J.P. Reviews 'Killer Party' (1986)

It's April Fool's Day and the sisters of Sigma Alpha Pi have found the perfect place to throw a party: the abandoned fraternity house where a guillotined pledge lost his head in a hazing gone slightly awry. But shortly after the revelry begins, the student body count starts to rise as the vengeful pledge returns from the grave and makes it a party to die for.

Director: William Fruet; Writer: Barney Cohen; Stars: Martin Hewitt, Ralph Seymour, Elaine Wilkes

So much 80's nostalgia glory to love about this movie! It opens with a movie funeral and the angry daughter berating a coffin to hilarious result before transforming into a glorious 80's hair band video (seen above) being watched by one of our main girls. Its kind of an inception I think. Anyway, Killer Party is the second horror feature entry from the man who would eventually bring us My Secret Identity and the Goosebumps series. Not bad for guy whose humble beginnings can be found in episodes of The Ray Bradbury Theatre, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Friday's Curse, and War of the Worlds (the series). For a horror/slasher Killer Party is relatively tame, especially when it comes to the slashing, with most of the kills happening just off camera. This may be due to Fruets television training but works well as a "what you don't see" device. Still strange there isn't more gore to go with the cringe inducing expectations created for an R rated movie. Despite all that Killer Party is an 80's horror cornucopia of nostalgia rife with puffy hair, shoulder pads, pranks and death.

The movie was originally to be called "April Fool", but the title was changed to Killer Party when Paramount announced their own horror film called April Fool's Day. Featuring appearances by Eating Raoul's Paul Bartel, debuting Joanna Johnson (who a year later would graduate to her longtime best-known role on The Bold and the Beautiful) and teen heartthrob Martin Hewitt (Endless Love) plus a bangin' performance of 'April (You're No Fool)' by '80s hair metal band White Sister, Killer Party is a relatively unknown pure 80's horror/comedy full of demonic slashery gold.

Here's a Killer Party teaser in lieu of a trailer...

Killer Party is currently available on Amazon although probably not in the VHS format it was originally released, which would only make it more awesome.