Sisters of Death

A handful of years before "Halloween", "Friday the 13th" and other movies that claim to have started the slasher-genre, there was "Sister of Death"… More than a decade before sorority-themed slashers like "House on Sorority Row" etc, there was… "Sisters of Death"! This movie was even shot (not released, though) before "Black Christmas", and that classic horror film is more or less regarded to as the granddaddy of ALL crazy murderers on the loose flicks! Then why doesn't this movie enjoy the status of a genre milestone? Well, quite simply because it's crappy! Immensely entertaining…but nevertheless crappy! Seven years after that dreadful, life-ruining evening where a group of sorority babes accidentally killed their newest member (guns aren't toys, ladies!), the five remaining members all receive invitations to a reunion. They all go, even though it's unclear who invited them, and end up in an isolated mansion in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't take long before they meet their killer, who turns out to be the revengeful father of the murdered girl. Simple, straightforward plot and five incredibly sexy female leads! How on earth could this go wrong? Well, due to some really poor plotting, a total lack of continuity and weak directing, Joseph Mazzuca still somehow managed to mess it all up! This is the type of movie in which dumb characters do incredibly stupid things for absolutely no reason, so they pretty much all deserve to die. There are occasional flashes of sheer tension, but even more imbecility and lameness. And, like another reviewer already pointed out, there's should at least have been some nudity. What's the point of casting nothing but gorgeous sorority coeds if they're not taking their tops off? Stay clear, unless you're a fan of low-budget and forgotten 70's trash.

B-grade thriller has a bizarre sisterhood initiation that involves a Russian roulette round that ends in tragedy when one of the débutantes is executed. Seven years later the surviving members are summoned to a reunion at an isolated mansion. Despite the welcoming party, they soon discover that the fun and games are just beginning, and they're unlikely to ever leave.

Paul Carr and Joe E.Tata co-star as a pair of hired chauffeurs who inadvertently become stranded with the girls when the fence surrounding the compound is electrified; Tata went on to become a minor celebrity of sorts twenty years later in "Beverly Hills 90210". Playboy playmate, Clauida Jennings is 'ample' in her leading role, but she's somewhat overshadowed by her co-stars Boucher (a one-time Mrs George Peppard) and Howell in particular. Veteran Arthur Franz acts with restraint, though his role is largely confined to peering through door cracks, and making homemade bullets for his gatling gun.

Mildly suspenseful with a couple of chuckles, the plot contrivances are weak and the pace laboured for the lack of material, but still, there's an undeniable b-movie quality that prevails. If you're not too discerning and are familiar with the cast, you should find enough here to keep you entertained.

In the same vein as Ten Little Indians, Sister's of Death does the 'invitation' thing some years before Paul Lynch's Prom Night and even before Class Reunion Massacre from 1976.

Sorority girls are holding their initiation for two inductees that involves a pistol/murder in which one of the 'Sisters' would load the gun, place it to the inductee's head and pull the trigger. Of course, the blank bullet is just supposed to make a loud noise and that's it. But, in this case, it splatters the girls brains and the rest is history.

Anyway, it's a few years down the road and the ex-sorority girls receive and invitation and five hundred bucks to attends a 'Sister's' reunion. They are supposed to meet in a designated spot where two guys with a beat-up station wagon (with sheets over the windows) are to pick them up and take the them to their destination, where they themselves are to make a couple hundred bucks.

After all the girls finally make it, the two guys drive the girls to their location. one of the guys talks his friend into staying and partying with the girls and soon learn they're stranded on the property. An electric fence keeps them on the premises while an unknown specter roams throughout the mansion spying and doing away with the girls one by one.

Sister's of Death is a film that does a lot of cliché' things before it was cool to do so. The acting is surprisingly good for a drive-in caliber flick. There's copious amounts of cheese that accompanies the actions and dialog of our characters, and a twist ending that I never saw coming. Just who is it that is taking the girls out one by one? Just whose revenge mode is set on high and what lengths will they go through to extend their murderous rage? Watch and see.

Five women, who were once members of a secret sorority, are invited to a lavish ranch in a remote area north of Los Angeles. It seems like a celebratory reunion until things turn deadly. What's going on and who's responsible?

"Sisters of Death" was shot in 1972, but not released until 1976-77. It starts off as an occult-oriented flick involving beautiful women, but morphs into a sorta Ten Little Indians situation with elements that would influence the forthcoming slasher craze, just don't expect a lot of gore.

The highlight is the five women, played by Claudia Jennings (Judy), Sherry Boucher (Diana), Roxanne Albee (Penny), Sherry Alberoni (Francie) and Cheri Howell (Sylvia). You would think that Claudia Jennings would win out on the beauty front, but actually Sherry Boucher and Roxanne Albee surpass her (Boucher is, interestingly, a Jennings lookalike). Elizabeth Bergen is also on hand as Elizabeth in a small role.

While there's no Starsky and Hutch, as amusingly suggested, the two guys sure are reminiscent of them (that particular TV series wouldn't debut until a few years after this flick was shot). It's somewhat similar to "The Beast Must Die" (1974), just without the werewolf angle. Like that movie, not enough focus is put on fleshing out the characters, which makes them uninteresting and this isn't helped by the one-dimensional location.

The entire mid-section of the flick is relatively dull, but things perk up in the end with a twist or two.

The movie runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot in Paso Robles, California, which is about 200 miles north of Los Angeles.

GRADE: C.

Seven years have passed since a sorority sister was killed as a result of a Russian-roulette-type initiation, which was ruled an accident. Then, five members get anonymous invitations to a reunion at a place to which the girls are taken from a central meeting spot by two guys. Although the duo has been paid only to transport the quintet, the pair is with the girls when the fence around the estate closes, locks and electrifies. They learn that their captor is the father of the initiation victim, and the remainder of the movie shows how most of them get knocked off - with a minimum of gore. Although much of the film (especially the first half) is slow-moving, I wasn't discontent at having spent the time to view it. In fact, I watched it a second time, thinking that maybe I missed something as far as the ending was concerned. Did somebody believe that THAT was gonna provide the most compact conclusion? I came away questioning it's logic.