Slumber Party Massacre III

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sally Mattison directs. Jürgen Baum behind the camera. Jamie Sheriff scores. Tim Amyx 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

• 187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
• 2Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 3Made its money back 3.6× over at the box office.
• 436 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 Sally Mattison, shot by Jürgen Baum. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 7Original score by Jamie Sheriff. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 8Editor Tim Amyx shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 9Keely Christian and Brittain Frye and Michael Harris carry the top of the cast.
• 10Marketing tagline: "It's driller time... And this bits for you!".
• 11IMDB entry: tt0100639 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Jürgen Baum

Original score

Jamie Sheriff

Editing

Tim Amyx

Production design

Stephanie Lytar

Makeup / hair

Desne J. Holland

Sound

Dennis Patterson

Stunt coordinator

Patrick J. Statham

Runtime

87 min · 1h 27m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$350,000

Box office

$1,242,995

Return

355% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Slumber Party Massacre III (1990) ↗

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.

• 
  The Slumber Party Massacre

  1982
• 
  Slumber Party Massacre II

  1987
• 
  Slumber Party Massacre III

  1990 · this one

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Slumber Party Massacre III (1990) - Official Trailer (HD)

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2022-08-13
  ★ 5/10

  By-the-numbers third instalment lacks the imagination of the previous one Five teen girls hold a slumber party when the parents of one of them are out of town. As several guys crash the party someone with a huge drill and murderous intent also invades the proceedings. "Slumber Party Massacre III" (1990) starts out promising, but becomes routine by the midpoint and never recovers, which isn’t helped by increasing tastelessness. While it’s arguably on par with the first film from 1981 (which I slightly prefer), it lacks the impressive creativity of 1987’s part II, which had pizzazz. A marginally more effective slasher with the same plot is the contemporaneous "Sorority House Massacre II.” Protagonist Keely Christian (Jackie) stands out in the female cast and looks sublime on the beach, followed by Lulu Wilson (Juliette). Meanwhile winsome Devon Jenkin is featured in a small part as Sarah. The brunette with the over-the-top hair, Maria, is showcased the most, but she didn’t appeal to me, although it’s a matter of taste. The film runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot at Venice Beach (beach sequence), Venice (the interiors of the house at Roger Corman's studio) and northern Los Angeles (the house exteriors). GRADE: C

  Read full review ↓
• 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. 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.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• CO

  Concorde Pictures

  US

Key crew

• ProducerCatherine Cyran
• EditorTim Amyx
• Stunt CoordinatorPatrick J. Statham
• StuntsMerritt Yohnka
• StuntsDebbie Lynn Ross
• Stunt DoubleJennifer Jones
• Executive In Charge Of ProductionRodman Flender
• Production ManagerMichele Weisler
• First Assistant DirectorChris Edmonds
• Second Assistant DirectorMike Upton
• Second Assistant DirectorJuan A. Mas
• Script SupervisorDiane Hassinger Newman
• Production CoordinatorAnn English
• First Assistant CameraMichael A. Broz
• Second Assistant CameraD.J. Harder
• Sound MixerBill V. Robbins
• Boom OperatorRobert Perry
• GafferMike Ozier
• GafferMarshall Adams
• Best Boy ElectricTom Schmieder
• ElectricianJerry McNally
• ElectricianDoug Weinmann
• Key GripScott Whited
• Best Boy GripRick Jacobson

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• sequel
• slasher
• woman director
• ambiguous

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1990-09-07R

Also known as

International titles

• Slumber Party Massacre 3US
• Massacre a la perceuse 3FR
• Captive WomenPH
• Stab in the DarkUS