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(More customer reviews)Out of the seemingly endless amount of slasher films released in the early 1980s, The House on Sorority Row stands out as a superior example of the genre. The graduating seniors of Theta Chi want to have one final party before leaving college and facing the real world. There's just one problem. Their rather puritanical house mother, Mrs. Slater, absolutely forbids them to engage in any activites involving booze, premaritial relations, drugs, or anything else that made college so much fun circa 1983. So, logically enough, the girls react by pulling a prank that has the unintentional result of apparently killing the old witch. Unfortunately, Mrs. Slater has the bad manners to die just as the party's about to get started. What's a group of up-and-coming sorority girls to do? Well, they basically end up dumping Mrs. Slater in the house's filthy pool and then go on to attend perhaps the most uncomfortable party of their lives. However, as the party gets going, they discover that Mrs. Slater's body is no longer in the pool. And, as the night progresses, the girls start to disappear one by one as an unseen stalker makes its way through the sorority house, armed only with Slater's surprisingly sharp cane...
Needless to say, a plot description doesn't really do this film justice. However, slasher films -- on the whole -- are probably the most predictable of genres. The mark of good slasher film is that it holds the audience's interest even though that audience already knows pretty much everything that's going to happen. And this is a task that the House on Sorority Row easily accomplishes. On the whole, the entire cast gives performances that are a cut above what one usually expects from this type of film. If the victims are all pretty much types, the actresses playing them are all likeable and have a rather endearing chemistry. Though most of them are clearly too old to be just now graduating college, they are believable as a group who have been friends for four years. In its own way, The House on Sorority Row almost becomes Diner with an all female cast and a slasher subplot. All the girls do well but standout performances are given by Kate McNiel (who is probably one of the best of the so-called "final girls" in slasher film history), Harley Kozack, and especially Eileen Davidson. As Vicki, the instigator of the prank, Davidson is probably one of the most likeable "bad girls" ever. Her growing exasperation at just how difficult it can be to cover up one simple accidental homicide borders on being both hilarious and oddly touching.
The House on Sorority Row was directed by Mark Rosman and it is his sure touch that elevates this film above its genre. The he was a protegee of Brian DePalma is obvious from watching the film's smoothly executed set pieces which manage to create a level of suspense absent from most other slasher films. Towards the end of the film, McNiel must face the killer while under the influence of a sedative and Rosman shoots these scenes from her point of view in a psychedelic style that threatens to actually give a good name to psychedelic styles. All in all, Rosman creates a sadly underrated thriller with The House on Sorority Row.
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