Continuing US label MVD’s Rewind Collection, which is resurrecting films from the golden age of the video store, the original 1982 version of The House of Sorority Row is a welcome release.
It’s the end of the school year for Theta Pi house, but unlike all the other fraternity houses, they must vacate the building on June 19th, missing out on a weekend of partying. The girls have other ideas, though, and plan to defy housemother Mrs Slater (Lois Kelso Hunt) and throw a wingding anyway. The perfect thing to put her in her place: a prank. Involving a gun. Near a festering swimming pool. What could possibly go wrong? You guessed it and the girls spend the party trying to hide the body and being killed.
The House on Sorority Row follows the standard high school girls in peril formula that has been the norm since Bob Clark’s Black Christmas (1974) and features many of the clichés that are standard horror fare now. While the gore is minimal compared to its contemporaries (the head in the toilet gag is the most impressive), writer/director Mark Rosman (who would later go on to helm A Cinderella Story) ramps up the tension and makes even the most predictable scare work.
The MVD Rewind release features a great selection of special features, most ported over from previous releases, but fascinating nonetheless. We find out the film had a less-than-shoestring budget, which makes the finished product all the more impressive. It might not be a stone-cold classic, but it’s certainly a fun slasher that reeks of the ‘80s.
