Sorority House Massacre (1986)

A little girl's brother kills the whole family but her (she escapes by hiding in the basement). He is committed, and she grows up with a new family, eventually going to college, where she ... See full summary »

Director:

Carol Frank

Writer:

Carol Frank

Stars:

Angela O'Neill, Wendy Martel, Pamela Ross

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Angela O'Neill	...	Beth
Wendy Martel	...	Linda
Pamela Ross	...	Sara
Nicole Rio	...	Tracy
John C. Russell	...	Bobby
Marcus Vaughter	...	Andy
Vinnie Bilancio	...	John
Joe Nassi	...	Craig
Mary Anne	...	Mrs. Lawrence
Gillian Frank	...	Dr. Lindsey
Joseph Mansier	...	Technician
Robert Axelrod	...	Larry (as Axel Roberts)
Fitz Houston	...	Det. Gilbert (as Fitzhough Huston)
Marsha L. Carter	...	Nurse (as Marsha Carter)
Maureen Hawkes	...	Professor

Storyline

A little girl's brother kills the whole family but her (she escapes by hiding in the basement). He is committed, and she grows up with a new family, eventually going to college, where she joins a sorority. Due to a memory block, she doesn't remember that the sorority house was her childhood house. Her brother senses her presence in the house and escapes so he can finish the job he was unable to complete.

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Plot Keywords:

sorority | college | sorority house | hiding | slasher flick | 

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Taglines:

A slash course in absolute terror!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Death House

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Concorde Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The blonde woman in the poster artwork for this movie is actress Suzee Slater.

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Goofs

When Linda is hitting Bobby with the shovel you can clearly see that she is hitting the floor behind him.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Beth: Hi, Mrs. Lawrence.

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Connections

Followed by Sorority House Massacre II (1990)

User Reviews

Surprisingly good!

I had resisted renting this for a long time, expecting something very typical and stupid. And in some ways, it was pretty campy (watch for the dress-up session!) but once the horror gets started, it gets pretty good.

Beth, a girl plagued by obscure but genuinely creepy nightmares, moves into her new sorority, just when most of the girls leave for Memorial Weekend. She stays back with three others, who, that night, are joined by four guys for a night of fun. Seems pretty typical, right? Yeah, I suppose. But it does get good.

Through some study on the dreams, and memories, Beth realizes that this is the house she used to live in until her brother killed the family and attempted to kill her. And, surprisingly, it's not one of those "what a coincidence!" things when the crazy brother escapes the local asylum. It seems as if the the brother and sister have some connection in their dreams, and he knows she is at the house. So he breaks free (pretty easily) and goes on a hunt for her, but only after wreaking havoc in town, stealing a car, and breaking into a hunting store to get a knife and kill the owner.

It's nighttime, and it looks like Beth's dreams are becoming reality. They even find a hidden knife under a brick in the fireplace that she thought she imagined. Then the brother gets there, and the fun begins.

It's not stalk 'n slash, though, except for a few. Three guys are killed off, and then, when making out with her boyfriend, a girl is killed in a tent, and her boyfriend buck naked, escapes, gasping, "Some guy just killed Tracy!" Okay, so it is pretty campy, especially because he remains naked for a few minutes before miracuously finding some (girls?) pants in one room. Then the surviving four realize that they are trapped...with the killer...in the house....

Very good from there. The characters are likeable, and the killer is very twisted. It's great when he sees each of his victims as a family member he killed, right down to the end of the climax, which ends so well with Beth saying something like, "Get away from me, you sick son of a b*tch!" when she finally finds a knife while he is pulling her towards him.

Overall, an innovative movie, if you can look past the many stereotypes, and the cheese. The acting isn't terrible, and the characters become likeable, especially the last two girls. Definitely check this out, just for the really great horror towards the end.