SYFY’s Slumber Party Massacre Remake Is A Gloriously Twisted Parring Of 80’s Horror And Modern Gore

I give you the original movie poster. Fair warning, the 2021 remake is less about boobs and more about killing a murderous mad man once and for all. Trust me, there is no shortage of blood, weirdly murdered humans, or strange family relationships.

The premise of the movie is fairly simple: five young ladies go out of town for an all-girls weekend and end up breaking down near Jolly Springs campground, a place known for several gruesome murders from the late 90’s thanks to Russ Thorne(Rob van Vuuren), the town creep/pervert/murderous monster who had a fetish for young girls and huge power drills. Although Russ doesn’t survive his last rampage, odd things still kept happening in and around the campgrounds. Things like local dogs and random female campers kept coming up missing, with everyone in town just blaming the local bear population for the carnage. Apparently, Fat Bear Summer was in full swing way before 2020.

See? Even strong, confident, empowered women do stupid stuff in the middle of being terrorized by a homicidal maniac. Photo courtesy of Sangue-Tipo-B.

Present Day Jolly Springs, however, is a new campground ready to take back its reputation and bring normal tourism to the area, instead of the constant stream of weird podcasters and murder mystery enthusiasts. With their truck needing to be repaired and unable to get it done until the morning, campers Dana (Hannah Gonera), Maeve (Frances Sholto-Douglas), Alix (Mila Rayne), Breanie (Alex McGregor), and Ashley (Reze-Tiana Wessels) find a place to rent for the night and decide to party like it’s, well, 1999. The landlord, Kay (Jennifer Steyn) is creepy as hell but seems genuinely concerned for the girl’s safety and warns them to stay inside, doors locked, and be quiet. There’s booze, brownies, and guys from across the lake who stop by to say hi so that’s a no on the precations, just the way the ladies wanted it.

In a solid twist on the original movie, a plan (and a wide variety of weapons) is in place to confirm if Russ is still alive, and if so, take him out once and for all. Dana’s Mom Trish is the only survivor of Russ’ attack from back in the day, and Dana wants revenge. Everyone has a part in the plan, but things go awry when Russ shows up on the scene with an even bigger drill and things get real and everyone forgets about the plan and runs. Add in the guys from across the lake who weren’t a part of the plan but are just weird podcasters who want to help take out the rampaging Russ Thorn and that’s where the murdering starts.

The reimagining of Slumber Party Massacre is a fresh mix up of the gender sterotypes in horror movies that takes a few play jabs at feminism and toxic masculinity (or what is perceived as such) meant to make a point but not lecture, all the while staying true to the gory story. The characters are great, the cinematography is really good (great use of depth and contrast) and the murder scences are weird, bizzare and or nauseating and it all works together for a great flick.

Teaser trailer can be seen here

For more information you can visit the IMDB here