SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE
Directed by: Danishka Esterhazy
Starring: Hannah Gonera, Frances Sholto-Douglas, Alex McGregor, Mila Rayne, Rob Van Vuuren, Reze Tiana-Wessels
When Trish Devereaux attended a slumber party with her friends, they were attacked by a homicidal maniac brandishing a power drill. Trish was able to survive, while the killer was sent to a watery grave although his body was never recovered. Now, twenty years later, Trish's daughter Dana is heading out with her friends for a weekend of fun. However, the girls' van breaks down and they have to spend the night at a lodge, just down the road from where Trish's friends met their demise…
The original Slumber Party Massacre (1982) was unique in that it was not only written by a woman (Rita Mae Brown) but also directed by one (Amy Holden Jones, who also edited the film). Its fitting, then, that this clever update is also written and directed by women (Suzanne Kelly and Danishka Esterhazy, respectively).
Every horror fan is familiar with the concept of the "final girl" - the one who will not only survive but (usually) best her tormentor at the film's climax. However, I can count on one hand the number of horror films which actually care about the final girl and what life is like after her ordeal. In the Princess Bride, William Goldman wrote about how stories only have happy endings because that is the point at which the storyteller chose to stop. Horror franchises care about the monsters, not the people, and any characters who do manage to appear in the sequel are usually killed off very quickly.
I'm sure readers will be immediately thinking of the many sequels featuring the original "final girl" - Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) survived Halloween only to be further tormented by Michael Myers in Halloween 2 and later entries trying to revamp the franchise. Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) both lived to fight more terminators and xenomorphs. And Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has had to face down numerous Ghost Face killers. The thing all of these "final girls" have in common is that the original monster is still there, to be defeated again (and again).
But what happens to those survivors, once the monster is gone, or the story veers away from them to re-focus on the newly resurrected monster in Part 2? Believe it or not, there is only one film which covers this ground and that is I SPIT ON YOU GRAVE 3. In that film, Jennifer Hills is trying to reconnect with society following not only her violent and horrific rape ordeal but also come to terms with the fact that she murdered four people in her vengeance. Tragically any hope of leading a normal life are cruelly dashed but Jennifer is able to empathise with those in her support group and uses her skills to try and ease their torments. Most importantly, Jennifer is not expected to undergo the same ordeal she suffered before, just because it’s a sequel.
Slumber Party Massacre takes a different tack but it is just as unique. It does not ask the question, "what happens to the final girl". The question here is "what is it like to be raised in the shadow of a final girl, and how does that affect your outlook on the world?". The film doesn't answer the question straight away, but hits you with a double whammy answer late into the running time.
Writer Suzanne Kelly has made a number of changes to the original concept. Where the former film was set in one of the girls' house while her parents were away for the weekend, the update moves the location to a cabin in the woods/by a lake. Straight away you feel its moved from emulating Halloween to Friday 13th. Another change is the absence of female nudity. Whereas the original had nude scenes mandated by producer Roger Corman, the remake has none. Instead, the girls use their sexuality as an asset (one of the girls wears fake implants to keep the men "distracted") and the usual "male gaze" of the camera is subverted, focusing on the boys across the lake. One of the original's best visuals is when one of the girls reaches into the fridge for a beer, oblivious to the fact that a dead body has been stuffed inside. The remake does its own version of this gag, but with a better punchline.
I only have a couple of niggles with the film overall - the pacing is a little strung out at the end due to having two “finales”. Additionally, our homicidal maniac isn't given much characterisation - he's a great presence and retains the creepy voice from the original but doesn't seem to have any motive for launching a killing spree. My second issue is when the film shows the girls "partying". Considering there are only five of them it looks….weird.
THE VERDICT
Suzanne Kelly's script does a great job of both updating and subverting the original film, while Danishka Esterhazy delivers another clever horror movie which fixes the male gaze without being too on the nose about it. The film suffers a little from having two climaxes and there is an issue of having to re-ramp up the tension but overall this was a very entertaining horror with a sly sense of humour and a unique take on the Final Girl concept.