The tyranist's thoughts
Have you ever wanted to see a T&A slasher crossed with those '80s little monster movies? Well, your wish was granted. Back in the '80s no less. Being a fan of T&A slashers, I've passed up this particular movie far too often. I mean, come on. It has sorority in the title and I've rented worse movies for less. I suppose that I could slightly justify the delay in viewing and reviewing this movie for you by saying that when I did finally rent it, I pulled it out of the Cult Classics section. How was I to know it was horror? I mean, other than the cover and reputation.
Well it was. Barely. They made this movie back when it was possible for a horror movie to be funny and not take itself too seriously while still piling on the horror elements. This movie couldn't be made today. They would try way too hard to make it either funny or scary and end up failing in both areas. Of course, there was a total lack of gore, but I expect that this was primarily due to a very low special effects budget.
So two morons and Calvin (played by Rick from A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 decide to observe the anemic initiation ceremonies of the tri-Delta sorority. Well, they get caught peeking at the two (yes, 2) initiates while they are showering off some whipped cream and have to be punished. The punishment, you ask. Well, they are to assist the two initiates (Lisa and Taffy, by the way) in stealing a bowling trophy from an alley located at a nearby mall. Once there Calvin meets Spider (played ably by Linnea Quigley) and we are now acquainted with the only two characters worth paying attention to. All hell breaks loose. . .well, a little piece of it. . .okay, maybe the term 'heck' is more appropriate, when they drop the trophy and an imp (a very rubber puppet) pops out. Calvin and Spider wisely turn down the imp's offer of wishes while the rest of them ask for their heart and/or gonads' desire.
That's when the horror part starts. Up to there, the movie really doesn't have much going for it. There are at least a dozen better frat/sorority house movies out there if that is what you are after. On the monster end, I'd rather watch the entire Critters series again. So what does this movie have going for it? Well, it's fun. Probably more fun in a large rowdy group, but fun.
Andras Jones turns in a performance that is either brilliantly understated or poor due to a lack of acting ability. But I couldn't help but enjoy Calvin. He seemed the only rational one in the bunch. Then when he falls in love with Spider despite her highly acerbic attitude, we meet the other good performance. Well, adequate. Linnea never seems to turn in that truly great performance. She is good as Spider and for once never takes her shirt off (or pants or anything else for that matter), but she is a moment of hope in the movie. Together, Spider and Calvin bring rationality to an otherwise idiotic cast of characters. Buck Flower does appear in his typical crazy, old man role, but it is almost a cameo in how little he was used.
My biggest complaint would have to be the title versus the content of the movie. There are exactly two scenes that involve bowling in spite of the fact that the entire movie takes place in a bowling alley. Come on, you can do better than that. I did like the creative use of the "Ball-o Shine-o" and even caught myself quoting Barney's uncle back at the TV. Still the setting was under-used.
So why is this a 'cult classic' then? My guess is that this ends up being one of those movies that is perfect for a party atmosphere when it would be otherwise impossible to be either scared or into more intelligent humor. Plus the title. As an experiment, I have told a dozen people in the last few hours that I watched this movie and not one of them failed to laugh at the title. How can you help but be drawn in?