Psycho's Movie Reviews #68: Slumber Party Massacre 2

{Excuse the cover, the movie itself isn't as sexual as this, there's no nudity}

Slumber Party Massacre II is a 1987 American black comedy slasher film written and directed by Deborah Brock, and produced by Roger Corman. It is the second instalment in the original Slumber Party Massacre trilogy, and stars Crystal Bernard, and Atanas Ilitch. The film follows Courtney, a character introduced in the previous film, as she and her friends are attacked by a supernatural killer with a power-drill guitar.

Slumber Party Massacre II grossed $1.3 million at the box office on a budget of $500,000. Despite largely negative reception, the film has attracted a small cult following among fans of the slasher genre.

A sequel, Slumber Party Massacre III, was released in 1990.

Plot:

Courtney Bates, who survived the events of the first film, is now a senior in high school. She invites her crush, Matt, to stay at a condominium for her birthday weekend with her and her friends, Amy, Sheila, and Sally. Upon arriving, two of the girls' boyfriends, Jeff and T.J., show up at the house. That night, Courtney has a dream of the killer from the first film, who is now reincarnated as a greaser and armed with a drill bit guitar, and awakens on the kitchen floor. That day, her visions grow violent but she is comforted when Matt arrives. Sally disappears and the group is unable to find her, but she later returns to the house, having left to go to the store.

Courtney and Matt are left alone. Matt surprises Courtney with a birthday cake and the two begin to have sex. The killer impales Matt through the chest and chases Courtney downstairs, where he confronts the group, who have just returned. The killer impales Sally with the drill. Sheila and T.J. flee, while Courtney, Amy, and Jeff leave in Jeff's car. Jeff is impaled by the killer, and Courtney and Amy flee back to the house. Sheila and T.J. run to a nearby house for help, but the killer catches up to them and T.J. is killed. Sheila manages to return to the condominium before the killer murders her as well. Courtney and Amy escape but the killer pursues them through a construction site, where Amy falls to her death. Courtney uses an oxyacetylene torch to light the killer on fire, finally killing him.

Sometime later, Courtney wakes up next to Matt, but he morphs into the killer. She then awakens inside a psychiatric ward and screams frantically, as a drill bursts through the floor and the credits roll.

Production:

Filming of Slumber Party Massacre II took place in Los Angeles, California in June 1987 under the working title Don’t Let Go. The budget was approximately $500,000.

Release/Reception/Box Office:

It was subsequently released on VHS by Nelson Entertainment. The film has been released on DVD three times. The first release came from New Concorde Home Entertainment in September 2000. Extras included actor bios along with trailers for Slumber Party Massacre, Slumber Party Massacre II and Sorority House Massacre II. The company re-released the film on a double feature DVD alongside the original The Slumber Party Massacre in July 2003. These versions are both currently out of print. On October 5, 2010 Shout! Factory released Slumber Party Massacre, Slumber Party Massacre II and Slumber Party Massacre III on a two-disc special edition DVD set. It has since been released on Blu-ray in a double feature with Slumber Party Massacre III.

The Shout! Factory release includes an extended, unrated version of the film, never before seen on home video. It was pieced together using three different sources by Editor/Director Dustin Ferguson.

My Review:

A masterful picture that offers a quintessential look into the life of the modern American teenager. This film gives powerful insight into such themes as youth and culture. Laced with metaphors and sophisticated motifs, Slumber Party Massacre 2 is a cinematic masterwork well worth the time of any film enthusiast. Although accessible to all audiences, the brilliance of this piece can only truly be understood once the viewer has lowered all metaphysical barriers and is prepared to be completely mentally impacted for the rest of their life.

It's weird how the tone for this one is a lot more brighter than the first film; Heck they turned this one into a musical... sort of. There's like 3 or 4 songs on this soundtrack - and coming from how low the budget for this film was - I was/am very surprised at how good they are. Especially the two that the 'Driller Killer' sings.

{Speaking of Driller Killer... *Chuckles in a saucy yet crazy way*❤😍😛 Damn that boy be fiiiiinne}

The 'Driller Killer' as he's referred to, is the BEST character in this movie! Atanas IIitch must've had the time of his life with this film. Think of Freddy Krueger but if he was fused with Adam Lambert, that's what he is in this film. While he stalks this girl and murders all her friends, there's a full on scene where he's singing and dancing, sadistically teasing her demise in a humorous manner. He's kind of my favourite Horror movie villain, not gonna lie. Apparently while off camera, behind the scenes, Atanas would practice being Driller by extatically and over-exaggeratingly jumping around and spinning everywhere - flinging himself about (which is how Driller basically is in the film). Apparently when he did that once the strap on his 'Drill-tar' came loose and the guitar flung across the room and broke - obviously they managed to fix it again - but it said that Atanas was devastated because of it. If I was Courtney I'd gladly succumb to him, he is AMAZING.

{This scene especially - the one where he's singing and dancing as he's about to kill this girl. What's even more hilarious is how the victims friends are trying to help her but when they hear Driller's iconic laugh, they are just immediately like "Nah this bitch is f---ed" and block the door and runaway. This movie is way too funny, and the makers new it... The song is legit a bop though}.

Anywho, I say check this movie out if you want - it's not the greatest horror film, but you'll be glad you watched it if you do. It was filled with a lot of heart and blood sweat and tears of the filmmakers and the actors - all of them had so much fun making this film. {This is shown through the Behind The Scenes footage, which I've tried finding but can't find it anywhere which is sad (I am legit going of what Dead Meat James said in his 'Kill Count' video on Youtube (I recommend you check his channel out if your into Horror films))}. 9/10!!!!