slope to satirize something while upholding it. I think what Jones is doing is really forcing the holder of the male gaze to feel cruddy about it, and in this, she is extremely successful. It's hard to really hold viewers accountable, and even harder to figure out how to do it, but Jones does. Anyway, there is so much else that is just utterly delightful about this movie.While Jones was tasked with turning Rita Mae Brown's overt feminist send-up of slasher movies into something more conventional, I think it allows her to go even harder for the jugular vein of misogyny (I'm not accusing slasher films, which I love, of being inherently misogynist; I'm accusing society). Women are presented, not only as the requisite victims, but as human beings with agency, as electricians, as carpenters. Even with the nudity at the beginning, there's just a different vibe. Even the characters who are clearly en route to being drill fodder, seem a little more involved, a little more nuanced, a little more characterized.In fact, the only two male characters, other than the killer, are sort of delightful idiots. Even when practicing voyeurism, their efforts feel forced and inauthentic, as though they feel they are expected to engage in such things. They spend a goodly amount of their time looking at each other, unable to believe their luck, rather then, again, casting their dull and insipid (and impotent?) gaze on the female leads of the movie. The killer, too, is an obvious misogynist, and, as would rationally follow, a sad and pathetic man who runs around killing women with a long drill/phallus.In the end, I think it's a blessing that Amy Holden Jones was pushed to make Browne's script into a straight slasher movie; it's able to do more work from a position of straightforwardness, presenting familiar tropes with canny deception, thus reaching a broader--and needier--audience. Having said all that, Massacre stands ably alongside other slasher movies, other horror movies, of the time, delivering what we expect from the better movies of this ilk: tenacious survival, quality and creative gore, and enough of a set-up to buy us all in. Excellent.

I had been deliberately putting of watching this movie for years, even though I am a die hard fan of horror. All this time, I thought the only reason this is in every scholarly book or artifact on horror film was because the usual academics agenda. In other words, not because of the movie itself, but those involved in the main creative areas, if you follow me. I added it reluctantly to my collection just because I am completist. I couldn't have been more wrong! This little gem stands on its own as an "important" film, without any sort of validation. They say this was supposed to be a spoof of slasher movies. In the end, they decided for it to stay a straight scary movie. However, the humor it's still there, as shown in the People's Temple's references and the fact that hunger is just a problem on top of the other; despite serial killers lurking in the vicinity. Even the only "unintentionally" funny sequence I could spot, where the pocket notebook literally vanishes into thin air, doesn't really strike me as a goof. The "symbolism" and the comment on all sorts of issues are there, too, for film studies majors or whoever to dig in. That's without sacrificing the genuine scares, copious nudity, inventive killings and gore "perv" slasher suckers such as myself the whole deal comes down to. A rule- bender long before the somewhat overrated Scream franchise, I must humbly accept even Michele Soavi's Aquarius, which I am not so sure now to keep calling the King Supreme of Slashers, borrows heavily from this. The kind of flick that you could watch more than once and still pick up details from you didn't notice before. Gets all my respect as a true, defining classic of the 80s!

While this may not be the goriest slasher film, I’d still say it’s one of the quintessential films of its genre, especially to come out of the 80s. It’s got that classic slasher movie set up with a bunch of teenage high schoolers getting together to have a fun sleepover, all the while a recently escaped serial killer stalks them with big construction drill which he uses to bloody effect. I don’t know how to describe it, but the movie just has that 80s feel to it. The way the characters are written, the suburban setting, and especially the bloody practical effects. It all culminates in that perfect cheesy 80s feel. Camp value aside though, there’s also a lot of genuinely good things this movie gets right. Even though the characters aren’t particularly well acted, they do act and talk like real teenagers and feel like real people for the most part. The actual slumber party in question feels oddly authentic as the characters spend most of the time just casually talking about sports and other random things( much like an actual sleepover) with the stalker periodically killing one character at a time. You’d think this would make for a boring movie, but the way it’s written, it actually made the whole situation seem more realistic and relatable. Theres a nice build up to the kills and the scenes with the stalker are paced out well enough to keep you intrigued. And even though the movie is cheesy, the writing is pretty solid, with characters making reasonably decisions for the most part. The stalker is also a really memorable slasher villain even if he doesn’t have much of a backstory or motivation. He’s one of the few slasher villains who spends the entirety of the film unmasked and he’s actually pretty effectively creepy without being too over the top. The drill weapon that he uses might just be one of the best slasher villain weapons I’ve seen in any of these films. The kills in particular aren’t the goriest, but their still pretty good and memorable in their own right with nice practical effects. The movie also has a lot of fun absurd moments sprinkled throughout. Like the characters ordering a pizza and then answering the door, only to find the delivery man with both eyes drilled out. Or the killer stuffing one of his victims into the refrigerator and a character later in the film goes to get something out of it, comedically not noticing the dead body. And of course who could forget perhaps the most gratuitous shower scene in any slasher film ever. Like seriously, there’s this scene in the girls locker room shower towards the beginning of the film where the camera just slowly pans and dwells on the nudity for so long that it borders on satire. It’s great fun.It all comes to a head where the final girl has to face off against the killer in a bloody pool-side confrontation. Overall, it’s a nice campy slasher film that’s definitely worth checking for fans of the genre.

Great Bluray classic fun 80s slasher film this is the best this film will ever look and sound every good extras well done scream factory.

ill sleep when im dead

I love this film :D thank you :)

When 'Halloween' opened the door for low budget horror flicks, all kinds of trash flooded through including 'Slumber Party Massacre', poorly scripted, sometimes poorly acted, poorly paced as one cliche after the next occurs and there's more red herrings than the Pacific Ocean, each one less scary than the last.At one point I thought Leslie Nielsen was going to appear as it seemed like some kind of half baked spoof and sure, it has it's moments but not nearly enough of them to keep you interested or caring.Roger Corman has made some great films but this sure isn't one of them.

Take this for what it is. It's cheesy, questionable acting, rips off Halloween something chronic! But, it's bloody, quite funny, rather nasty, quite short, makes you jump, fast paced, and really good.It would be great for a teen party, or for someone of my age to remember renting it in the 80's when my parents were out, and not sleeping for two weeks!So, it's good value, scary entertainment. Enjoy!