Sorority Row (2009) Movie Review
Written By: TJ
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Stewart Hendler
Producers: Darrin Holender, Mike Karz
Writers: Josh Stolberg, Pete Goldfinger
Date Released: September 11, 2009
Cast:
Briana Evigan as Cassidy
Rumer Willis as Ellie
Leah Pipes as Jessica
Jamie Chung as Claire
Margo Harshman as Chugs
Audrina Patridge as Megan
Julian Morris as Andy
Caroline D’Amore as Maggie
Matt O’Leary as Garrett
Carrie Fisher as Mrs. Crenshaw
Rating: 3/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Nearing their senior graduation, sorority group Theta Pi hosts a party wherein they plan on getting a revenge for Megan (Audrina Patridge), one of their members, on her boyfriend who cheated. Megan has to pretend that she was overdosed on roofies causing her death. The sorority, led by Jessica (Leah Pipes), take the prank too far, literally that they reached an abandoned mine area. She instructed the others to get rocks so they can dispose Megan’s body, who at this point is still pretending. The ex-boyfriend picks up a tire iron and thrust it into Megan’s chest, which leads to her actual death. Jessica tries to convince everyone to continue disposing the corpse for real, but only one did not agree, Cassidy (Briana Evigan). Now eight months later, they finally graduated and Theta Pi leads another party, only this time, they are being killed one by one by a mysterious hooded figure, who carries evidences of what they did eight months ago.
Gore Factor
Sorority Row (2009) follows the old format of a slasher movie, packed with boobs, boys, booze, and blood. Although the film offers creative killings, they are very few and most of them stacked up in the ending. The most gory and wince-inducing scene that you’ll see is how Chugs, a sorority member, dies. While drinking from a bottle, the killer showed up and pushed the bottle further into her throat, then slit it with a tire iron. To think that gore has peaked at this particular scene is just undeniably disappointing. I can say, the prosthetics are done well however, there will be no cringe-worthy aspect when it comes to the execution of gore details. They are minimal, yes, but it sure had conveyed to the viewers what’s viable for teenagers, and the emotions that come with it.
The Grave Review
Sorority Row (2009) typically has a generic plot, but what critics don’t see in a different angle is because this film was marketed as a legitimate scary film during its trailer, when in fact, it actually is a horror comedy that’s somehow a mixture of Mean Girls and Scream. You see, expectations can really ruin audience impact on whether they will like the movie or not, and Sorority Row may have been quite common, but it’s really a fun and entertaining film.
First to commend is the setting. It shows us a loud and messy house interior, giving the real ambiance of teenage knickknacks, which the film wants to portray. It may have just a few locations but it managed to pull through the story. Production did not cut short the budget for props and outfits because we can see the lavish style of both the place and the characters. They definitely achieved what is expected for a youthful vibe, no more no less.
We also have here a satisfactory cast who give justice to their characters especially the sorority girls. Aside from having beautiful faces and rocking bodies, they all have their distinct personalities and no one got on my nerves, except Rumer Willi’s Ellie, who continue to whine and screech. And can we ever forget the tough, strong housemother Mrs. Crenshaw, who was portrayed by none other than Carrie Fisher. The male characters are reduced to horny self-centered people except of course, Andy (Julian Morris), and you’ll see why.
What really surprised me is the revelation of the killer. All throughout the film, I’ve been betting on Cassidy because she is the only one who did not agree to hide the dead body, or Kyle who is so caught up on keeping his reputation good. I did not expect that the director will swerve drastically on the twist, but as mentioned before, expectation can really affect whether you’ll like the movie or not. Plus, it ended at a cliffhanger which gives both the viewers and the production the idea that there might be something more.
Since I did not rate it with a perfect score, there are some things that I don’t like about Sorority Row. First is how the characters react to a death. It seems that killing someone is the same as getting your card declined. Therefore, the criticism goes to the script. It would have been better if they put depth into each of the character to feel the bond that they’ve been rooting for. Last is the fact that they didn’t offer anything new in the slasher genre that could’ve made this film one of the classics.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Sorority Row (2009) three graves out of five graves.
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