The Dorm That Dripped Blood DVD Movie Review
The Dorm That Dripped Blood DVD Movie Review
Directed by Jeffery Obrow and Stephen Carpenter. Starring Laurie Lapinski, Stephen Sachs, David Snow, Pamela Holland
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Clearly an indie film created to cash in on the craze and cliché of the booming slasher flick, 1982's The Dorm That Dripped Blood (aka Death Dorm, or Pranks in the U.K.) isn't anything special. Nowadays, in the nostalgic haze, it feels like a cross between Black Christmas, April Fool's Day, The House on Sorority Row, Final Exam and Cutting Class (to name just a few). However, for fans of this sort of thing The Dorm That Dripped Blood is worth a peek (I'd never seen it before. Won't again, but don't regret the time spent).
The fun begins on the cusp of Christmas break, when a few of the student body decide to stay at the deserted dorm and become student bodies. Joanne Murray (Laurie Lapinski) is the leader who rallies the unenthused troops — class cutups Craig, Brian, and Patti — to clean out the old paperwork and give the place a good scrubbing. Of course, the coeds are not alone… also bunking in is the creepy caretaker, a red herring or two, parents soon to orphan their kids, and a couple of bumbling cops.
The cinematography is dark and uninspired, the set design is basic at best, and the acting is atrocious. However, The Dorm That Dripped Blood does have a few factors in its favor: In spite of an incomplete plot and characters who're are underdeveloped to the point of corkboard consistency… there are moments of genuine suspense and there are some impressive and inventive death scenes implemented by rather an array of weaponry (everything from the wheels of a car to barbed wire wrapped around a baseball bat). Also, the music score (Christopher Young's first — he's still working today; in fact, his newest work can be heard in Priest, in theaters on May 13) is pretty effective. It's effective in a very self-aware, formulaic manner, but it's perfect: fun and spooky, it works to bridge the gaps where script lacks.
Kudos to Synapse for digging up this old chestnut and putting it out on disc. There's a blu-ray and a regular DVD. Frankly, there's little to no difference between the two (it's a total silk purse / sow's ear thing when it comes to the creaky cinematography) but it's a selling point, I suppose. Plus it is, according to the hype, "A never-before-seen alternate version containing additional scenes, extended gore sequences and a different sound mix. This transfer was created from the only existing 35mm answer print of the original Directors' Cut entitled DEATH DORM, a version of the film thought to have been lost for over thirty years."
There are a few cool additional features on the discs: an interview which goes in depth with FX man Matthew Mungle talking about the gore factor and how they did'em pre CGI and sans budget. The other segment focuses on the music, and it's pretty entertaining as well as enlightening (Young claims never to have gone back to listen, and seems a bit embarrassed by his youthful sting-happy score, but he shouldn't be).
- Anamorphic Widescreen (1.66:1) Transfer of the “Directors’ Cut”
- Audio Commentary Featuring Directors Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter
- Interviews with Composer and Make-Up FX Creator
- Isolated Music Score
- Original Theatrical Trailers
- Reversible Cover with Alternate Artwork
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson