The House on Sorority Row (1983)

June 15, 2018

The House on Sorority Row follows in the proud tradition of the sorority slasher films subgenre of the 1970s and 80s. While there are a couple of really great moments and camera tricks, overall the film is not one of the better of this subgenre.

The film begins with a flashback twenty years prior where a woman in labor appears to lose her child when a C-section goes wrong. Flashforward and now she is the house mom for a sorority of graduating girls looking to through themselves a party. When the house mom decides to end the party the group of girls accidently kill her (in a prank gone wrong) and hide the body in the swimming pool so they can go party. From there it is party guests and girls being killed one-by-one with the "dead" house mom's cane.

The killer's weapon of choice in this film is the house mom's cane which has a tip that has been sharpened down (?). While it is an interesting weapon, most of the killings happen slightly off camera so very little blood and gore is seen. However, the storyline lacks coherency. At one point the dead school mom (who had been wrapped up in a carpet and dumped in the pool)'s body is found in the attic wrapped up. The girls take this to mean that she was still alive and walked up to the attic only to rewrap herself in the carpet and die again up there? Not to try to poke holes in the thin plot, but this is a pretty big hole.

A couple areas where the film really does something great is the visual effects while the protagonist has been drugged with "a mild sedative." As she is watching the outside waiting for the killer images of her friends rapidly appear and disappear in the doorway. Sometimes alive and dancing and other times dead and staring into the camera. This really creates an unsettling and confusing atmosphere that helps build suspense. Also, the use of children's toys that appear before the killer takes his victims adds to the creepiness of the film. Finally, the hints throughout the film lead the film viewer to realize that the assumptions they made about plot points were false were fairly innovative and effective. There were a few times I had to ask my wife questions like, "Wait, earlier in the film did the doctor say Ms. Slater was having a nervous breakdown or did we just assume he was referring to her?" The plot was very thin at certain points and surprisingly full in other parts.

Lastly, probably the best part of the film is the soundtrack by the sorority house party band "4 out of 5 Doctors," who play several Power Pop/New Wave songs. If you like Power Pop see if you can find either of their two albums. Put on your skinny piano tie and dance the night away!