The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

When it comes to cult classics, the horror genre has always had an overwhelming number of B-movies. Horror B-movies refer to the low-budget feature films as compared to major feature films. One might call them “low-grade” cinema as opposed to the more artistic endeavours, but I’d refrain from saying that. The horror B-movie is a source of unbridled entertainment and for the fans of spooky business, it’s the perfect way to round out Halloween night or any night in which they’re in the mood for horror. Usually characterized by a somewhat loose storyline, sometimes some quite silly characters, a little over-the-top acting and a bunch of practical effects, horror B-movies used to rule the world of horror during the ’70s and ’80s with franchises like Friday the 13, Slumber Party Massacre and Halloween.

But since the late '90s, with big-budget horror films like End of Days and Hollow Man, the focus has shifted from the horror B-movie. We now have major horror features like It and Midsommar and every year, there are almost ceremonial releases from the studio A24 which gave us The Witch and Hereditary. This year itself, Ti West's X and Jordan Peele’s Nope came out, which are far from being horror B-movies. But that being said, it’s only the focus that has shifted because we still have horror B-movies being made. If you enjoy the bizarre, less refined and entertaining world of the horror B-movies and want a break from the nuanced and poignant big-budget horror releases, I have a list of gore-fests from the last ten years to enjoy this October. Here are fifteen films for the fifteen days that remain till the auspicious date of Halloween!

The biggest subcategory of horror B-movies by percentage is the slasher film. Almost overdone violence and heavy reliance on practical effects as opposed to CGI characterize the slasher. And of course, the heavily criticized but also equally loved trope of the final girl is a slasher staple. Some of the most gruesome on-screen deaths have been courtesy of the slasher horror B-movie and I’m here to offer you some more horrible killings. If gore makes you queasy, you may consider skipping this segment.

Slumber Party Massacre (2021), written by Suzanne Keilly and directed by Danishka Esterhazy, is an update on the classic 1982 slasher The Slumber Party Massacre. Like the original trilogy, this new version stays true to the franchise roots with its spotlight on women behind and in front of the camera.

Slumber Party Massacre follows a group of friends going on a trip where they come face-to-face with Russ Thorn aka the Driller Killer (Rob van Vuuren). Dana (Hannah Gonera) joins her friends Maeve (Frances Sholto-Douglas), Alix (Mila Rayne), Breanie (Alex McGregor), and Ashley (Reze-Tiana Wessels).

Slumber Party Massacre offers a new look into the familiar story, while staying true to the spirit of the original film.

This reimagining of the classic film makes changes which include structuring the film as a return to a location where a murder happened years ago, allowing the film to give us a more personal story about these girls fighting for their lives.

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.