Sadly Over-hyped

Good concept, poorly executed.

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

"a true cult classic". for or one thing this film should have been, a bigger success than it was, mainly because this is one of the more well thought out slasher film. for sure they had some flaws but for the most part this film is awesome and it rocks. you get a great plot, really good actresses and actors, you get suspense, blood. this is what people want to see when they want to watch a good horror film.

The House on Sorority Row is one of the many cult classic slasher films to come out of the 1980s. The director, Mark Rosman, had studied under Brian de Palma in his early days. As a result, I feel like — despite this being a fairly run-of-the-mill slasher flick — it has a slight leg up as a result, especially considering it was Rosman's first feature film (and he was only 24 at the time). But not much.The story centers around a group of seven sorority sisters who are trying to plan their final hurrah — their graduation party — but being thwarted by their house mother's increasingly rigid rules and stifling attitude. They decide to play a prank on her to lighten the mood, but things become darker than ever when it doesn't go quite as planned…** SPOILERS! **I had pretty high hopes for this movie going into it, and even during the first 30 minutes or so. It's a fairly well known cult classic and I had heard the name about a million times before finally caving and watching it. I am definitely guilty of building up what I think a movie will be like in my mind and, unsurprisingly, am often disappointed (or surprised, at the very least). I love 80s slashers so I knew I wouldn't HATE it, but I definitely wish I had liked it more.The initial backstory of Mrs. Slater's (Lois Kelso Hunt) traumatic birthing experience and her subsequent mental breakdown was promising. When Dr. Beck (Christopher Lawrence) says into his hand-held recorder "there's a good chance that any traumatic episode could act as a stimulus for the patient's latent violence" I was like, OH DAMN, we are IN FOR IT.Even more so when the girls deliver their prank, which was pretty messed up even for spoiled sorority girls.But it went a bit downhill from there. There were decent chunks of the movie when I was more occupied with boredom than suspense (most of all whenever they'd show Katie's "date", Peter, just tiptoeing around looking rejected — get a life, dude). Or just studying the various plot holes (does being injected with a sedative really mean you can still run around mostly unhindered save for a few moments of stopping to catch your breath?).The kills were largely mediocre (save for the throat slitting in the van, that was pretty solid). I won't lie, I like my slashers to be bloody, and this just didn't deliver in that aspect (and a couple of them were too fake-looking to even be shocking). Though the head in the toilet was pretty fantastic.The acting was surprisingly good for such a cheesefest, with a few genuinely funny moments ("I'm a sea pig!"). And I did really enjoy the music (the atmospheric soundtrack written by Richard Band — who has a number of 80s horror classics under his belt — and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, NOT the party band — 4 out of 5 Doctors — who were a fitting addition but not altogether pleasant).I thought it was going to take a more interesting, dark turn when Dr. Beck ties Katie up and tells her "you're the bait", hoping to lure Eric in… but that didn't really pan out either. It redeemed itself for a moment when Eric turns out to be hiding inside that super creepy jester costume and mask that are inexplicably hanging in the attic… but that was so short-lived it's barely worth mentioning.Ultimately, worth watching if you're interested in seeing a fairly mild, cheesy slasher flick with a decent storyline and acting… but not among my favorites.

The House on Sorority Row is formulaic, but I'm sure it only feels that way because so many slashers have taken its template and mined it for their own use. We follow the good girl, the girl who is sure to be our final girl, and we're introduced to the other characters who all reveal flaws that will surely lead to their deaths at the hands of our killer.In this movie, the first act introduces a motive for our killer, and we spend the rest of the movie trying to guess who it might be, while also wondering when and where our next victim will be offed. Some kills are better than others, but that can be said for all slashers.Unlike the best the genre has to offer, the movie never makes you truly care for any of the victims, they all played a part in a crime early in the movie, and that hinders the movie's ability to get you invested in their fates, but it's still a fun time. I enjoyed the scenes at the party, particularly one scene where the camera in one smooth shot follows each of our sorority sisters as they try to act naturally as they keep a terrible secret.For any slasher fan this is a can't miss. For anyone looking for something more, you can probably do better elsewhere.

Although it's fairly watchable, this film is pretty rubbish overall. There is a strong performance from the leading lady and she makes it more enjoyable but every other actors (and their characters) are sub-par. Of course, that wouldn't matter if there were some laughs or great special effects or a decent storyline however there are none of these either.As with most slashers it's quite predictable and the majority of characters do stupid things to get themselves into positions where they can be killed for the viewer's pleasure.The storyline is very unlikely (an accidental killing gets covered up by a group of sorority girls, with none of them thinking it better to go to the police to explain) and the ending is totally rubbish, silly and lacking suspense.For a one-off watch it was OK but not worth a re-view, apart from the slightly creepy scene in the attic in the last 10 minutes.