Review of Sorority Row (2009) by Joel H — 08 May 2012

The original isn't the most well known of the old school horror movie club but heaven forbid that should stop the studio from remaking it. Actually, not being of the iconic status of Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday 13th works in Sorority Row's favour as it side steps the customary comparison that these films are usually subject to.

Elsewhere it's got the usual horror remake ingredients, cast of US TV stars getting mercilessly slaughtered. Six sorority sisters, some of them nice, some of them nasty, band together to play a trick on one of their numbers cheating boyfriend which goes just a little bit wrong. Before you know it, one of their brethren is dead and being stuffed down a mine shaft. The group think their secret is safe forever. Naturally, it isn't and the person who knows seems very pissed off about it, taking out their vengeance with a knife edged tyre iron.

Sorority Row could so easily have been another disappointing retread but thanks to a pretty smart, if not particularly surprising, script, a bunch of spirited performances, some interesting direction and a healthily inventive quota of homicide, it manages to become a very respectable movie.

Briana Evigan makes for a likeable heroine and her in fighting with queen bee Leah Pipes provides much amusement. Pipes in fact gets most of the films best lines and her character seems somewhat flippant in the face of certain death but she gives the film a welcome bit of humour. Rumer Willis manages a meek performance, even if it seems they did have to butch her up in the end just because of who her dad is. On the downside, Carrie Fisher is wasted in her small role as the house's parental figure head, without even a sly Star Wars nod in there.

Director Stewart Hendler uses a creepy, watching the characters from behind stuff, type technique to build up a nice amount of tension in the film and the death scenes are tinged with a gothic hue and the brutality is emphasised with great effect.

Unfortunately, the identity of the killer is given away due to one characters actions throughout the film. It just makes it way too obvious as to who it will be as there would be little other reason for a couple of moments to exist. The motive may not be quite what you think but that matters little when you've seen the reveal coming from before even halfway.

So Sorority Row doesn't get it all quite right but it manages to tick enough of the horror fan boxes and do it with a certain amount of style, making it one of the better horror remakes to come along so far.