The Slumber Party Massacre

      I absolutely adore THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE.  I find it hilarious, actually. There is a delicious wit running through every minute of this slasher flick, and it's one of my favorites of the decade. Although we're presented with possibly the least frightening killer ever put on celluloid- he's laughable all the way, and maybe it's just me, but I insist on my psychopaths wearing a mask. Why is this?  I mean, if somebody is coming after you with a knife, no matter what they're wearing, it's probably going to be pretty scary, right? Right. But i prefer my slasher to be sportin' a mask.

     There are exceptions, of course. Pamela Voorhees didn't wear a mask, and she was certainly scary enough on her own. HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE offers a killer without a mask, and it works for the most part. EYES OF A STRANGER has a killer without a mask. No sweat. But c'mon- would HALLOWEEN have been near as scary if Michael Myers was just a regular guy walking around?  I think not. Would Leatherface have caused as many nightmares as he did if he didn't walk around wearing other people's faces? Doubt it. I'm just saying.

     THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE came about during that magical time period otherwise known as the early 80's. In 1982, the slasher genre was going full-tilt boogie, and it seemed there was a new madman stalking teens just about every weekend of that year in theaters. TSPM features the barest whiff of a plot- while the parents are away, a bunch of girls throw a slumber party. And there's an escaped lunatic running around with a power drill with a very large bit attached (I'm not even going into the whole phallic imagery bit- it's been discussed to death already...) and killing people. That's pretty much it. Simple, yet effective. We didn't need no stinkin' plots back then- we just wanted to see Jordache-wearing teens being slaughtered for whatever reason.

     There are so many things I love about this movie, but mainly- I love the humor found here.  There is some genuinely funny comedic dialogue running through THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE- so much that I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times. I love that the girls in this movie look at least 30 years old, while the boys could easily pass for 18. The somewhat-butch young girl obsessed with "PLAYGIRL" magazines is quite hilarious, and you gotta love the gay next-door neighbor asked to look after the girls while their parents are away. Is this movie cleverly spoofing the slasher films of the era? Is the humor intentional or unintentional?  There is almost a sly, winking vibe to this movie, and I really dig it. This is high camp all the way, kiddos.

      THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE has developed a strong following over the years, and remains a definite guilty pleasure. Great fun all the way, and highly recommended.