Thursday, October 17, 2019

October Horror Movie Challenge - The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

This underrated slasher is available on Tubi

An escaped killer with a power drill decides to wreak havoc on a group of teens sleepover. 

In a lot of ways, Slumber Party Massacre feels like a by the numbers slasher. A mad man stalks and kills scantily clad girls, many of which are partying (with weed and booze). However, unlike many others this one is directed by a woman and a majority of the characters are female. These teen girls are not just eye candy either (though they are nude and scantily clad during several parts of the film), they are fully fleshed out characters. They talk about their lives and aspirations and things. It's kind of refreshing. There's also an unspoken lesbian vibe going on between two of the characters, which is different. The female protagonists of this film don't sit idly as they discover the bodies of friends. They arm themselves and try to fight back.

The movie has three female survivors, two of which fight back and wound the killer. Also, unlike many films of this nature, the true final girl, Valerie, isn't broken by the situation. She finds herself in trouble, is clever, hides, and finds a way to fight back. In addition, in the final fight, she destroys the killers very phallic weapon. I'm not saying this movie is a perfect feminist piece, but there is a feminist undercurrent to it that I appreciate.

The film is also more humorous than many slashers of the time. This makes sense because it was originally going to be a slasher parody. Going to be honest, I laughed my ass off when Kim moves the pizza out from under the dead pizza guy and starts eating, proclaiming she already felt better getting some food in her.

This is an overlooked slasher movie. It's not perfect, but it's got a lot going for it.

In Your Game:  
New Weapon: Big Ass Drill - 1d6 + bleeding damage (target takes 1 point of damage on their turn until they receive a successful DC 14 first aid/medicine check)

New To Me Movies Watched: 16
Total Movies Watched: 24


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