Slumber Party Massacre 1 and 2 (Scream Factory) 4K Blu-ray Review + Screenshots + Packaging Shots

Scream Factory brings us a double feature of one of the best slasher films to come out of the 80s and its lesser sequel in glorious 4K.

Studio: Scream Factory
Release Date: November 12th, 1982 (theatrical) (Slumber Party Massacre) / October 21st, 1987 (video premiere) (Slumber Party Massacre II) / February 21st, 2023 (4K blu-ray)
Run Time: 1 hour 16 minutes 11 seconds (Slumber Party Massacre) / 1 hour 15 minutes 55 seconds (Slumber Party Massacre II) (original version),
Region Code: FREE (4K disc) / A (locked) (2K discs)
Picture: 2160p (1.85:1 aspect ratio) (4K disc) / 1080p (1.85:1 aspect ratio) (2K disc)
HDR: HDR10, Dolby Vision

Sound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (both films)
Subtitles: English SDH
Slipcover: No
Digital Copy: No
Starring: Michelle Michaels, Robin Stille, Michael Villella, Debra De Liso, Andree Honore (Slumber Party Massacre) / Crystal Bernard, Jennifer Rhodes, Kimberly McArthur, Patrick Lowe, Juliette Cummins (Slumber Party Massacre II)
Written by Rita May Brown (Slumber Party Massacre) / Deborah Brock (Slumber Party Massacre II)
Directed by Amy Holden Jones (Slumber Party Massacre) / Deborah Brock (Slumber Party Massacre II)
Rating: R (horror violence and gore, nudity, and language) (Slumber Party Massacre) / R (horror violence and gore, nudity, and language) (Slumber Party Massacre II) (original version)

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Poster

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What's It About?

An eighteen-year-old high school girl is left at home by her parents and she decides to have a slumber party. There is friction between some of the invited guests and the new girl, who is better at basketball than they, so the new girl decides to stay at home (which is conveniently across the street from the host's house). Meanwhile, a murderer of five people with a propensity for power tools has escaped and is at large, and eventually makes his way to the party, where the guests begin experiencing an attrition problem, with only the new girl to help them. (Slumber Party Massacre)

Courtney, the younger sister of the "new girl across the street" in the first film is all grown up now, but suffers from nightmares about the Big Wet Incident. She and the other members of her female rock group go to a condo for the weekend to play music and have fun with their boyfriends. Courtney's dreams are of her sister, who is in a mental institution, warning her of having sex, and the dreams begin to spill into real life, threatening Courtney and her friends as they begin experiencing an attrition problem. (Slumber Party Massacre II)

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Video/Audio

Presented in their original aspect ratios of 1.85:1, and taken from a new 2022 scan of the original camera negatives, both films look great. Both films show great detail and shadow detail with the first film being a little bit ahead of the second film. Colors pop with the second film, being shot with a lot more color, winning this one. Each film features a thin layer of grain which is better resolved on the 4K disc. SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE II has some dream sequences that have a slight video feel to them that is no doubt the result of some filters that have been added to them. They are more noticeable on the 4K disc because of the increased resolution. In the end, this is a worthy upgrade from the previous releases.

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Extras/Packaging

Disc 1: 4K disc

director Amy Holden Jones, and actors Michael Villella and Debra de Liso. (Slumber Party Massacre)

Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Deborah Brock, Producer Don Daniel, and Story Editor Beverly Gray (Slumber Party Massacre II)

Disc 2: Slumber Party Massacre blu-ray

director Amy Holden Jones, and actors Michael Villella and Debra de Liso.

Sleepless Nights: The Making of Slumber Party Massacre (23m 4s, SD, 1.78:1)

Interview with Actor Rigg Kennedy (13m 23s, HD, 1.78:1)

Alternate Title Sequence (33s, HD, 1.85:1)

Theatrical Trailer (2m 5s, HD, 1.78:1)

UK Teaser Trailer (1m 8s, HD, 1.78:1)

Still Gallery (3m 9s, HD) Autoplays and runs silent

Disc 3: Slumber Party Massacre II blu-ray

Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Deborah Brock, Producer Don Daniel, and Story Editor Beverly Gray

Slumber Party Massacre II Unrated Cut (1 hour 25 minutes, HD, 1.85:1) Presented in HD with SD inserts for the Unrated footage.

Sleepless Nights: Revisiting Slumber Party Massacre II (19m 38s, SD, 1.78:1)

Theatrical Trailer (1m 49s, HD, 1.78:1)

Video Trailer (2m 2s, SD, 1.33:1)

Still Gallery (7m 53s, HD) Autoplays and runs silent

The special features package is the same offering from earlier releases. The commentaries are fun and informative as are the making ofs. The unrated cut of the second film is nice to have even if it doesn't really add anything of value with most of the footage being character development. I do love the video trailer on the second film as this is how companies used to sell their films to video stores.

The packaging is a mixed back. The front cover features both films' original artworks which is nice. There is some inner artwork that Scream added even though the black case used is opaque. This is an odd choice but not the big deal that some are making it out to be. Each disc contains the original artworks for the films that are the same as the cover.

The 4K disc is REGION FREE while the 2K discs are REGION A (locked)

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Overall

The SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE films are a lot of fun. The first film is the best by a good margin but the second one is as bad as many would lead you to believe. The first film is one of the better slasher films to come out of the slasher boom of the 1980s. The characters are well written and relatable (unlike modern slasher films like SHE CAME FROM THE WOODS, which believe that 80s slasher films had unlikeable characters). We like these characters and feel bad when the killer shows up with his drill. The second film makes the killer a Freddy-like character who, instead of a bladed glove, has a drill-clad guitar. The film isn't as good as the original but the characters are still likeable and we care about them. I actually liked the second film a lot more this time around.

The 4K blu-ray, from Scream Factory, is really nice. All of the special features from the previous blu-rays have been ported over for this release. This includes commentary tracks and making ofs. There is even another version of part 2. The picture and sound for both films are great and this release makes for a great double-feature movie night.

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Extras/Menus