Sorority House Massacre. — Sorority House Massacre ( Blu Ray & UHD)
Sorority House Massacre is a mid-80’s slasher. The film blends uneasy flashbacks/ dreams/ premonitions with camp-to-plain bad acting. As it progresses, the bloody, largely knife-bound kills increase, as does the fairly taut & suspenseful nighttime stalkings. It’s a picture that certainly plays up its slasher tropes and is far from original, but if, like me, you enjoy the genre’s predictability & it’s campness, you’ll be entertained by what’s on offer here. From 88 Films, as part of their Slasher Classic series, is a new release of the picture. It comes as a dual Blu-Ray and UHD release, taking in a new 4k scan, an extended UK cut of the film, three commentary tracks, and a good selection of new and archive extras.
Sorority House Massacre ( Death House) is from the year 1986- it was set in summertime LA, which switches from day to (bloody) night as it unfolds. Unusually for a slasher film, it was written and directed by a woman, Carol Frank. This was her one and only director's credit- though she was listed as additional crew on Roger Corman-produced slasher The Slumber Party Massacre.
The film has a fairly short runtime of one hour and fourteen minutes, though initially, there is a fair bit of padding. Within its first ten or so minutes, we have two very slow walk-up-a-path shots. Anyway, things do improve as we get into the film.
The picture centres around the thickly quaffed brunette Beth(Angela O'Neill). She’s staying the weekend at the sorority house of her long-bobbed-haired friend Linda(Wendy Martel)- with the hope she’ll move in for good.
The house is fairly empty- as it’s a holiday weekend- with just Beth, Linda, and two other sorority sisters. As we get into the film, it’s various confusing flashbacks/ dreams/ premonitions. We also focused on a psych hospital, where a troubled male figure is struggling with his ties and acting up.
As the evening draws in at the sorority house, the girls have set up a wigwag party(?!), with their boyfriends appearing to join the party- sadly, most of these guys are hardly drawn, with only yellow-shirted, bespeckled, and always saying the wrong thing Andy(Marcus Vaughter) being memorable.
Anyway, our psycho killer breaks out, steals a wood-effect Oldsmobile ( very first Halloween) and heads to the party he’s most certainly not expected or wanted at.
As the film unfolds, we get some neat knife coming through different surfaces premonitions. A wonderful cheesy & kitschy 80’s girls try on dresses montage with a sax, beats, and guitar soundtrack. Unintentionally amusing flat/unemotional line delivery. We have a really bad, meant-to-be-creepy storytelling session. More than a few effectively bloody murders- including an impressive knife up through the bottom of the chin. And some nicely suspenseful stalking.
Sorority House Massacre was an entertaining, if far from original, example of the slasher form. Which I know will be enjoyed by long-term fans of the genre.
Moving on to this dual Blu-ray and UHD release. And we have a very clear, crisp, and generally lovely-looking 4k scan, which brings out both the colours in the 80’s dress, and the bloody reds. With an even balance between the dialogue and the film's score.
On the extras side, we get a good selection of both new and archive stuff. First off, in the new side of things, we get three commentary tracks- the first finds the slashing loving podcast The Hysteria Continues! been joined by author/film historian Amanda Reyes. The second is with genre experts Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth. And the third is with journalists Dave Wain and Matty Budrewicz. I played the first of these- the five picec open up by letting us know this was one of the few lower to mid budget slashers to get a cinema release stateside. They talk about how the first ten or twenty minutes feel either like an 80’s Italian horror film, or a music video- we find out the cinematographer Marc Reshovsky came from a music video background. They discuss how lead actress Angela O'Neill has somewhat of a haunted beauty. They point out actors as they appear, and talk about how the film riffs on both Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street. They chat about the career of director Carol Frank, and how she also wrote a few scripts. They discuss the nudity in the picture and how it’s used. We find out the original script was penned in 1983 by Ms Frank. Later on, they talk about the suspenseful ladder scene. They discuss how the film is very straight/ non tongue-in-cheek, unlike most of the slashers of this period. They touch on the actor who played the killer, who passed at the very young age of thirty-nine. The female audience for this film, and the genre in general. It’s another informative/ entertaining track from The Hysteria Continues!, with Ms Reyes giving some great input.
Otherwise, on the new side of things, we have the following: Final Girl Memories (22.27) An interview with lead actress Angela O'Neill. Concorde Affair (19.15) An interview with Ryan Gowland. No Alphas or Omegas Here (10.23) A video essay by Heather Wixson. A Nightmare on Sorority Row (17.52) a 2025 audio interview with actress Angela O'Neill. A Slash Course In Terror: Inside Sorority House Massacre ( 17.53) a 2025 interview with author/film historian Amanda Reye. The Final Girl(19.52) A Guide to Surviving Slasher Films- a 2025 featurette discussing this trope, and some of the key examples of the trope.
On the archive side, we have: A extended UK VHS cut of the film( one hour and twenty-nine minutes). Sorority Pledge - 2014 interview with producer Roger Corman). Sorority Sister - 2014 interview with actress Nicole Rio. Sorority Brother - 2014 Interview with actor Vinnie Bilancio, and theatrical trailer
The finished release comes with a o-ring cover featuring the original artwork, and a booklet written by genre expert Calum Waddell.
This release was my first time watching Sorority House Massacre, and as a long-term fan of the slasher genre, I found it an entertaining ride, with its blending of 80’s camp, dreams/premonitions, bloody slashing & tense stalking. This new 88 Films release features a lovely new scan and is stacked with the most worthy extras.