Sorority House Massacre (1986)

Who’ll survive the final exam?

By 1986, putting the words “Sorority House Massacre” on a VHS box was practically enough to get the tape into a horror fan’s hands. You knew there would be college kids, questionable decisions, a sharp object or two and absolutely no reason for anyone to wander upstairs alone.

What makes Sorority House Massacre interesting is that it isn’t quite as disposable as that title makes it sound. Writer-director Carol Frank gives the movie a strange dreamlike streak, with Beth arriving at the sorority house and immediately feeling like something about the place is terribly familiar.

Angela O’Neill plays Beth with exactly the right uneasy energy. She’s not simply waiting around for the killer to arrive. She’s seeing disturbing images, experiencing déjà vu and slowly realizing that whatever is stalking this house may have something to do with a past she doesn’t completely remember.

Of course, this is still an ’80s slasher produced in the Roger Corman universe, so nobody forgot why we rented the tape. Eventually the knives come out, the bodies start dropping and the sorority house becomes a very bad place to spend Memorial Day weekend.

The movie wears its influences proudly. There’s plenty of Halloween in its DNA, along with the low-budget spirit of The Slumber Party Massacre. But the psychic connection between Beth and the killer gives the whole thing a slightly stranger flavor than your average escaped-maniac-with-a-knife rental.

Is it polished? Not particularly. Is it one of the movies that changed horror forever? Nope. But sometimes you aren’t standing in the video store looking for a masterpiece. Sometimes you see a tape called Sorority House Massacre, grab it off the shelf and know exactly what kind of Friday night you’re signing up for.

Why Sorority House Massacre Is Worth Renting

There is something wonderfully comforting about a horror movie this committed to the basics. Young people gather in an isolated location, nobody takes the danger seriously soon enough and somewhere nearby a maniac is sharpening a knife. Sometimes that’s all the rental needs.

Beth Gives It Something Extra

The déjà vu and strange connection between Beth and the killer give the movie a little more personality than its wonderfully generic title suggests. Angela O’Neill keeps Beth sympathetic and uneasy, making the mystery surrounding her past almost as important as waiting for the next attack.

It Belongs in the Massacre Family

Fans of The Slumber Party Massacre should feel right at home. The two movies aren’t identical, but they share that scrappy Corman-produced energy where the budget is tight, the title tells you exactly what aisle you’re standing in and nobody is pretending this isn’t supposed to be a fun horror rental.

Sorority House Massacre Official Trailer