The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

A high school student's slumber party turns terrifying as an escaped mental patient with a drill decides to crash the evening.

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:

stuffed animal | girl in bra and panties | female rear nudity | drill in the head | cult film | 

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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

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)

Gross USA:

$3,589,000, 31 December 1982

Company Credits

Production Co:

Santa Fe Productions (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Amy Holden Jones was an editor who wanted to direct. She was given two opportunities: to direct The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) or to edit Steven Spielberg's upcoming film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Amy chose to direct her first feature film and tweak the script. After the film was completed, the studio held a test screening at a theater on Hollywood Boulevard and Amy was startled by the audience reaction. As she recalls, "They went ape! From the very beginning, they were screaming and laughing and there were people behind me making drilling noises and talking back to the screen!" Amy left the theatre and approached producer Roger Corman, who was listening in the lobby. She said, "My God, Roger. What did we do?" He replied, "We had the best preview in New World history."

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Goofs

When Russ Thorn walks into one of the bathrooms' and looks at himself in the mirror, a glimpse of the cameraman's hand is reflected on the mirror. This is corrected in the Blu-ray version.

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Quotes

Mrs. Devereaux: Trish, the chips are under the sink and there's soda in the fridge, and our number at the hotel is right by the phone.
Trish: Okay, Mom, everything will be fine.

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Alternate Versions

Before the movie was released on VHS for the first time by Embassy, the movie had different opening credits. The words "The Slumber Party" are typed out in black and white Courier font before the word "MASSACRE" in all red caps is stamped across the bottom of the screen...

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Connections

Featured in Screaming in High Heels: The Rise & Fall of the Scream Queen Era (2011)

User Reviews

I didn't expect it to be so good

I bought this because it was cheap and had 'massacre' in the title. What I didn't know is that this is a really tense movie. While not quite scary, it does have very suspenseful scenes, and the killer is classic! It's not filled with nudity like I had expected, and the killings are pretty gruesome. I'd recommend it to any slasher fan.