SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE II (1987)
Directed by Deborah Brock
New Concorde DVD
Reviewed 04.19.07
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba

THE FILM
"We're practicing with our band. You should come! My garage, 4 PM."

Five minutes down and Slumber Party Massacre II has declared its supremacy ten times over. I don't even care what else happens. Wait. Is that a Drill-Tar?

Easy Cheese! Tassle shirts! Corn dogs! Pleat-pants! Diet Pepsi! Band practice! Hand-burgers! And, THE DRILL-TAR!! I agree with the (kind of) lovely ladies; this is indeed "The Ultimate Slumber Party" and yes, "Rock 'n' roll never dies, baby." If your mind is mushing from '87 overload, let it ride. After all, it's not everyday that one film can procure the most successful elements from Satisfaction (Bateman, come home!), A Nightmare On Elm Street 3 (one-liners!), Phantom Of The Ritz (the fifties!)...and TRUMP THEM ALL. Yet, that's exactly what happens. We've no time to waste. Band practice. 4 PM. Sign me up.

A four girl band plays R.E.M.-styled bar rock with shimmering tone-deafness. Courtney, a holdover from The Slumber Party Massacre (but portrayed by a different actress), plays bass, has bad dreams, and worries about her sister, who resides in an asylum after the events of the first film. Quick! Get 'em a condo! Perfect. The girls convene at someone's Dad's condo for a weekend of band practice and dance sequences. From there, unexplained gibberish takes hold; no one is safe. Food-gore gags. A song about Tokyo Convertibles. People talking into the camera. Zit problems. A faux-1950s, wise-cracking killer, who materializes from a dream, takes time out for a breakdance/song segment, and owns the Drill-Tar (a butt-rock guit with no strings and a big drill for a neck, FYI). Do any of the three endings make sense? Not on your life. That's what the Drill-Tar is for.

The Slumber Party Massacre set a cozy precedence for blunt, derivative, early 80s slashers. Now and forever, that film did things how they should be done. Slumber Party Massacre II, while continuing the female architecture in the form of writer-directer Deborah Brock (and 75 minute runtime), completely deviates from its older sister. Nostalgia is swapped for de-mentality. The budget is sliced in half. Any sliver of sincerity is removed before it infects. Yet, rather than wallowing in dorkish-stupidity, this film pulls it off. Hysterical, but never self-righteous. Or boring. It's chic-stupidity.

At 4 PM, I arrived at the garage. Billy from Rocktober Blood, The Clowns from Terror On Tour, Solid Gold from Blood Tracks, White Sister from Killer Party, and Sammi Curr from Trick Or Treat were all there. Amazing. As Rick Styles from The Clowns spread out the first line of coke, Courtney pointed our attention towards a veiled object in the back of the garage. A white sheet was removed. The Drill-Tar stood alone.

Silence.

AUDIO AND VIDEO
Like its predecessor, this DVD has been out of print for years, but it got the job done. Bland, grainy, crisp, full frame, no compression, and a bit of the old hiss. It's like a VHS, but way better. Greatest hits.

EXTRAS
We've got text biographies for Roger Corman (producer), Crystal Bernard (actress), Kim McArthur (actress), and Juliette Cummins (actress, Deadly Dreams), then R-rated trailers for The Slumber Party Massacre, Slumber Party Massacre II, Slumber Party Massacre III, and Sorority House Massacre II. I hope the excluded Sorority House Massacre doesn't feel too bad.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Debbie Brock, will you be in a band with me? Depending on your mood, Slumber Party Massacre II might be the greatest rock-trash-slasher in the universe. It's as lovable as The Slumber Party Massacre, but for completely different reasons -- hilarious and ridiculous, yet never smug. You cannot lose.

In the garage


When dreams come true


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