Plot: What’s it about?
Oh, those wild and carefree sorority girls! It seems like they’re always involved in some fun prank or insane parties, but at heart, they’re girls just the other girls, only much better looking. The girls in this sorority like to get down and have fun too, but their house owner likes to crack the whip, which limits their good times to a minimum. But they still try to boogie and live life to the fullest, sometimes a little too full, if you catch my drift. When one of the girls is getting it on with her boyfriend, the house mother walks in and sees the goods, which leads her to snap in serious fashion. After the girls calm one another down, they decide to enact some revenge and play a prank on the house mother, but nothing too serious. But it gets serious when the prank goes off course and the woman ends up dead, which leaves the girls in a very bad situation. The lovely vixens stash the corpse and vow never to speak of the event again, until a strange person emerges who knows the truth. As this unknown force stalks the girls, will anything be able to save them?
If you’re a fan of horror films, then you must know of the rush of sorority house/slumber party flicks that once flowed from the studios. Some were decent enough and held on as cult titles, while most were forgotten and left behind. Now I always like to revisit these sorority house horror movies, as you don’t see them too much anymore, I guess cinema has evolved beyond good old blood and T&A. But thanks to Elite Entertainment, we can return to those days whenever we’d like, as they have issued The House On Sorority Row, one of the upper crust entries of the subgenre. As you can imagine, this isn’t rocket science and classic cinema, but I think horror buffs will have a lot to harken back to with this disc. This one came right out of the tidal wave of slasher flicks in the ’80s, although it was often overlooked by the higher profile genre entries. The 1980s were certainly the apex of the slasher flick and this was a good one, so I am pleased to find it released on our beloved format. This disc sports little in terms of extras, but has a nice new anamorphic transfer, which adds a lot of value. If you’re a lover of ’80s slasher cinema, then this is a disc you will not want to miss.
As is the case with most of the slasher flicks from this time, acting is an unneeded skill and the girls just sort of scream a lot. But you can’t knock the approach, as it worked for years and kept the audiences filling the theaters, as well as renting the tapes later on. The girls offer some nice eye candy though, which more than makes up for their less than stellar thespian skills. In the end, you can’t expect much in terms of acting from a film like this and by the usual slasher standards, this one is more than adequate. The cast here includes Kate McNeil (Sudden Death, Space Cowboys), Lois Kelso Hunt, Jodi Draigie, Robin Meloy, Christopher Lawrence, Janis Zido, and Eileen Davidson (Goin’ All The Way, Easy Wheels). The writer/director here is Mark Rosman, who also went on to helm such films as Evolver, The Force, and the ultra strange Life Size.
Video: How does it look?
The House On Sorority Row is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. This is a low budget slasher flick from the ’80s, but that doesn’t mean it can’t look good on our beloved format, right? Thanks to Elite (who has done fine work with some other overlooked films also), we have a new anamorphic transfer that allows the film to look better than ever, at least in terms of home video. There is some grain and debris evident on the source print, but I think the image looks pretty clean, no real problems here to discuss. The colors look solid, flesh tones are natural, and the black levels are on they money, what more can you want? I think Elite deserves a little thanks to giving this low profile title a new transfer, so thanks Elite!
Audio: How does it sound?
This disc uses the original mono track, which seems up to the task if you ask me. The film’s very cool and very eerie musical soundtrack is in fine form, with no real drawbacks from age or mono limits present. It doesn’t immerse you of course, but it comes off better than most music does in the mono form. The sound effects and vocals don’t fare as well, but they still sound, as far as mono goes. I heard some harshness in both elements, which causes me to lower the score, which was raised by the music’s smooth sound. In the end, this track has a few small issues, but stands well as a mono track.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s theatrical trailer.
