The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

A high school student's slumber party turns into a blood bath, as an escaped psychotic serial killer with a drill prowls the neighborhood.

Director:

Amy Holden Jones (as Amy Jones)

Writer:

Rita Mae Brown

Stars:

Michelle Michaels, Robin Stille, Michael Villella

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michelle Michaels	...	Trish (as Michele Michaels)
Robin Stille	...	Valerie
Michael Villella	...	Russ Thorn (as Michael Villela)
Debra De Liso	...	Kim (as Debra Deliso)
Andree Honore	...	Jackie
Gina Smika Hunter	...	Diane (as Gina Mari)
Jennifer Meyers	...	Courtney
Joseph Alan Johnson	...	Neil (as Joe Johnson)
David Millbern	...	Jeff
Jim Boyce	...	John Minor
Pamela Roylance	...	Coach Jana
Brinke Stevens	...	Linda
Rigg Kennedy	...	David Contant (as Ryan Kennedy)
Jean Vargas	...	Telephone Repairwoman
Anna Patton	...	Mrs. Devereaux

Storyline

An eighteen-year-old high school girl is left at home by her parents and she decides to have a slumber party. There is friction between some of the invited guests and the new girl, who is better at basketball than they, so the new girl decides to stay at home (which is conveniently across the street from the host's house). Meanwhile, a murderer of five people with a propensity for power tools has escaped and is at large, and eventually makes his way to the party, where the guests begin experiencing an attrition problem, with only the new girl to help them.

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Plot Keywords:

girl in bra and panties | horror directed by woman | stuffed animal | female rear nudity | drill in the head | 

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Taglines:

Close your eyes for a second... and sleep forever.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the director, Amy Holden Jones, the movie was originally supposed to clock in at about 90 minutes - considering that the film only runs at 76 minutes. "There was a different ending. We reshot to punch it up. It must have been lame because I can't remember it. I think it was the same but without the pool. We ruined that pool with the reshoot but it was fun", Amy recalled. One other particular scene that was omitted for pacing reasons, as Debra De Liso recalled, was a scene with the girls playing with a Ouija board, spelling out the words: DEATH.

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Goofs

When one of the girls knocks a glass of wine over, the spillage on the floor decreases between shots.

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Quotes

[the girls are covering up the pizza guy's dead body]
Kim: He's dead, all right. So cold.
Jackie: Is the pizza?
[Jackie takes a slice of pizza]
Jackie: Well, life goes on after all and eating makes me feel best when I feel bad, and boy do I feel bad.
[she takes a bite of the pizza]
Jackie: I feel better already. Really, I do.

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Alternate Versions

Although passed intact for cinema the UK video release suffered 30 secs of BBFC cuts with heavy edits to the drill murders, stabbing scenes and the climactic death of the killer. The title was also changed to "Slumber Party Murders" due to the video nasty scare sweeping the country at the time. It was eventually passed fully uncut for DVD in 2003 with the original title restored.

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Connections

References Peeping Tom (1960)

User Reviews

That's a BIG tool you have there, Mr. Killer...

This is a movie from the early 80's and it contains the word "massacre" in the title, so you know the…um…DRILL! Standard, by-the-numbers slasher except that this is supposed to be a feminist slasher! In all honesty, I don't really get it. Portraying dumb but hot-looking girls stalked & killed by a homicidal maniac is a sexist crime, but if this exact same formula is presented by a FEMALE director and a FEMALE scriptwriter, it all of a sudden becomes a parody and/or a feminist statement? The male characters in this movie may be a bit dumber than usual but the teenage beauties are all still defenseless little lambs to the slaughter, so where exactly lays the girl-power element? Oh well, since I absolutely don't wish to receive negative feedback from female readers, I'll just restrict myself to reviewing the actual movie and leave the speculations of possible deeper meanings behind. Talking purely in terms of 80's horror, "The Slumber Party Massacre" is a pretty good effort with likable characters, a fair amount of suspense and a handful of excellent gory killings. With her parents away on holiday, a schoolgirl invites her friends for a sleepover party with the usual pizzas, beer and soft drugs. Unfortunately for them, an escaped lunatic with a gigantic power tool still terrorizes the area and he shows up as the party-pooper, drilling holes in everyone whose path he's crossing. The only hope for rescue in the new girl who lives across the street but – oh no – she wasn't invited to the party! The identity and motivations of serial killers are usually kept secret in 80's slashers until the ending (as they're frequently acquaintances of the victims), but you don't have to worry about that in this case. Right from the opening minute, newspapers and radio bulletins loudly announce that a psychopath escaped from the local asylum and he doesn't even bother to wear a silly mask, as he's already carrying the drilling device – which symbolizes a male penis – instead. There's little else you need to know, except that nearly all the girls willingly take their clothes off and that the obligatory after gym-class shower sequence comes early in the movie. Hooray for feminism!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Don't Open the Door

Filming Locations:

3662 Mountain View Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Santa Fe Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1