Porky's (1982)

The Slumber Party Massacre (1982), written by Rita Mae Brown and directed by Amy Holden Jones, is a 1987 slasher film following a group of teenage girls terrorized by an escaped mental patient at a slumber party. This film inspired others such as Sorority House Massacre and ushered in a new subgenre of horror focusing on high school and college women. The Slumber Party Massacre and its sequels were all written and directed by women, setting them apart, and in a way, feeling like they are the satirical examples of the more straight films they inspired.

The Slumber Party Massacre is an interesting combination of sensibilities. The script was written by Rita Mae Brown, a feminist writer and activist most known for the autobiographical novel "Rubyfruit Jungle". This film wonderfully combines its feminist script with treating some tropes of the slasher genre seriously, which creates a film that is both successful for its gender discussions and its scares.

The film comments on how tropes of sexuality, innocence, and gender constructs are often used in horror. In its opening scene, we see Trish (Michele Michaels) throw out all her dolls and toys, commenting on the loss of innocence common found within slasher films. Throughout the film, the teenage girls are shown as stronger than their male counterparts. In an especially memorable scene, the girls play volleyball while the men sit in the bleachers watching, flipping the script on a common trope of teen film.