***Wannabe edgy slasher “remake” with distasteful characters and
Wuchak
***Wannabe edgy slasher “remake” with distasteful characters and shaky cam*** During a sorority party in the Pittsburgh area a student accidently dies. Those…
***Wannabe edgy slasher “remake” with distasteful characters and shaky cam***
During a sorority party in the Pittsburgh area a student accidently dies. Those involved in the prank-gone-wrong make a pact to cover it up, but during graduation eight months later members of the agreement start showing up dead and it becomes clear that the killer knows their macabre secret.
“Sorority Row” (2009) has the same plot as “The House on Sorority Row” (1982), but the story & characters are totally different. I heard good things about this slasher, but was disappointed. Don’t expect the worthwhile ‘remakes’ of “My Bloody Valentine” (2009), “Black Christmas” (2006), “The Fog” (2005), “Fright Night” (2011), “House of Wax” (2005) or “Friday the 13th” (2009).
What’s wrong with “Sorority Row”? There’s too much faddish shaky cam, which gets annoying; and the outdoor colors are faded, which is also annoying. The cast of females is decent, with Rumer Willis (Ellie), Briana Evigan (Cassidy) and Caroline D'Amore (Maggie) standing out (Audrina Patridge’s role is too small to note), but the wannabe edgy tone makes it hard to warm up to any of them. It doesn’t help that the directors don’t know how to photograph women.
In addition, the ending “reveal” is unconvincing and unsatisfying. There are other eye-rolling problems, like why Maggie would stand in front of car and risk death for no ostensible reason.
The movie runs 1 hour, 41 minutes, and was shot in the Pittsburgh area as follows: Homestead, Crafton (interiors), Washington (aerial views) and Soldiers and Sailors Museum and Memorial (graduation scenes).
GRADE: C-
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★ 6 / 10
Simple cheesy horror
cwtg_dbvrp
Sorority Row, a 2009 horror-thriller directed by Stewart Hendler, follows a group of sorority sisters who become the target of a masked killer after covering…
Sorority Row, a 2009 horror-thriller directed by Stewart Hendler, follows a group of sorority sisters who become the target of a masked killer after covering up an accidental death. The film stars Briana Evigan, Rumer Willis, and Carrie Fisher, and while it boasts a cast with potential, the movie often falls into the clichés typical of the slasher genre. Despite its predictable plot and standard jump scares, Sorority Row delivers some effective suspense and a few memorable moments of tension. The film's commentary on sisterhood and guilt adds a layer of depth, but ultimately, it relies heavily on formulaic horror tropes. Fans of classic slasher films might find it a fun, if unremarkable, addition to the genre. But if you're simply looking for a fun cheesy horror, then perhaps this could be something you'd enjoy.
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★ 6 / 10
Pimp my tire iron.
BA_Harrison
With it's excessively asinine plot, crazy killer armed with a particularly impractical weapon (a modified tire iron), exaggerated death scenes, a…
With it's excessively asinine plot, crazy killer armed with a particularly impractical weapon (a modified tire iron), exaggerated death scenes, a larger-than-normal quota of bitchy, big breasted bimbos (including the obligatory sexy nerd) and their equally obnoxious boyfriends, and a fair smattering of gratuitous nudity, I'm pretty certain that Sorority Row was intended by its makers to parody the countless, moronic, teen slasher remakes that have blighted horror in recent years. However, it appears that their motive may have been lost on many viewers, who seem to have mistaken the deliberate playing up of genre stereotypes and intentional over-use of dumb clichés for a case of plain, old-fashioned bad movie-making—something which there has been plenty of over the last decade or so.
It's a shame, because when armed with the knowledge that much of the film's apparent awfulness is by design, one can have quite a bit of fun with Sorority Row.
The film opens with one of those frat parties that only ever seem to happen in the movies (or maybe I just went to the wrong parties): it's thumping with the latest cool tunes, heaving with physically perfect specimens of both sexes indulging in all manner of hedonistic activities, and overflowing with an endless supply of alcohol. Whilst the gorgeous revellers bump, grind and get wasted, six sexy sorority sisters carry out a mean prank that will have disastrous results: they con a poor schmuck into believing that he has accidentally killed his ex-girlfriend Megan by plying her with drugs. Carrying the joke a little too far, they also convince him that it would be a good idea to hide his crime by pushing her body into a lake located near a disused mine. Unfortunately, before they can reveal that it is all a sick joke, events spiral out of control, and Megan winds up dying for real when the guy plunges a tire iron into her chest (to let the air out of her lungs so that she will sink). Now the group are forced to dispose of a genuine corpse—opting to dump their dead friend down the mine-shaft.
A year later, as the girls celebrate their graduation, a hooded murderer is busy at work on the campus. Is it Megan, back from the dead for revenge, or does someone else have a motive for the rapidly rising body count?
What follows is undeniably silly, but as I have said, when viewed with the right frame of mind, it's also rather enjoyable; one can have fun spotting the deliberate attempts by the makers to ridicule the more idiotic conventions of the genre (the over privileged students, the stern but protective den mother, the innocent girl who unwillingly goes along with her friends' plans) whilst also revelling in the brutal violence, ogling the many attractive women, cheering on a shotgun toting Carrie Fisher, and marvelling at just how much Rumer Willis sounds like her mother.
It's not a brilliant piece of film-making (if it was, the parodic content would have been obvious to all), but it's not nearly as dreadful as many might have you believe. I rate Sorority Row a reasonable 6/10. Give it a chance.
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The original is really good. I'll have to check this out and report back.