A surprise reboot for this minor horror franchise, the original Slumber Party Massacre movie emerged at the height of original 80s stalk-and-slash, known largely for its attempt to look at the sub-genre from a female perspective. Using the 'next generation' gambit, the modern-day daughter of the survivor of an earlier lakeside massacre and her best friends embark on a similar all-female trip and - of course - history seems to be about to repeat itself...although this group of protagonists have other ideas. Whilst fitting in with the current trend of empowering women in leading horror roles (although it has perhaps always been there in the genre, from the original Final Girls onwards), this version can hardly be called a cutting-edge feminist critique by simply emasculating the male characters, as the young men renting the house across the lake are presented as fundamentally dumb, boorish and objectified victims, yet there is some fun to be had in playing with masculine genre tropes (such as the impossibly large phallic drill of the killer and the male gaze reversal for the shower victim). To the film's credit, it is decently shot and avoids looking and sounding cheap, simple refeernces to classic horror films (from Psycho to The Shining to the Friday The 13th series) work well, and the film feels pleasingly authentic in tribute to old-school stalk-and-slash film. It also manages to pull off reasonably the balance between successful delivery of the schlock-horror elements and also subverting some visual and narrative expectations for what is ultimately a simple low-budget exploitation flick.
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