The horror genre has been having some nice support the past few years. We’ve had multiple remakes (or “reimaginings” if you’d prefer) and a whole slew of newcomers alike.
Sorority Row goes back to some of the old slasher films before it, dating back to mostly the early 1980s when a dominant female cast was pretty common, even if all they were good for in the film was to run around practically naked and screaming like a loon until meeting their ultimate demise.
The film doesn’t stray far from that classic formula.
The movie’s plot follows a group of friends all belonging to (dur!) the same sorority. What happens is that one night, an accident happens, and someone dies and it’s decided to leave it a mystery and cover up the truth. A year later, the bulk of the film takes place where, of course, the past returns to bite the guilty in the asses.
It’s pretty much a basic story in that sense. The characters aren’t really all that developed, and have rather one-dimensional personalities. There are some funny one-liners from time to time, I’ll admit, but there’s not much to the film that really shines through.
The deaths are a strange mix: some are interesting, others are either too boring or too quick.
And strangely enough, from a technical standpoint, the film mostly looks to be lit like a commercial, so it’s a strange approach to a horror film, but it almost works considering the age and social mindsets of the characters. Not that the film really has any deep messages. After all, slasher films are primarily about sex and violence; this film just happens to try a little too hard to sell itself on one aspect while not giving the other enough attention.
I don’t believe this film is going to be on anyone’s “must see” list. It’s not great, but it is entertaining so it’s good for a distraction if you have the time to kill.
One good note of the film, though, is that the final shot is the PERFECT set-up for continuation without being super “the killing will continue,” which I’m sure fans of the genre (or sub-genre, depending on how you look at it) will be thankful for.