VividSimon Simply Perfect

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

thelastblogontheleft The House on Sorority Row is one of the many cult classic slasher films to come out of the 1980s. The director, Mark Rosman, had studied under Brian de Palma in his early days. As a result, I feel like — despite this being a fairly run-of-the-mill slasher flick — it has a slight leg up as a result, especially considering it was Rosman's first feature film (and he was only 24 at the time). But not much.The story centers around a group of seven sorority sisters who are trying to plan their final hurrah — their graduation party — but being thwarted by their house mother's increasingly rigid rules and stifling attitude. They decide to play a prank on her to lighten the mood, but things become darker than ever when it doesn't go quite as planned…** SPOILERS! **I had pretty high hopes for this movie going into it, and even during the first 30 minutes or so. It's a fairly well known cult classic and I had heard the name about a million times before finally caving and watching it. I am definitely guilty of building up what I think a movie will be like in my mind and, unsurprisingly, am often disappointed (or surprised, at the very least). I love 80s slashers so I knew I wouldn't HATE it, but I definitely wish I had liked it more.The initial backstory of Mrs. Slater's (Lois Kelso Hunt) traumatic birthing experience and her subsequent mental breakdown was promising. When Dr. Beck (Christopher Lawrence) says into his hand-held recorder "there's a good chance that any traumatic episode could act as a stimulus for the patient's latent violence" I was like, OH DAMN, we are IN FOR IT.Even more so when the girls deliver their prank, which was pretty messed up even for spoiled sorority girls.But it went a bit downhill from there. There were decent chunks of the movie when I was more occupied with boredom than suspense (most of all whenever they'd show Katie's "date", Peter, just tiptoeing around looking rejected — get a life, dude). Or just studying the various plot holes (does being injected with a sedative really mean you can still run around mostly unhindered save for a few moments of stopping to catch your breath?).The kills were largely mediocre (save for the throat slitting in the van, that was pretty solid). I won't lie, I like my slashers to be bloody, and this just didn't deliver in that aspect (and a couple of them were too fake-looking to even be shocking). Though the head in the toilet was pretty fantastic.The acting was surprisingly good for such a cheesefest, with a few genuinely funny moments ("I'm a sea pig!"). And I did really enjoy the music (the atmospheric soundtrack written by Richard Band — who has a number of 80s horror classics under his belt — and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, NOT the party band — 4 out of 5 Doctors — who were a fitting addition but not altogether pleasant).I thought it was going to take a more interesting, dark turn when Dr. Beck ties Katie up and tells her "you're the bait", hoping to lure Eric in… but that didn't really pan out either. It redeemed itself for a moment when Eric turns out to be hiding inside that super creepy jester costume and mask that are inexplicably hanging in the attic… but that was so short-lived it's barely worth mentioning.Ultimately, worth watching if you're interested in seeing a fairly mild, cheesy slasher flick with a decent storyline and acting… but not among my favorites.

Martin Bradley Another slasher movie in which a bevy of beautiful sorority girls are diced and sliced and all because of something that happened 20 years previously. It's hardly "Halloween"; it's not even "Friday the 13th" but "The House on Sorority Row" is a suitably sleazy creep-fest nevertheless. Of course it's also totally predictable right from the pre-credit sequence. The acting is terrible and the script is no better and sometimes it's hard to tell if the laughs are intentional or not but that's all part of the fun where trash like this is concerned. This is strictly Midnight Movie material; seeing it in the cold light of day may not really be such a good idea.

keithbrown-90195 The House on Sorority Row is formulaic, but I'm sure it only feels that way because so many slashers have taken its template and mined it for their own use. We follow the good girl, the girl who is sure to be our final girl, and we're introduced to the other characters who all reveal flaws that will surely lead to their deaths at the hands of our killer.In this movie, the first act introduces a motive for our killer, and we spend the rest of the movie trying to guess who it might be, while also wondering when and where our next victim will be offed. Some kills are better than others, but that can be said for all slashers.Unlike the best the genre has to offer, the movie never makes you truly care for any of the victims, they all played a part in a crime early in the movie, and that hinders the movie's ability to get you invested in their fates, but it's still a fun time. I enjoyed the scenes at the party, particularly one scene where the camera in one smooth shot follows each of our sorority sisters as they try to act naturally as they keep a terrible secret.For any slasher fan this is a can't miss. For anyone looking for something more, you can probably do better elsewhere.

utgard14 Better than average slasher flick about a group of sorority babes who accidentally kill someone during a prank and try to cover it up. Later they're murdered one by one by until the inevitable 'final girl vs the killer' showdown all these things seem to have. It's a good movie of its type with some humor and gore (although probably not enough to appeal to gore hounds). Starts out with some Miss Marple-type music that, back in the day, had me double-checking the VHS label to make sure I had the right movie. The cast is pretty good, with early roles for Eileen Davidson and Harley Jane Kozak, and a nice leading role for Kate McNeil. My favorite scenes are Eileen Davidson showing off her breasts and the Sea Pig scene. Given her age you would assume Lois Kelso Hunt (playing the sorority's house mother) was a seasoned pro, but her acting is so bad that she's outshined by everyone in the cast. Even the Sea Pig. There's also a corny band that screams 1980s. It's a fun movie, if you like '80s slashers (which, I assume you do or else why would you be watching this). Might lose a little punch if you've seen a lot of similar movies that came after. Oh, and avoid the 2009 sort-of remake at all costs. It's garbage.