www.filmbrats.com

hotline
reviews
shorts
interviews
home

Please select a letter from the list below to see the reviews.

a / b / c / d / e / f / g / h / i / j / k / l / m / n / o / p / q / r / s / t / u / v / w / x / y / z


Behind The Screens

by Jon Waterman
Volume 1, Issue 2
Volume 1, Issue 1
Special Features
D-VHS
Digital Projectction vs. 35mm
Multiple DVD Releases

FILMBRATS - REVIEWS

Slumber Party Massacre II (zero stars)
review by Jon Waterman

After the events of that fateful night when escaped convict Russ Thorn went on his second killing spree, life has been quiet for Courtney. She was unfortunately at the scene of the crime, and, along with her now-institutionalized sister, she helped thwart further senseless deaths. Russ Thorn may be dead, but the fear still lives on in her dreams. Lately she’s been having some crazy nightmares. Most likely, it’s stress telling her that she needs to relax a little bit and enjoy her high school days. So, Courtney and some girl friends head out for a weekend retreat at a friends’ brand new house. Lightning can’t possibly strike twice, can it?

If you thought the first “Slumber Party Massacre” movie was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet. It’s all just so terrible; I don’t really know where to start. How about the killer? So, in the first movie, the killer was an actual guy that escaped from prison and went on another murderous spree. This time the villain starts out as a figment of Courtney’s imagination and then eventually breaks out of the dream world to wreak havoc against the teenagers. That’s not the worst part. The worst part is that he’s some rockabilly leather clad ghost-like thing who slaughters his victims with an electric guitar that has a drill attached to it. Yep. He’s Andrew Dice Clay meets Freddy Kruger. And he sings and makes all kinds of lame music references as he chases the girls around. Maybe whoever dreamt him up should be killed.

My guess is it was writer/director Deborah Brock in her feature debut. I guess having a female writer doesn’t guarantee that the female characters are any smarter. These characters aren’t just vapid, they’re flat out stupid. I could give you several examples, but honestly then you wouldn’t have any fun yelling at the dimwits as they make mistake after mistake. Sure you can argue that is all intentional to get the crowd yelling “No, don’t do that!” but I don’t buy it in this case. Even so, that doesn’t make the film better, because it still isn’t scary. It’d be much more effective if we were seeing smart people making good decisions yet still falling victim to the drill guitar.

So, aside from the dumber than rocks characters, the strangest and lamest choice for a movie villain ever, and the horrible directing, what else could go wrong? Well, I think I already mentioned how the film isn’t scary in the slightest. Everything is not only expected, but we see it from a mile away. Brock leaves absolutely no room for shock or surprise. You can’t rely on the gross-out factor alone, because honestly that’s not very strong either. The only saving grace amidst the myriad horrible dream/nightmare sequences and possibly the most insanely stupid endings I have ever seen is that the lead Crystal Bernard is actually an above-average actress in terms of cheap predictable horror movies. Still, I don’t think anything can take away the bad taste that the songs, the script, the characters, the directing and really the whole picture leaves in your mouth. Prime for mockery, this should only be watched with a group.

respond to jon@filmbrats.com