Review of Slumber Party Massacre (2021) by Foreverfinalgir — 20 Dec 2021

Slumber Party Massacre 2021 is a fun slasher movie that fits into the SPM franchise. It has some issues of course, and isn’t as good as the first movie, but it is still a fun ride. I like how this movie also has a female director, just like the other movies in the franchise.

PLOT.

A group of friends are going on a trip, they break down and have to stay in a secluded cabin. Things are not as they seem to be. A man wielding a drill soon starts attacking them. A remake of the original 1982 Slumber Party Massacre.

MY THOUGHTS.

The first time watching this I went in with some preconceived notions about it. Primarily, it’s another reboot of a classic slasher that doesn’t need to be redone. (I’m eyeing you Black Christmas 2019). And also I heard about the over the top subversiveness. (Again, just like Black Christmas 2019). I’m glad I rewatched it with a more critical and less emotional eye.

First up, the kills and gore. I thought the kills were great. I’m glad they didn’t skimp on it since it was a SyFy movie. The large drill is a great weapon and menacing.

I think the actresses involved in this movie are pretty good. And don’t have issues with their acting. The males were meh, but I think that was more with the writing and not the actors themselves. They had to play dumbed down people with no real character development. Now having said that, Rob Van Vuuren who plays Russ was the best. He conveyed creepy and scary really well.

I liked how they set up the movie with the prologue. And that we see how the trauma affects the survivor and those she cares about. I like how trauma was portrayed in the beginning and the end with Trish. The twist half way through was pretty good. The plan and all the staging was pretty cool. Dumb of them to think they could fight someone who was pretty adept at killing and getting away with it though. I don’t think they thought through what could happen and that they could get killed themselves.

I loved all the callbacks to the other Slumber Party movies. Breanie’s “Space Baby” shirt is a reference to Kim’s shirt in the original movie. The guitar the idiot guy tried to use as a weapon was from the 2nd movie (though not as cool looking as the original). Except for the one guy, all the girls in the prologue are named after girls in the original movie. So many little easter eggs that are fun to look for.

Now to the negatives. I think a lot of the scenes that are supposed to be funny are kind of hit or miss. Most seem to either keep going for too long or just weren’t funny to begin with. The “we’re strong women” speeches were just cringe inducing. There is hyping people up before a fight but this was too much.

I think the boys being just way too stupid was a negative too. I tend not to like movies that tend to make one sex too stupid or too over the top. And yes, I know this is supposed to subvert the tropes but come on. I didn’t have an issue with the pointless shower scene, because it fit with the original movie. But the overly long male pillow fight was just dumb. First off, I don’t know any guys who would do that. But of course girls have pillow fights during sleepovers. I had numerous while growing up in the 80’s. Along with the dancing which happens a lot. Not the whole getting nude part, of course.

Overall I think it fits in the Slumber Party Massacre franchise, and is a fun movie. It does have issues, (maybe learn a bit about subtlety) but entertaining. For a reboot, not too bad. Definitely worse reboots out there (again, eyeing you Black Christmas 2019).

If you want to see my other Slumber Party Massacre reviews, click here: Slumber Party Massacre Franchise.

Let’s get into the rankings:

Kills/Blood/Gore: 4/5.

Sex/Nudity: .5/5.

Scare factor: 3/5.

Enjoyment factor: 3.5/5.

My Rank: 2.75/5.

IMDB: 5.1/10.

Rotten Tomatoes: critics: 10/10 audience: 7.