The Honeycut: Making Sense of the Nonsensical ‘Slumber Party Massacre II’

Movie Night

It was Friday the 13th this past weekend, and I wanted to watch a Jason movie. However, the only one I could find for free on streaming was “Jason X.” As much as I enjoy that one, I wanted to watch something crazy from the 80s. Man did I find it in “The Slumber Party Massacre” and its wild sequel. 

These are the kind of movies you just sit back and enjoy, not over-analyze. But they are the only things I watched this week, so you’re getting an article on them. Specifically, “The Slumber Party Massacre II.” 

The Story 

“The Slumber Party Massacre:” A guy with a massive drill shows up at a slumber party and kills a bunch of teenagers. 

“The Slumber Party Massacre II:” The original movie’s protagonist’s little sister, Courtney, is now a high schooler herself. After witnessing the murders in the first movie, and helping to stop the killer five years earlier, she is living a normal life. She and her friends, who are also her bandmates, go to one of their parents’ condos for a weekend of fun. 

The catch is, Courtney is having dreams of the ‘Driller Killer,’ who is now a punk/rockabilly guy with a sick guitar. Get this, its neck is a giant drill!

Honey’s Cut

Overall, they are two really cool 80s slasher movies, with a surprising amount of gore. 

“The Slumber Party Massacre II” is bonkers! Courtney is dreaming/ having delusions about the Fonzie-esque ‘Driller Killer.’ These also come along with some decent body horror. For example, Courtney hallucinates that instead of eating a ham sandwich, she is eating a bloody hand sandwich. In another scene, she imagines her friend’s pimple growing so big that the girl’s head explodes in a mist of pus. Yeah, it’s gross, but so good. 

The ending is like “Friday the 13th: Part III,” with a few fake-outs. The medics are carrying out one of Courtney’s dead friends and she resurrects and attacks Courtney. Then it cuts to Courtney and her boyfriend in bed, indicating it was all a dream. But wait! Her boyfriend turns into the leather-clad ‘Driller Killer.’ But wait! Courtney is actually in an asylum, having a mental break, when a giant drill rips through the floor before the credits roll. 

So, what did this all mean? I have no idea, but here’s my best guess.

First of all, this takes heavy inspiration from the “Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise. We see the ‘Driller Killer’ haunting Courtney’s dreams before he finally shifts into reality and starts killing. Some characters even have the last names of Craven and Krueger.

Throughout the movie, the ‘Driller Killer,’ basically says he’ll appear when Courtney “goes all the way” with her boyfriend. Once she does, he steps into reality. So, I think there’s something about having sex for the first time and maybe the killer is a personification of… something? 

And the multiple endings. Did it all really happen? Was it all a dream? Or was Courtney in the asylum the entire time, having a mental breakdown? 

I’m inclined to go with the asylum mental break theory. The movie states a few times that Courtney’s sister is in a mental hospital after the events of the first film. But in a twist, it is Courtney herself who is in a straitjacket. If that is the case, is the drill ripping through the floor of her room also a hallucination or reality? It never tells us and I love that. 

Honey’s Final Thought 

“The Slumber Party Massacre II” had no reason to be as crazy as it was. The first one was grounded in reality… minus the dude lugging around a giant drill to murder people with. 

The sequel leaves a lot to the imagination. I did not expect to be thinking about it this much after it ended. But man, it really stuck with me. The villain was such a cool guy, the gore was excellent, and the story was legit engaging. And the ending made me second guess everything I had just seen. 

Sometimes you can find a gem when you’re not even looking for one. “The Slumber Party Massacre II” is far from a masterpiece, but man do I love it!