Sorority Party Massacre - DVD

Content: Captain Fanning (Kevin Sorbo) of the LA Police Department is distraught: his daughter Holly (Casey Fitzgerald), who was on her way to a statewide sorority contest in the sleepy nest of Grizzly Cove, seems to have disappeared without a trace. Fanning sets Detective Watts (Thomas Downey), who has some trouble controlling his temper tantrums, to find Holly and ensure her safety. When Watts arrives in Grizzly Cove, he seems to have landed in a whole different world. The local sheriff, Lumpkin (Ed O`Ross), and his fellow deputy, Lang (Amanda Barton), seem to have never faced real crime before and have their problems even operating a fax machine. And the bossy regime with which Mrs. Fawskin (Leslie Easterbrook) rules over the girls at her academy also seems a bit antiquated to the big city cop. But soon he must realize that behind the harmless, peaceful facade lurks the naked horror that has probably already cost the lives of several girls...

Sorority Party Massacre begins like the umpteenth Scream clone: a young beauty is terrified by a mysterious caller who, after asking her some creepy questions, brutally snuffs out her life light. Here, as a viewer, you still get the feeling you're watching a typical teen slasher. But this impression changes in the very next sequence. The fact that porn icon Ron Jeremy appears here in a small guest role already suggests that the film is not a serious representative of the genre. But when it is then shown in a rather bizarre sequence, what effects have the rage of Watts for large and small crooks, it finally becomes clear that this work should be taken in no case too seriously.

And exactly then, the action also begins to make real fun. Because if you take the whole thing really seriously, the actors, the dialogues, the effects and also the story itself just seem gruesome and extremely trashy. The actresses, who weren't exactly chosen because of their talent, the obviously low budget and the script, which is full of clichés, are the ingredients that simple horror B-movies are made of. But since the filmmakers here with obvious tongue in cheek approach and they present the events so overdone, many of the actual weaknesses turn into good reasons for a high entertainment value.

Even the completely absurd plot twists regarding the identity of the killer(s) and the delightfully clichéd introduction of the sexy sorority girls command an extremely high fun factor, and Thomas Downey's over-the-top portrayal of the broken-down big city cop also makes for some very amusing moments. Granted, this isn't particularly sophisticated, nor is it extremely high quality. But if you enjoy slightly over-the-top B-horror comedies with some splatter, a little bare skin, and over-the-top genre clichés, you can safely accept the invitation to see Sorority Party Massacre.

Picture + Sound: The DVD's picture is very clean and has a good level of sharpness, which allows even smaller details to show up well in many moments. However, the contrasts here and there seem a bit exaggerated, which means that the sharpness of detail also has to accept minor losses in quality. The color scheme is suited to the atmosphere of the film, with more pared-down, earthy tones dominating the picture. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix doesn't offer any real revelations, but it does transport dialogue powerfully and with good intelligibility from the speakers. Aside from a few minor effects, the surround channels are only moderately taxed. Overall, though, it's all still good enough for a: Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD has only just under 10 minutes of cut scenes (without subtitles), the trailer for the film and other program tips of the provider on board. That's not exactly exhilarating.

Conclusion:Sorority Party Massacre is a horror-comedy with some absurdities and an intentional trash factor to keep you in a good mood - as long as you don't take the proceedings seriously. Because even if the whole thing starts like a bloody Scream clone, the amusing play with all kinds of clichés of the genre prevails in the end. This may not be particularly demanding in terms of quality, but it's a lot of fun in its own unique way. The DVD conversion is technically on a good level, only the meager additional equipment disappoints a little. Who has fun at exaggerated B-horror comedies, which can nevertheless access here confidently.

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp