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Michele Michaels, Robin Stille, Michael Villela, Andre Honore, Joe Dante ... see more see more... , Debra A. Deliso , Joey Johnson , Rigg Kennedy , Gina Mari , David Millbern , Brinke Stevens , Aaron Lipstadt , Pamela Roylance , Robin Rochelle , Jim Boyce

Feminist film director Amy Jones and feminist novelist Rita Mae Brown collaborated on this by-the-numbers slasher gorefest, alleviated somewhat by desultory attempts at developing the victims as chara... read more read more...cters. The film concerns an overnight slumber party, attended by a group of nubile young women, who find themselves harassed by a gaggle of over-sexed young men. Their sexual escapades are punctured by the intrusion of an insane killer wielding a power drill. But the women rule the day when the lone survivor of the killer's hydraulic drill bands together with her sister and a neighbor to form their own posse and hunt down the murderer. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Flixster Users

45% liked it

6,022 ratings

Critics

30% liked it

10 critics

R, 1 hr. 24 min.

Directed by: Amy Holden Jones

Release Date: November 12, 1982

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DVD Release Date: August 29, 2000

Stats: 376 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (376)

  • JonathanHutchings
    April 7, 2012
    JonathanHutchings
    The Slumber Party Massacre is a true '80s slasher classic. Refreshingly, the film doesn't pretend to be something it's not. It incorporates all of the usual slasher cliches, but with a healthy dose of humor. As a result, it's a lot of fun.

    Interestingly, the screenplay was writ... read moreten by feminist Rita Mae Brown, who intended for her script to be a parody of the slasher genre. Instead, it was filmed as a straight-forward slasher, so it both follows and subverts the rules of the genre. The guys are weak and ineffectual, with serious manhood issues, and their onscreen deaths are more brutal than the girls'. Most of the girls are likeable, and they're not complete weaklings as they band together to fight back against their attacker. There's even humor to be found in the requisite nude scenes. The camera lingers just a bit too long on one girl's butt, and the dialogue includes "I think your tits are getting bigger," to which a chorus of girls excitedly ask, "Mine?" Another example, the boys answer the door expecting the pizza delivery guy. They say, "what's the damage?" On the other end you hear, "six... so far." "Six, even? Okay."
  • FilmFanatik
    March 27, 2012
    FilmFanatik
    Ok, so the original Slumber Party Massacre is by no means one the great and legendary slasher films, but it doesn't really need to be. It's basically Michael Myers with a power drill, if you want to look at it that black and white. I kind of like it that no screen time is spent r... read moreeally explaining the killer. To me it makes the killer more menacing if you don't explain who they are and what they're all about, which is the major problem I have with every film in the Halloween series after the first one. You give the audience that tidbit of information about them, basically make them two dimensional, and you've got yourself a powerful force that seems to be acting on nobody else's impulse but their own. Not some convoluted backstory about a curse on the killer's family that caused him to be the way he is... I'm looking at you Michael Myers. This movie is not that deep. Nowhere near it. It's a generic 80's slasher with tons of boobs, blood and bad dialogue, and that's all that I really wanted from it.
  • fb500439213
    October 15, 2011
    fb500439213
    For a film that was directed by a woman and written by a feminist, 'Slumber Party Massacre' is just as misogynistic as the slice-and-dice pictures executed by men. Glances between women can interpreted as latent lesbianism and a prurient shower scene pans up and down the female b... read moreodies like a voyeur. The women aren't entirely helpless though as they easily thwart the drill-obsessed killer (a machete severs the tip of his drill which is symbolic of his manhood). Most of the midsection is fraught with torpid scenes of girls gossiping about boyfriends and French-kissing. Even the spoof elements (the girls are oblivious to a body in the fridge and red is a primary color for the beverages throughout) can't enliven this shoddy B-movie.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    August 13, 2011
    TheDudeLebowski65
    The first of three slasher films involving a maniac with a power drill, The Slumber Party Massacre is basically an improved version of the classic "The Driller Killer". This is a surprising film, and watching it, I didn't expect it to be this good. I was pleasantly surprised at w... read morehat I got. I thought the film was terrific, and in the long series of Halloween clones, The Slumber Party Massacre is a film that is memorable because of the fact the killer wields a mean looking power drill. This film has everything you'd expect from a good Slasher film. There's plenty of suspense and awesome kills on screen. What's surprising about The Slumber Party Massacre is that it was made by a group of feminists who would normally dismiss this genre of Horror as pure trash and making women look like victims. Well, I'm glad that even feminists were able to put aside those feelings and they ended up creating one entertaining Slasher film where everyone, not just women were the victims. That's what I loved the most about this film; everyone got power drilled to death by an escaped murderer. The kills were terrific, awesome, and with plenty of blood and gore on some occasions. This is definitely a film to watch with a group of friends to have a great time. The film is very good considering the many negative reviews it has received, and if you enjoy a really good Slasher film, this is yet another solid film of the genre, one that is underrated, but delivers awesome kills that every Slasher film fan will adore.
  • ceWEBrity
    April 17, 2011
    ceWEBrity
    Slumber Party Massacre is enormously underrated. Initially written as a feminist lampooning of the slasher genre, the producers asked Amy Holden Jones to play it straight, which she more or less did. That doesn't change the subversive elements, amusingly daft sense of humor, and ... read moreoverall creativeness that makes this film a pretty rock-solid slasher. Its status as a woman-friendly horror movie has been challenged, since it finds just about any excuse it possibly can to get its heroines topless (hey, we're having a slumber party! let's take our shirts off). I choose to give Slumber Party Massacre more credit than this - of course it knows that this IS completely ridiculous, but you can't really roll with the big boys without playing by their rules first. How difficult would it be to joke about the genre without visually depicting its hallmarks?

    I guess the danger present in watching Slumber Party Massacre is that of not being in on the joke, and since on the surface it reads as a fairly conventional slasher with some fun quirks, a little background information (or an especially astute eye) probably enhances this film significantly. This film warps the rules in surprisingly subtle ways, enough so that a seasoned veteran of the genre could spot and appreciate its in-jokes while people who are just looking for a straight horror film will be adequately entertained. On a brute force technical level, it's not much to write home about - it's obviously shot on the cheap, acted with varying degrees of proficiency, not lit especially well and featuring scares that only work sometimes - but the force of its ideas and the pervasive sense of sheer fun really make it worth watching.
  • ajv2688
    March 11, 2011
    ajv2688
    A great slasher movie from the early 80s. Not only is it exciting, it's also funny and entertaining. The ending is extraordinary. I really liked it and highly recommend it.
  • matertenebraum
    September 8, 2009
    matertenebraum
    Managed to get this one cheap and enjoyed watching it, but could be better.

    In the same vein as Halloween (though not nearly as good) it manages to create that classic 80's suspense. The basic premise is that there is a slumber party and the teenagers begin to get picked off one... read more by one - your pretty standard slasher affair. In terms of nudity we get a few decent glimpses of T&A and I would say thats OK, its not overdone.

    Blood is sadly lacking I'm afraid. Although it picks up a bit at the end, it still leaves the film feeling a bit "bare". Halloween can enthral its audience with suspense and atmosphere, but as this film lacks a bit in this department, we're left with a gap to fill.

    Complaints aside, it does the job pretty well, we have a houseful of satisfyingly terrified teenagers, lots of screaming and running and some decent music.

    But yeah, if you're a slasher fan or a fan of 80's horror in general, I recommend giving this a view. Just to say you've seen it, and its a good Halloween substitute (I thought I could go a review without mentioning Halloween, but oh well).
  • drblood
    June 25, 2007
    drblood
    I ended up watching most of this on fast forward as it was so drawn out and slow that I felt my life ebbing away as I watched. It was originally conceived as a parody but for some reason the company who made it decided to play it straight instead.
  • Deano78
    March 30, 2007
    Deano78
    A pretty decent 80's slasher, better than most low budget offerings today!
  • DrStrangeblog
    April 3, 2012
    DrStrangeblog
    Classic title to popular slasher film that spawned two sequels and sadly does not live up to either accolade. Truly terrible musical cues and more false moments of danger than any 5 other horror movies combined sap most attempts to build tension. Some of the lemons are so ridic... read moreulous - a drill comes through a girl's bedroom door, but wait! It's a carpenter putting in a new peephole! And a butcher's knife rises above another girl outside carrying firewood, but wait! It's the next-door neighbor out cleaving snails because they get in his garden and "this is the only way to kill them"! Man, they sure could've used an internet back in 1982.

    There are 3 moments of inspiration: a woman banging on the window of a van as two students walk away, blood trickling under a door giving away a girl's hiding spot, and a body not quite discovered in the refrigerator. The rest is mostly routine mayhem with poor acting, a vanilla killer, and so-so effects on a tiny budget. Interesting factoid that this was directed by a woman, which is rare in the horror genre, but you won't recognize any feminist slant to it.

View All The Slumber Party Massacre Reviews

Critic Reviews

Staci Layne Wilson
August 22, 2005
Staci Layne Wilson, About.com

Click to read the review. Full Review

Nick Schager
July 29, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

A gruesome, T&A-filled feminist tract about female fears of mature male sexuality. Full Review

Ed Gonzalez
April 20, 2005
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine

Inexplicably praised in some circles for its reputed feminist angle. Full Review

Ken Hanke
August 21, 2002
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

If you need a slasher flick, you could do worse

Scott Weinberg
October 10, 2001
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

You get what you pay for with a title like this one. Full Review

Janet Maslin
August 30, 2004
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.
October 24, 2007
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed

No review available.

Emanuel Levy
August 11, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Andy Klein
May 29, 2004
Andy Klein, New Times

No review available.

John J. Puccio
September 10, 2002
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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