THE DORM THAT DRIPPED BLOOD: COLLEGIATE SLASHING

If nothing else for horror fans the term slasher took on a whole new meaning in the eighties. Launched by films like HALLOWEEN and FRIDAY THE 13^TH in the last part of the seventies, the next decade saw tons of follow up movies and genre rip offs hit the screens not just at drive-ins but theaters as well. Almost all of these movies made money and cost little to produce. And some even made a reputation for themselves as much as for what wasn’t seen as what was. THE DORM THAT DRIPPED BLOOD is a case in point.

The story follows four students who remain behind over Christmas break to help close down a dorm that’s been scheduled for demolition. Led by Joanne (Laura Lapinski) their job is to clear out the old furniture, clean out what they can and get things ready over the next two weeks. While doing so they’ll be staying in the dorm and taking care of themselves there.

The group was supposed to have five students but Debbie (Daphne Zuniga) received a call from her parents saying they were taking her with them on vacation. While looking for an inventory list she misplaced her parents show. Impatient while waiting, her father goes looking for her only to confront a mysterious figure we saw kill someone in the opening of the film who then smashes his head in with a spike loaded baseball bat. The same killer disposes of Debbie’s mother and when Debbie finds her father’s body does the same with her.

The four remaining members have no clue what has happened. The next day they see a derelict named John Hemmit going through the dumpster. He creeps out the girls so the guys threaten him to get out of the area. Could it be he is the mysterious figure?

Also helping the students out is maintenance man Bill who complains when his drill is taken from his tool kit. Of course this is foreshadowing and we know that Bill will eventually be disposed of by the killer using said drill. This takes place onscreen and we see the drill enter the back of Bill’s skull.

Another potential suspect is added to the list in the form of Bobby Lee Tremble, a local salesman who is buying the used desks. He flirts with Joanne and later on leaves his girlfriend at home to go back and try once more. Or is that what he intends?

The body count continues to rack up, false scares are added to keep the movie going forward at various times and the eventual revelation as to who the killer is should not be too surprising for most gorehounds. But that doesn’t prevent the film from being a fun time for fans of the genre. The kills are there, there is less sex than usually found in the film and the clues are presented to all to decipher who the killer is.

The film was made by two UCLA students, Stephen Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow, who made a trailer for the film in order to get financing. Their use of unknown actors and locations at UCLA helped make the film seem more realistic than most. What is most surprising is that the cast does a fantastic job here never coming off as amateurs or non-professionals. I was surprised to learn that this was the only film Lapinski ever made as she was the most convincing of the cast.

When released the film gained a certain amount of notoriety. Originally hitting screens under the title PRANKS rather than the director’s title DEATH DORM it didn’t fare well at first. It was later changed to the current THE DORM THAT DRIPPED BLOOD and fared much better at the box office. In England it was released as PRANKS as well before being placed on the list of “video nasties” in that country, an official ban on the film based on the violence found in the film. While made in 1982 it wasn’t until 1992 that the film was released in that country.

Critics have not been kind to the film but they miss the point. This movie wasn’t made to offer something new and original to the fans of the genre but to fulfill their need to see the movies they wanted. It also provided a jumping off point for the directing team involved. The cut on display here from Synapse is the original DEATH DORM with all of the original gore they were forced to trim to satisfy the MPAA censors placed back in. With additional scenes, more gore sequences and an alternate sound mix the film was restored from an existing 35mm answer print thought lost for over 30 years. Now fans can see the film as it was intended from the start.

If that weren’t enough to heap praise on Synapse they’ve also compiled some extras to keep fans happy and occupied. They include an audio commentary track with directors Obrow and Carpenter, interviews with composer Christopher Young who scored the film and Matthew Mungle who did the make-up effects, an isolated music score, the original theatrical trailers and a reversible cover with alternate artwork. Not bad for a little known slasher flick made in the eighties.

Horror fans now have the chance to not only see the film as originally intended but to own it as well. It’s a solid little slasher flick that doesn’t bring a lot new to the table but that provides exactly what fans of the genre are looking for. And with the fact that Synapse has done this much to make it appear that much better as well as complete, I’d suggest making sure you pick up a copy.

Click here to order.