Sorority Row

Rating

Director

Stewart Hendler

Screenplay

Josh Stolberg, Pete Goldfinger, Mark Rosman

Length

101 min.

Starring

Briana Evigan, Margo Harsman, Rumer Willis, Jamie Chung, Leah Pipes, Audrina Patridge, Matt O’Leary, Julian Morris, Carrie Fisher, Caroline D’Amore, Matt Lanter, Maxx Hennard

MPAA Rating

R for strong bloody violence, language, some sexuality/nudity and partying.

Review

Garden variety horror is an inexpensive product that results in suitable cash flow, which could explain why production companies are so keen to produce the next audience magnet. Sorority Row, on paper, looks like one of these, but in execution, it’s far better than expected.

The story revolves around six college seniors who are part of the popular campus sorority Theta Pi. Although the six are relatively different in personality, they still consider each other “friends” until a tragic accident results in a divided house and a ripe environment for revenge.

Each possesses a stereotypical set of quirks and expressions, which aren’t embellished or enhanced by the six actresses playing them (Briana Evigan, Margo Harshman, Rumer Willis, Jamie Chung, Leah Pipes and Audrina Patridge). In addition to these loosely-termed thespians are longtime actress and screenwriter Carrie Fisher in a fairly cliched role as the sorority’s house mother; Commander in Chief’s first son Matt Lanter as a Senator’s son dating Jessica (Pipes), the stuck up one; Maxx Hennard as the unreliable oaf dating Claire, the spineless one (Chung); and Julian Morris as Cassidy’s (Evigan) too-sweet boyfriend. None of them make a terribly memorable impression as even they have fallen into pre-set molds.

The less said about Willis, the better. Second generation performers are hit or miss these days and despite being cut from the cloth of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, Rumer is working her way towards being a miss. Perhaps she just needs the right vehicle, but if this is any indication of what her future career will look like, then we aren’t looking at another Barrymore clan in the making.

The plot is where the film begins to earn a few redemption points. While most of the killings and attacks themselves are fairly standard horror mainstays, some of them are mildly inventive (an alcohol bottle, anyone?). The twist at the end is entirely contrived, but comes virtually out of nowhere. Revealing any portion of the resolution isn’t possible without ruining the experience. Suffice it to say it’s better than the trailer leads you to believe.

The other commendable thing, but perhaps not for modern horror fans, is that there isn’t a lot of grizzly violence and much of the action seems to take its cues from the glorious ‘80s horror flicks, using similar storytelling devices, camera angles, environments and styles. Those who can remember back to and embrace the glory days of the genre (not the Lon Cheney era, which is an entirely different class) should find something mildly entertaining within the confines of the film.

However, for every bright spot, Sorority Row contains an overabundance of tripe. The sequel setup at the end is emblematic of these issues. As for the rest of the problems, there are too many to mention and they are mostly just par for the horror genre course.

And for those who’ve read my reviews of films like Saw and Hostel, you might wonder why I put any measure of praise on the traditionalism express in this film. It’s hard to say. Part of me likes how the genre has manifested into something new and inventive, but part of me still relishes the old days of the genre. And we’re not talking about utter crap like the April Fool’s Day remake here, so I give the film a little bit of leeway for simply reminding me of the past without making me regret it.

Review Written

September 24, 2009