The House on Sorority Row (1983, Review)
Director: Mark Rosman
Cast: Kate McNeil, Eileen Davidson, Lois Kelso Hunt
Liberation Entertainment / Rated R / NTSC R0 / 1.85:1 Widescreen / Dolby 5.1 & 2.0 / English / 92 minutes / PURCHASE from TLAraw!
Slasher flicks have always been my favorite of the horror genre. I have never been a huge zombie fan (although early Fulci is amazing). Monsters don’t do much for me either. Hell, even the supernatural spookies are just ho-hum. But a good ‘ol slasher flick – especially from the ’80s crop – will turn me on just about every time. I guess this comes from the first horror movies I was subject to was stuff like The Town That Dreaded Sundown (not technically an ’80s slasher but a good precursor), Friday the 13th and Sleepaway Camp. I can’t get enough of the dated music and styles, the retro titties and the complete sense of fun and mayhem that comes with these movies. One of the most beloved of this group of films and one that I missed as a kid was The House on Sorority Row. College girls… blood… and more college girls… let’s do this!
House Mother Mrs. Slater is a bit unbalanced since her botched pregnancy some years ago and she has gotten progressively worse. She is driving the girls of Theta Pi crazy (no pun intended… maybe). She won’t let them have their graduation party at the sorority house so the troublemaker of the group, Vicky, plans a prank on crazy old Mrs. Slater that backfires and she accidentally shoots and kills her. The rest of the girls help her cover it up at least until after the party (you gotta have your priorities, right?). But as the night goes on, people begin to come up missing and when they start looking for the House Mother’s body to make sure it’s safe, it’s gone! It doesn’t take long before the goody-to-shoes of the sisters, Katie, starts snooping around and begins finding dead bodies everywhere. She also uncovers a sinister secret about Mrs. Slater and a her mad scientist OB-GYN that explains all of the murderous goings-on!
The plot is pretty cookie-cutter for a slasher; something horrible happens to someone, they may or may not be the killer that is now slicing and dicing bitches up, teenagers, tits, sex, awesomely bad music, surprise twist ending that you see coming from the opening scene but it’s still cool, etc. If you think about it, it’s the perfect plot for a horror movie. It’s fun, simple and there are tits. The House on Sorority Row follows the format to a tee and I couldn’t help but love it. And believe it or not, director Mark Rosman has skills. There are some fantastic directorial scenes in this movie. Underwater shots of floating dead bodies, trippy drug-induced visions, great angles throughout and my favorite; a bodiless head in a toilet. The gore is right on par with the fun, hands-on make-up gore of the pre-CGI crap. And their are plenty of retro babe-age to check out here. Eileen Davidson who plays “Vicky” is HAWT! She has some fantastic natural breasticles.
Elite Entertainment put out a disk on 2000 which was quickly out of print and as of right now will bring a pretty good penny on eBay or Amazon (around $40-50 bucks if you can find one). But that may change now that Liberation Entertainment has put out this “25th Anniversary Edition”. Which is odd since 2008 would have been 25 years and this isn’t coming out until 2010, but I digress. The transfer is from the original 35mm film and is a great print. There is little in the way of scratches and dust to worry about and what is there just helps to give it that retro charm. The Dolby 5.1 is slick and clear. You can get all of the 1980 pop music you could ever want from the soundtrack by Richard Band who has done crap-tons of other classic (and not so classic) horror movie scores. The extras are pretty light with commentary from the director and a couple of the actresses, storyboards and what the menu calls a “alternate ending” but is actually Rosman talking about shooting another, more atypical ending and the movie company telling him to give it a more happy one.
This new disk is well worth picking up for slasher fans. It is one that you will watch over and over while drinking beer and staring at Eileen Davidson’s puffy nipples with your hands down your pants. Pick it up January 12, 2010!
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Hi Greg Is The 25th Ann Of The House On Sorority Row Missing Scenes
I Read That On A Review On Imdb.
Thx Jamie
Every version available is the original 92 minute “R” rated version. This includes the Hollywood DVD, Elite and the new Liberation disk. The only differences are the extra features and the Hollywood DVD is cropped. There are some VHS tapes that are 90 minutes I think, but there is no longer cut that I know of. If someone else knows something I don’t, I would love to see proof.
Love this film. Nice performances and while generic, I enjoyed following the story. I didn’t think the remake was that bad either, but I’m probably in the minority there. Definitely will pick this up on DVD. Excellent review as always!