As a rule of thumb, remakes are pale shadows of the original concepts they seek to imitate. Especially, when it’s a case of simply taking a film from a smaller market, say Japan or South Korea, and making a shot for shot copy, but in English. Some of the best examples have been American remakes of American films. The Thing and Little Shop of Horrors spring to mind. Slumber Party Massacre also neatly fits into that bracket.
Back in 1993, Trish Devereaux (Schelaine Bennett) was the only survivor of ‘driller killer’ Russ Thorn’s (Rob van Vuuren) vicious killing spree. Afterwards, he went missing, presumed dead. Three decades later, despite her mother’s reservations, daughter Dana (Hannah Gonera) is headed for a girl’s weekend with her friends Ashley (Reze-Tiana Wessels), Breanie (Alex McGregor) and Maeve (Frances Sholto-Douglas). When their car breaks down, could it be history repeating?
The reason why Slumber Party Massacre works so well is because not only do writer Suzanne Keilly and director Danishka Esterhazy understand the original films they also clearly have a lot of affection for them. While these bloody slashers were flawed, they had a good deal of heart and spirit. Not to mention, unusually humorous and feminine touches. This new imagining plays with the genre clichés which provided their fulcrum and twists them into something vibrant and fresh. Slumber Party Massacre is both a celebration and an evolution.
Slumber Party Massacre will be released on Digital Download on 13 December and on DVD from 10th January 2022.
