Hey, folks! It’s Brucker from Autopsy of a Horror Movie. I wanted to highlight an interesting episode I recently released on The Slumber Party Massacre (1982). I had the pleasure of having Eli of BadCritic_ on to discuss and examine this early 80s exploitation-slasher film.
I selected this movie because it’s an interesting case study of the male gaze in slashers. For a film as sexually exploitative as this, you’d be surprised to find out that it was directed and written by women. Eli and I dove deep into the weeds of what Director Amy Holden Jones was trying to convey about violence against women, and how she expertly used the camera to highlight that visually. An excellent example was by framing the murder and disposal of a woman’s body in broad daylight as our principal cast walked past unaware and gleaming with enthusiasm for the weekend.
In the episode we also discussed Jones’s very own fascinating interpretation of the movie, “…a virgin’s fear of sex. Oh no, oh no, he is coming at me with that big thing. What is he going to do to me?”. While we both took the movie as a story about toxic masculinity and violence against women, we both struggled to pick up on the virginal fear of sex. Although, there is absolutely evidence of the fear of losing your innocence and of early death with the imagery of Russ Thorn taking the discarded Barbie doll and returning it to Trish with a blade piercing its torso.
Going into the episode, I was thinking this was a simple movie with little depth. But by the end of our conversation, I was convinced that this was indeed a horror-rich text. If you’d like to hear the full analysis and discussion of The Slumber Party Massacre, tune into Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Also, let us know on Twitter/Instagram if you agree with Jones’s interpretation of the film!
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