Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

"The House on Sorority Row" is a great entry in the Slasher Frenzy Era that gripped America between the mid-seventies and the mid-eighties. It was highly influenced by the original "Black Christmas." Both movies involve a sorority house that closes down, leaving only a few students left to be victimized by an unseen killer hiding in the attic. Unlike the students in "Black Christmas," the ones in "The House on Sorority Row" bring their troubles upon themselves; they accidentally killed the house mother and hid her body in the pool. Now someone who witnessed the murder wants revenge; they have retrieved the house mother's cane and are using it to kill the girls and anyone else who stumbles into their path.

Though not the original, groundbreaking horror classic that "Black Christmas" became, "The House on Sorority Row" is enjoyable viewing. Gruesome, innovative stabbings, throat slashings, and a beheading keep the plot moving along at a nice pace. Furthermore, we learn the killer's identity and their motive. However, its open ending is very similar to that of "Black Christmas." I recommend watching "The House on Sorority Row" and "Black Christmas" as a double feature because they have so much in common.

Eileen Davidson (present day soap opera queen) is the bad girl Vicki who masterminds a prank that has deadly consequences. Kate McNeil of "Monkey Shines" is the good girl Katey who insists on calling the police after the accidental shooting of the house mother. Unfortunately, no one does. Decades have passed and we still haven't learned that many problems can be avoided if the police are immediately called after an accidental death. Wes Craven's "I Know What You Did Last Summer" is a modern film about teenagers who accidentally kill a man with their car and decide to dump his body into the ocean. Eventually the teenagers are stalked and killed one by one.

I hope "The House on Sorority Row" isn't remade like so many other classic slashers from the Slasher Frenzy Era. Why mess with perfection? This film is highly recommended for horror fans of the great Slasher Frenzy Era. Also, if you are fan of Stephen King's "It," you should watch this movie because the killer dresses up as a clown.

A group of fun-loving sorority gals accidentally kill their shrewish house-mum. They dump her body in the grungy, algae-filled swimming pool, only to have the old girl disappear! Did she get out on her own, or is someone else at work? THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW is sort of the wacky, slasher-version of DIABOLIQUE, with the vanishing corpse, yucky pool, and all. I liked the college babes, as they were not all airheads (a few were). The stalker / killer was interesting in a Michael Myers way. The scenes with the harlequin costume and the head-in-the-toilet were grrreat! Also, the hallucination sequence was quite imaginative. THOSR is well above average and worth repeated viewings...