Sorority Babes In The Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama DVD Review

Written by Simon Bland

DVD released by 88 Films

Directed by David DeCoteau
Written by Sergei Hasenecz
1988, Region 2, 80 minutes, Rated 15 (UK)
DVD released on 2nd April 2012

Starring:
Andras Jones as Calvin
Linnea Quigley as Spider
Robin Stille as Babs
Hal Halvins as Jimmie
Brinke Stevens as Taffy
Michelle Bauer as Lisa

Review:

What a mouthful. With a title this descriptive you'd think there would be no surprises waiting for you in this kitsch throwback feature, but you'd be wrong. Back in the day, filmmakers were eager to cash in on the cheap teen horror genre, even if their directing skills or pimple-faced cast weren't quite up to scratch. Often times, their saving grace would be to slap an oddball title on their product in the hope that punters would pick it up on a bizarre whim. And bizarre this film certainly is.

We follow a trio of nerds who, bored of slurping beer and watching TV, decide to head over to the local sorority house to spy on an all-girl late night hazing session. Here we meet Lisa and Taffy, two underlings who're in the paddling-process of being accepted into an elite uni-group by boss Babs. When the geeks blow their cover, Babs decides to step things up a notch by instructing Lisa, Taffy and their new-found trio of walking boners to break into the local bowling alley. Return with a bowling trophy and they'll earn sorority respect. Easy.

By using the expert breaking-in skills of biker chick Spider, the gang gets to trophy snatching only to accidentally break one such cup and unleash an imprisoned Imp. This sneaky creature promises to grant his saviors one wish each but as with all horror movie wishes, there's a deadly catch. Before long our teen team are up to their jock straps in undead havoc as their wildest dreams soon become a devilish nightmare. They have until dawn to get the Imp back into its bowling trophy prison and restore normality but this nasty little bastard isn't going down without a fight...

Check out director David DeConteau's resumé and you'll get a feel for the throw-away nature of this trashy terror. Sorority Babes is just one of around 80 exploitation features he's directed over the years and continues to make today. Like all 80s movies, this is a product of its time and as such looks considerably dated. The twisted-teen nature of Sorority Babes makes it easy to imagine that this was directed by John Hughes' sordid older brother. Replacing heart and charm with the indulgent bare-chested exploitation of its female cast and a creature-feature villain that by today's standards, borders dangerously on racial stereotype. However, while there's no doubt that this is dumb, that doesn't mean it's not fun. Its absurd story line will occasionally raise a few goofy smiles, particularly in one scene involving a hard of hearing janitor, although it's hard to shake the feeling that this movie was in its prime in an 80s drive-through movie theatre.

Video and Audio:

The 1.33:1 original aspect ratio video has that 80s fuzz to it, but that adds to the charm, same goes for the Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Special Features:

Nothing - although with such a shoestring budget it's hard to imagine that the filmmakers (or anyone else for that matter) would have bothered shooting a 'Making of'. We get a theatrical trailer and a Full Moon Trailer Park boasting the best that the horror studio has to offer.

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