The House on Sorority Row (1983)

Director: Mark Rosman

Starring: Kate McNeil, Eileen Davidson, Janis Ward...

More Info: IMDB

Tagline: When the Nightmare ends . . . the Terror begins

Plot: After a seemingly innocent prank goes horribly wrong, a group of sorority sisters are stalked and murdered one by one in their sorority house while throwing a party to celebrate their graduation.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Nah

From the first few notes of the opening theme, it started to sound awfully familiar. My mind raced to figure out who did the score before the titles gave it away. It was a tough one because it had vibes of Goldsmith, Bernstein, et all but I just couldn't see any of those A-list cats doing a low budget slasher like this one. Then the words on screen surprised me. Music by Richard Band. Wow! I hadn't seen any of his films in a long, long time. But I still wondered why this music sounds familiar. I've never seen this picture before. Then it hits me. I've got the soundtrack. A quick run to the office confirmed it. I've had it for twenty years and it's been that long since I listened to it. For such a low budget picture, Band's well-crafted score will surprise you.


What else will surprise you is the lack of nudity and gore. You would expect a lot more of both considering the title + it's an early 80s slasher movie. But still, it's a fun flick with some decent performances...except for this chick, Morgan (Jodi Draigie)...

OMFG, it's one of the funniest goddamned bad line readings I've ever heard. It's so bad/good I had to upload it to YouTube and I've captured the audio so it's now going to be on my phone as someone's ring tone. But, hey! I know what you're thinking! "Wow! Was that terrible AND funny! What the hell was she doing in this picture?"





That's why. It's the only skin you you get. Fortunately for us she dies soon after. Her acting career died as well. This is her only film credit.

And a little somethin' for the ladies...

The movie, thanks to a better-than-this-film deserves score, moves at a good pace. I don't recall it getting dull (at least for too long) and it works the tried-and-true slasher formula, ratcheting up the kills until the survivor girl kills the "surprise" killer in the end. While it may be a relatively minor entry into the 80s slasher genre, it's certainly better than average and well worth a look.