Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988)

June 26, 2018

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (SBSBOR) is one of those great movies that falls into that unique sub-genre of 1980s monster/slasher t-n-a films. It has an incredible 80s soundtrack that I'm going to try and find. A couple of songs by a band called ZOOM ZOOM really stand out. It has a couple good death scenes despite a next to nothing budget (IMDB guesses $90,000). But most importantly it stars the incredible Linnea Quigley (Night of the Demons, Return of the Living Dead) and George Buck Flowers (he plays a hobo/drunk in almost every 1980s movie... seriously, look at his IMDB credits).

SBSBOR is about a couple of sorority pledges who are tasked with stealing a trophy from a mall bowling alley with three horny guys who snuck into their sorority house to watch them naked. At the bowling alley they accidently release an evil imp who was imprisoned there for thirty years. They also meet Spider (Linnea Quigley) who plays a sexy punk/biker. The imp torments the group of kids and turns some of them into zombies/brides of Frankensteins(?).

Linnea Quigley is what really makes SBSBOR a fun movie to watch. She delivers some great sarcastic lines ("Are those glasses for real?" "Prom queen on the loose. Or is it high school hookers?"). She has a couple good girl-on-girl fight scenes. There is also something heartfelt about the way she treats Calvin, the nerdier and more picked on of the three boys.

While the movie doesn't have too much gore, due I'm guessing to the lack of budget, they did find ways to make this silly flick into a really fun horror movie. There are heads being deep fried and heads being blended (what was that machine that the big guy's head was put into?) where we don't get to see the frying or blending too much but get to see afterwards. Also a great decapitated head bowling scene. If I had seen this film when I was a teenager, I'm sure it would have been one of my favorites.

Alright, there are two aspects of the film that need to be addressed. First, the good news. If you are looking for nudity in your 1980s horror flick, this film has lots of it! There's a pledge spanking scene, a shower scene, one pledge is topless in lingerie almost the entire movie, and Babs the sorority president becomes a sexy dominitrix zombie at the end of the film. Second, the bad news. The imp, which seems to be doing a Audrey II impersonation from Little Shop of Horrors the entire movie, is really obnoxious and takes away from the enjoyment of the film. His puns and witticisms which are inserted throughout the movie break the narrative with unneeded silliness. If they could've toned down the little guy this film would've been much more effective.

Last side note: This film was actually made in my hometown of San Marcos, California (Northern San Diego). I grew up bowling at the exact same bowling alley! I didn't notice it until the very ending scene when they show an exterior shot of the outside. Also the mall is in the town next to me. Two movies in a row shot in my city. Awesome!