Classic Horror: The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

“Close your eyes for a second….and sleep forever.”

On its surface, 1982’s The Slumber Party Massacre is just one more entry in a long line of standard 1980’s slasher films that feature plenty of sexually active teens winding up on the business end of a murder weapon. There are plenty of attractive young ladies in skimpy outfits, pointless nude scenes, and poor choice making skills as well as an insane killer on the loose. When you look a bit deeper, however, you’ll quickly find out that this sleepover is different.

The film’s plot is pretty simple. Our leading lady, Trish (Michele Michaels), has the house to herself for the evening and decides to invite over a few friends. She also plans on inviting the new girl in school, Valerie (Robin Stille), but Trish’s friend Diane (Gina Mari), says a few derogatory things about her and Valerie declines Trish’s offer. On the radio at the beginning of the film, the news reports that a mass murderer has recently escaped from prison and might be in the area. After killing a couple of people at the local high school, the murderer, Russ Thorne (Michael Villella), makes his way to Trish’s house and starts picking off the girls one by one.

Sounds pretty standard for slasher films, right? Well, The Slumber Party Massacre is anything but standard. The movie was written by feminist Rita Mae Brown, directed by Amy Holden Jones, and edited by Wendy Greene Bricmont (with Sean Foley). In the film, traditionally male roles are given to female actors including a telephone worker (Jean Vargas), a brave coach (Pamela Royance), and a carpenter (Pamela Canzano). On top of that, the damsels in distress fight back, especially the final five ladies.

The few males in the film prove to be defenseless against the murderer. Two boys (Joseph Alan Johnson and David Millbern) sneak up on the girls, watch them getting dressed, and then try to scare them. When the murderer arrives, the boys attempt to save the day and fail. Mr. Contant (Rigg Kennedy), the only real male rival to the murderer, is offed early in the evening. It’s up to the girls, including Valerie, her little sister, Courtney (Jennifer Meyers), and Coach Jana (Royance), to finish the job.

Despite the women-taking-charge message, the film falls into all of the standard trappings of 80’s slasher films. In the opening moments of the film, Trish is shown topless. Later on, there’s a basketball game that features plenty of lingering shots on the legs and backsides of the girls. Then comes the obligatory shower scene that features long pauses focused on the rears of some of the young women. It’s a bit excessive, especially considering the fact that this film was directed by a woman, but it’s not unusual for these types of films. There are a couple of other skin-baring moments in the film as well. Some of the young ladies make poor decisions, the boys split up, and loud noises distract some of the characters from hearing the deaths of the killer’s victims. There’s even a bratty younger sister that gets in the way…..a lot.

That being said, these ladies really do take charge in this film. Instead of running from the killer, some of the ladies take a stand against him. The most impressive one in my opinion is Kim who, while our heroine cowers in the corner, takes charge of the situation and starts throwing things at the killer. Her efforts prove fruitless, but she buys Trish some time to escape. Coach Jana, Valerie, and Courtney also face off with the killer. I won’t spoil what happens when these ladies battle Russ Thorne.

The movie is pretty good, but it does have a few shortfalls. For starters, the killer’s weapon of choice is a power drill with a long bit. The weapon is awkward, entirely too noisy, and easily dispatched by a machete late in the film. I also didn’t care for Russ Thorne’s motives for killing: He loves the beautiful girls. He’s obviously deranged, but I would have preferred to not even know what reasons he had for killing these young ladies. There were also quite a few continuity goofs in the film. I’ll let you watch the movie and see how many of them you can spot.

The film’s standout performances were by Michaels and Deliso. Deliso was my favorite actress in the entire film and I want to see more of her work. She’s currently a professor at USC among other things. Brinke Stevens has a small role in the film as Linda. It was her biggest early role, and we all know that she would go on to become a scream queen in her own right.

I do recommend checking out The Slumber Party Massacre. It’s a bit exploitative but the feminist overtones drown out the skimpy clothes and the flesh. Thanks for reading my post. I’ll be posting again real soon.