The House on Sorority Row
Encyclopedia
The House on Sorority Row is a 1983 low budget American slasher film
directed by Mark Rosman
. The film has become a cult classic among fans of the genre.
party being held in the house is finished. As the party begins, a guest wanders around the pool and an unknown figure stabs him through the neck with Mrs. Slater's cane and drags him away.
When other guests attempt to throw Jeanie in the pool, they are stopped by the sorority sisters. Later, to prevent the pool lights from coming on revealing Slater's body, Stevie is forced to go into the power room of the house located in the basement
. While doing so, she is brutally stabbed to death by Mrs. Slater's cane. Katey meets her date for the party, Peter, but she and the other girls worry why Stevie has not returned from the power room yet.
Vicki orders the girls to search around the house for Mrs. Slater. Morgan enters Mrs. Slater's room and begins to sort her clothing when Mrs. Slater's body falls on her. She is joined by the sisters who wonder how her body was moved to the bedroom. Morgan subsequently dies when she gets lured to her bedroom door and stabbed through the stomach by the cane. Having found Slater's body, the sisters decide to bury it in a nearby graveyard. Meanwhile Katey goes into the attic and discovers children's toys, a clown statue, and a dead bloodied bird laying in its cage. Diane is waiting in her van for the other girls, but the figure stabs her to death with the cane from the sunroof. Jeanie, the most nervous member of the group, is also attacked while running back into the house but manages to escape. After informing Katey about the attack, Jeanie is chased into the upstairs bathroom. The killer finds her and enters the stall, decapitating her with the butcher knife.
The party goers finally depart, leaving Katey and Peter in the house. Katey tells Peter to go home and finds a number on a chain she found near the gate. The chain has the phone number for a Dr. Beck who soon arrives and asks Katey where Slater is. The two discover the bodies of Stevie, Morgan and Diane in the pool. Meanwhile Vicki and Liz attempt to bury the body in the graveyard
. Liz brings the van around and gets her throat sliced by the cane's razor sharp handle. Vicki calls for Liz and when she gets no answer, she approaches the van and discovers Liz's body. Vicki turns around, only to be hacked to death with the cane by the assailant. Katey and Dr. Beck arrive at the graveyard
only to discover their bodies.
After giving her a sedative
, Dr. Beck reveals to Katey that Mrs. Slater had a son named Eric who was horribly deformed and mentally underdeveloped. Eric had actually been living in the Sorority House's attic and witnessed the shooting death of his mother. He is now exacting revenge on the girls for their irresponsibility with the prank. Katey is used as bait to lure Eric out of the attic so Dr. Beck can shoot him with a tranquilizer gun. However, the plan backfires when Peter comes through the door and is shot. Dr. Beck is hacked twice in the stomach by Eric who also throws him down a flight of stairs while Katey grabs the hand gun that was used on Mrs. Slater and finds Dr. Beck's body. She flees to the upstairs bathroom and discovers Jeanie's severed head in the toilet, staring back up at her. A traumatized Katey climbs up into the attic and is attacked by Eric. As Eric approaches her, Katey seemingly kills Eric by stabbing him multiple times with a pin sticking out of a doll's neck, and he falls through the attic hatch to the floor below. Katey peers down, and thinking that he is dead, Katey lays down and falls asleep in relief. Eric was only incapacitated however, as he opens his eyes before the film ends.
In an interview with director Mark Rosman, it was revealed that Lois Kelso Hunt's performance is entirely dubbed, as her voice was deemed not "scary" enough for the role. He also revealed that MGM was at one point interested in releasing the film, but Film Ventures provided the funds to the finishing touches of the movie.
According to Rosman, Film Ventures requested two changes to the final cut of the film. The first was that the original opening scene, which was shot in black & white, be colorized. So the opening sequence was color-tinted in black & blue. The second change was in regards to the original ending. In the director's original ending, Katherine is discovered floating dead in the pool, apparently Eric's final victim. Film Ventures felt the ending too downbeat, so as a result Katherine survives in the finished version.
. By February 21, 1983, exactly one month after its original release, the film had grossed $4,330,028, earning well back its minuscule budget. Its ultimate gross totaled up to $10,604,986, so by financial means, the film was a success.
The one-sheet poster and advertising were created by Film Ventures International
's regular advertising agency, Design Projects Incorporated. Design Project's owner, Rick Albert art directed the key art and title treatment design. The key art was illustrated by Jack Lynwood, who painted illustrations for many motion picture campaigns during the late 1970s and 80's. The copylines were written by Film Ventures' Edward L. Montoro
.
and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra
.
The Washington D.C. based powerpop band 4 Out of 5 Doctors
appears in the movie, performing several of their songs.
and extremely difficult to find. However, the movie was re-released on January 12, 2010 on Amazon as a special 25 year special anniversary edition.
. This version is titled simply Sorority Row
and stars Briana Evigan
, Leah Pipes
, Rumer Willis
, Jamie Chung
, Audrina Patridge
, Julian Morris
and Margo Harshman
, with Star Wars
actress Carrie Fisher
as the housemother. The script has been rewritten by Josh Stolberg
and Pete Goldfinger.
The film was released on September 11, 2009.
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
directed by Mark Rosman
Mark Rosman
Mark Rosman is an American film director, television director and screenwriter.- Background :Rosman is the son of a Beverly Hills dermatologist. He has a brother, a lawyer, and a sister. After graduating from Beverly Hills High School, Rosman went to UCLA but left after two years when he wasn't...
. The film has become a cult classic among fans of the genre.
Plot
Katey and six sorority sisters, Morgan, Stevie, Liz, Vicki, Jeanie, and Diane pull a prank on their strict house mother, Mrs. Slater, who is known for carrying a sharp walking cane. Their plan is to put Mrs. Slater's cane out in their dirty pool and force her at gunpoint to swim through and retrieve it. The prank goes awry when Vicki, who was holding the gun, acccidentally shoots Mrs. Slater. The girls all agree to hide Slater's body in their dirty swimming pool until a graduationGraduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
party being held in the house is finished. As the party begins, a guest wanders around the pool and an unknown figure stabs him through the neck with Mrs. Slater's cane and drags him away.
When other guests attempt to throw Jeanie in the pool, they are stopped by the sorority sisters. Later, to prevent the pool lights from coming on revealing Slater's body, Stevie is forced to go into the power room of the house located in the basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
. While doing so, she is brutally stabbed to death by Mrs. Slater's cane. Katey meets her date for the party, Peter, but she and the other girls worry why Stevie has not returned from the power room yet.
Vicki orders the girls to search around the house for Mrs. Slater. Morgan enters Mrs. Slater's room and begins to sort her clothing when Mrs. Slater's body falls on her. She is joined by the sisters who wonder how her body was moved to the bedroom. Morgan subsequently dies when she gets lured to her bedroom door and stabbed through the stomach by the cane. Having found Slater's body, the sisters decide to bury it in a nearby graveyard. Meanwhile Katey goes into the attic and discovers children's toys, a clown statue, and a dead bloodied bird laying in its cage. Diane is waiting in her van for the other girls, but the figure stabs her to death with the cane from the sunroof. Jeanie, the most nervous member of the group, is also attacked while running back into the house but manages to escape. After informing Katey about the attack, Jeanie is chased into the upstairs bathroom. The killer finds her and enters the stall, decapitating her with the butcher knife.
The party goers finally depart, leaving Katey and Peter in the house. Katey tells Peter to go home and finds a number on a chain she found near the gate. The chain has the phone number for a Dr. Beck who soon arrives and asks Katey where Slater is. The two discover the bodies of Stevie, Morgan and Diane in the pool. Meanwhile Vicki and Liz attempt to bury the body in the graveyard
Graveyard
A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...
. Liz brings the van around and gets her throat sliced by the cane's razor sharp handle. Vicki calls for Liz and when she gets no answer, she approaches the van and discovers Liz's body. Vicki turns around, only to be hacked to death with the cane by the assailant. Katey and Dr. Beck arrive at the graveyard
Graveyard
A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...
only to discover their bodies.
After giving her a sedative
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
, Dr. Beck reveals to Katey that Mrs. Slater had a son named Eric who was horribly deformed and mentally underdeveloped. Eric had actually been living in the Sorority House's attic and witnessed the shooting death of his mother. He is now exacting revenge on the girls for their irresponsibility with the prank. Katey is used as bait to lure Eric out of the attic so Dr. Beck can shoot him with a tranquilizer gun. However, the plan backfires when Peter comes through the door and is shot. Dr. Beck is hacked twice in the stomach by Eric who also throws him down a flight of stairs while Katey grabs the hand gun that was used on Mrs. Slater and finds Dr. Beck's body. She flees to the upstairs bathroom and discovers Jeanie's severed head in the toilet, staring back up at her. A traumatized Katey climbs up into the attic and is attacked by Eric. As Eric approaches her, Katey seemingly kills Eric by stabbing him multiple times with a pin sticking out of a doll's neck, and he falls through the attic hatch to the floor below. Katey peers down, and thinking that he is dead, Katey lays down and falls asleep in relief. Eric was only incapacitated however, as he opens his eyes before the film ends.
Cast
- Kate McNeilKate McNeilKate McNeil is an American television actress. She began her acting career on the soap opera As the World Turns in 1981. In 1982, she appeared in the low-budget comedy Beach House, billed as Kathy McNeil. The following year, she starred in the slasher film The House on Sorority Row where she was...
as Katherine 'Katey' Rose - Eileen DavidsonEileen DavidsonEileen Davidson is an American film and soap opera actress. She is known for her role as Ashley Abbott on The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful and for the multiple roles she portrayed on Days of our Lives....
as Vicki - Janis Zido as Liz
- Robin Meloy as Jeanie
- Harley Jane KozakHarley Jane Kozak-Life and career:Kozak was born Susan Jane Kozak in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Dorothy , a university music teacher, and Joseph Aloysius Kozak, an attorney. She has seven siblings: brothers John, Joseph, Peter and Andrew and sisters Dorothy, Mary and Ann. Harley is the youngest of...
as Diane - Jodi Draigie as Morgan
- Ellen Dorsher as Stevie
- Lois Kelso Hunt as Mrs. Dorothy Slater
- Christopher LawrenceChristopher LawrenceChristopher Lawrence or Chris Lawrence may refer to:*Chris Lawrence , Canadian professional ice hockey*Chris Lawrence , British racing driver...
as Dr. Nelson Beck - Michael Kuhn as Peter
- Michael SergioMichael SergioMichael Sergio is an actor, most famous for parachuting into Shea Stadium during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, wearing a sign proclaiming "Let's Go Mets". Immediately arrested, Sergio spent a short time in prison, because he would not reveal the name of the pilot who flew him over Queens that...
as Rick - Charles Serio as Eric
Filming details
The House on Sorority Row was filmed on location in Baltimore, Maryland in 1982, with a budget of a mere $425,000.In an interview with director Mark Rosman, it was revealed that Lois Kelso Hunt's performance is entirely dubbed, as her voice was deemed not "scary" enough for the role. He also revealed that MGM was at one point interested in releasing the film, but Film Ventures provided the funds to the finishing touches of the movie.
According to Rosman, Film Ventures requested two changes to the final cut of the film. The first was that the original opening scene, which was shot in black & white, be colorized. So the opening sequence was color-tinted in black & blue. The second change was in regards to the original ending. In the director's original ending, Katherine is discovered floating dead in the pool, apparently Eric's final victim. Film Ventures felt the ending too downbeat, so as a result Katherine survives in the finished version.
Theatrical release
The film was released in US theaters on January 21, 1983, and took in $617,661 in its opening weekend on 153 screens, ranking a low #14 at the box officeBox office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
. By February 21, 1983, exactly one month after its original release, the film had grossed $4,330,028, earning well back its minuscule budget. Its ultimate gross totaled up to $10,604,986, so by financial means, the film was a success.
The one-sheet poster and advertising were created by Film Ventures International
Film Ventures International
Film Ventures International is an independent movie production and distribution company originally situated in Atlanta, Georgia during the 1970s. FVI garnered a notorious reputation within the industry for producing films which were highly derivative of many blockbusters of the era...
's regular advertising agency, Design Projects Incorporated. Design Project's owner, Rick Albert art directed the key art and title treatment design. The key art was illustrated by Jack Lynwood, who painted illustrations for many motion picture campaigns during the late 1970s and 80's. The copylines were written by Film Ventures' Edward L. Montoro
Edward L. Montoro
Edward L. Montoro was an American film producer and distributor known for releasing exploitation films and B-movies during the 1970s and 1980s through his company Film Ventures International...
.
Music
The film's music score was written by Richard BandRichard Band
Richard Howard Band is a composer of film music. He has scored more than 70 films, including From Beyond, which won the award for Best Original Soundtrack at the Catalonian International Film Festival in Sitges Spain...
and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
.
The Washington D.C. based powerpop band 4 Out of 5 Doctors
4 Out of 5 Doctors
4 Out of 5 Doctors was a Washington D.C. based powerpop band. They released an eponymous LP in 1980 produced by Alan Winstanley, and a second LP in 1982 . The Doctors toured the United States extensively, and were involved in several early 1980s films...
appears in the movie, performing several of their songs.
DVD release
Elite Entertainment released The House on Sorority Row on DVD on November 14, 2000. The disc featured the film's original theatrical trailer as a supplementary feature. The DVD was re-printed and released again on November 18, 2003. As of 2008, the DVD is out of printOut of print
Out of print refers to an item, typically a book , but can include any print or visual media or sound recording, that is in the state of no longer being published....
and extremely difficult to find. However, the movie was re-released on January 12, 2010 on Amazon as a special 25 year special anniversary edition.
Remake
The film was remade in 2009 by director Stewart HendlerStewart Hendler
Stewart Hendler is an American film, commercial and music video director. He directed the 2009 horror comedy, Sorority Row and the 2007 supernatural thriller Whisper....
. This version is titled simply Sorority Row
Sorority Row
Sorority Row is a 2009 American slasher film, and a re-imagining of the 1983 slasher film The House on Sorority Row. It was directed by Stewart Hendler, written by Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger, and stars Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes, Rumer Willis, Jamie Chung, Margo Harshman, Audrina Patridge,...
and stars Briana Evigan
Briana Evigan
Briana Barbara-Jane Evigan is an American actress and dancer. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Andie West in Step Up 2: The Streets and Cassidy Tappan in Sorority Row. She started dancing at the age of 9 and is still dancing as part of her career today.-Early life:Evigan was born in Los...
, Leah Pipes
Leah Pipes
Leah Marie Pipes is an American actress. She is most notable for starring in the television series Life Is Wild and slasher film remake Sorority Row.-Life and career:...
, Rumer Willis
Rumer Willis
Rumer Glenn Willis is an American actress, the oldest daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore and the stepdaughter of Emma Heming and Ashton Kutcher.-Personal life:...
, Jamie Chung
Jamie Chung
Jamie Jilynn Chung is an American actress known to reality television audiences as a cast member on the MTV reality television series, The Real World: San Diego and its spin-off show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II, and for her appearances in TV and films, such as I Now...
, Audrina Patridge
Audrina Patridge
Audrina Cathleen Patridge is an American reality television personality, actress, and model. She is known for being one of the four original primary cast members featured on the MTV reality series The Hills. She has also starred in the films Sorority Row and Into The Blue 2...
, Julian Morris
Julian Morris (actor)
Julian David Morris is a British actor known for his roles in the films Cry Wolf and Sorority Row. He also played a recurring character in the TV show ER as Dr. Andrew Wade. He also plays Wren Kim in the TV show Pretty Little Liars.-Career:Morris was born in London, where he began acting at the...
and Margo Harshman
Margo Harshman
Margo Cathleen Harshman is an American actress who played Tawny Dean on the Disney Channel series Even Stevens.- Personal life :...
, with Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
actress Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
as the housemother. The script has been rewritten by Josh Stolberg
Josh Stolberg
Josh Stolberg is an American film director, screenwriter, and photographer. He won the Seashore Award and the Queen Spirit Award as a director of the film The Life Coach. He also wrote and directed the 2005 film Kids in America, as well as made a cameo appearance as a security guard in the film...
and Pete Goldfinger.
The film was released on September 11, 2009.