The Slumber Party Massacre

"You know the drill."

1982 1h 16m EN

😐

5.6

MID

★5.6TMDB · 420

HorrorThrillerComedy

Synopsis

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Trish invites her high school basketball teammates over for a night they'll never forget when an unexpected guest crashes the party: an escaped psychopath with a portable power drill.

“You know the drill.”

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Cast

Michele Michaels
Trish
Robin Stille
Valerie
Michael Villella
Russ Thorn
Debra De Liso
Kim
Andree Honore
Jackie
Gina Smika Hunter
Diane
Jennifer Meyers
Courtney
Joseph Alan Johnson
Neil

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Amy Holden Jones
Writers: Rita Mae Brown, Amy Holden Jones
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 76-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $4M — a 16.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

44 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Slumber Party Massacre Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Amy Holden Jones, shot by Stephen L. Posey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ralph Jones. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sean Foley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Amy Holden Jones directs. Stephen L. Posey behind the camera. Ralph Jones scores. Sean Foley cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 76-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Grossed $4M — a 16.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
444 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Part of the "The Slumber Party Massacre Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Amy Holden Jones, shot by Stephen L. Posey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Ralph Jones. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Sean Foley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Michele Michaels and Robin Stille and Michael Villella carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "You know the drill.".
11IMDB entry: tt0084695 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 14 themes, including "slumber party", "sleepover", "cannabis", "murder".
13Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Stephen L. Posey
Original score: Ralph Jones
Editing: Sean Foley
Makeup / hair: Mark Shostrom
Runtime: 76 min · 1h 16m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $220,000
Box office: $3,600,000
Return: 1636% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

Part of

The Slumber Party Massacre Collection

The Massacre films are three interconnected series of slasher films executive-produced by Roger Corman: the Slumber Party Massacre series (1982–2021), the Sorority House Massacre series (1986–1990) and the Cheerleader Massacre series (2003–2011), distributed by New World Pictures and New Concorde. The series also features the standalone film Sharkansas Women's Prison Massacre (2015), and the reboot film Slumber Party Massacre (2021). All three of the original Slumber Party Massacre films, and the first Sorority House Massacre film, were given limited theatrical releases, while Sorority House Massacre II and III, and both Cheerleader Massacre films were released direct-to-video, and the 2021 reboot released to the Syfy network. The franchise is notable for being primarily directed by women, who direct every Slumber Party Massacre film and the first Sorority House Massacre film.

Also by

Amy Holden Jones

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-08-13
★ 5/10
Routine early 80’s slasher in the Los Angeles burbs The original script was written as a parody, but that was changed when production began and it was shot as a serious slasher. Perhaps this explains why I busted out laughing on at least four occasions. The amusing pizza-eating scene and the refrigerator sequence are good examples. Despite this, “The Slumber Party Massacre” (1981) IS a serious slasher flick featuring the ‘driller killer’ and it’s pretty well-done. The problem is, there’s an unimaginative bluntness to the proceedings and the final act isn’t all that compelling (I found my mind wandering a couple of times). The female cast is decent, but not quite as good as in the Friday the 13th movies. Diane (Gina Smika Hunter, aka Gina Mari) is arguably the best, followed by the black chick. The movie is short & sweet at 77 minutes and was shot entirely in Los Angeles with the neighborhood sequences filmed in Venice. GRADE: C
GenerationofSwine2023-01-14
★ 10/10
Which one was this? I can't really remember. I do, however, know it was the movie where they hire a lot of women and require them all to take their clothes off. The difference is, this one was written by a feminist for reasons probably only she can explain. I recall a shower scene in there somewhere. And then I remember the women running around screaming in undies that are really only worn in the bedroom. Was there a plot? Not really, it was just an excuse for nudity and undies. But, you already knew all of that when you sat down to watch this. Because, honestly in film making, they aren't really trying to pass it off as anything other than an excuse to film young naked breasts and you don't really get anything but that. So, why are you reading this? You know exactly what this movie is about. You knew that before you even clicked on this review. But, at least the review is as honest as the movie. If you are expecting more than that, there is something seriously wrong with you.
JPV8522024-07-01
★ 6/10
Nothing real stand out about another slasher born out of the success of Halloween (and Friday the 13th, which was made for the same reason), but still watchable enough. 2.75/5