Thanks to the popularity of John Carpenter’s Halloween, the 1980s saw a saturation of cheap, slasher horror films. Some of these have been lost to obscurity, (perhaps due to a lack of a DVD release) while others have grown to cult status, forever claiming a small, passionate fan base willing to argue the film’s merits to their bloody graves. The Dorm That Dripped Blood – also known as Pranks, or Death Dorm – falls into the second group. This thesis project turned “video nasty” was inspired by that 1978 John Carpenter classic, and, like most ’80s slasher films, will only please the most fervent fans.
It isn’t that The Dorm That Dripped Blood (I’ll call it Death Dorm for short) is a bad slasher film, it’s just mostly typical to the genre. The story does its job of getting a small number of people alone in a potentially creepy location, but is shallow as the kiddie pool. If Death Dorm had nothing going for it, though, why would it have earned the cult label? I imagine that it has something to do with the fact that Death Dorm launched the careers of two future award winners: Matthew W. Mungle for makeup work, and Christopher Young for his work with film music. These two elements of the film happen to also be the most memorable aspects, and help make Death Dorm fun to sit through with vintage horror fans.
Death Dorm follows four college students as they stay behind during Christmas break in order to ready their dormitory for demolition. Though these students are supposed to be alone, they soon realize that one of the other students – the eccentric loner, John Hemmitt – has stayed behind. The leader of the pack, Joanne Murray, tries to contact John and asks him to leave. He ignores her. When things start happening around the campus, including murder, the students start to get worried and fear that Hemmitt may be more than just “the guy with the frizzy hair”.
There is a good reason why so few of these actors went on to do anything of note in Hollywood: aside from a couple exceptions, the acting is subpar, and can only be appreciated by cult horror fans. This did mark the start of Daphne Zuniga’s acting career, however. Zuniga later went on to star in the Mel Brooks classic Spaceballs, and the hit TV series Melrose Place. Death Dorm was her first film, and though she plays a smaller role, does a nice job with the time she is given onscreen.
The influences of the films that came before Death Dorm are evident on both the cinematic and musical side of the film. This is Christopher Young’s first film score, and it is incredible. Young later went on to create the scores for Spider-Man 3, Drag Me to Hell, and Hellraiser to name a few, and this is an example of two young filmmakers getting lucky with a budding artist. There is no doubt that Hitchcock’s Psycho was a favorite of Chris Young’s as a boy, because the music in Death Dorm feels like it was taken straight from the infamous shower scene in Psycho. The score sets the stage for Death Dorm exquisitely, and can be reason enough to watch the film.
The other standout aspect of Death Dorm is the special effects makeup work by Matthew Mungle (who won the Academy Award in 1993 for his work on Dracula). By today’s standards, the effects look cheesy, but remembering this film was shot in 1980 – with a tiny budget – helps one realize how impressive Mungle’s work really is. This Blu-ray release is the first time that fans get to see Mungle’s work to its fullest, because the previous releases shortened the goriest scenes in the film. For both the inventiveness of the kills, and the special effects makeup work by Mungle, the death scenes in Death Dorm are top notch.
The story is weak, especially when it reaches the climax, and there is a lot of downtime where the characters are shown walking around, but Death Dorm is a perfect example of the ’80s slasher craze. It will never be as good as its influences, but there is still some fun to be had. The musical score by Christopher Young makes the entire movie more enjoyable, and the makeup effects work by Matthew Mungle is perfectly 80s. If the acting were a bit stronger, and the story more justified, Death Dorm might stand up there with Friday the 13th on the horror hierarchy, but as it stands, will forever be a cult classic that only die-hard slasher fans will enjoy.
There is no doubt in my mind that Synapse Films has done everything in their power to restore this film to high quality, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that, even on Blu-ray, the dark scenes are almost entirely without detail. The physical film itself also has some dirty spots that have not (or could not have) been cleaned away in this transfer. Judging from the quality of the trailers available on the Blu-ray, this transfer is a significant step up from the previously released versions of the film. Because of the age, and the fact that it was originally shot on 16 mm film (according to the directors on the commentary), this will probably be the best Death Dorm will ever look. The technical specifications include High-Definition 1080p Widescreen presentation with a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. It should be noted that even though this is a widescreen picture, there are small bars on the left and right of the image due to the 1.66:1 aspect ratio.
The audio of this transfer is about what I’ve come to expect from HD releases of films from this era. There are no glaring weaknesses in audio, and the dialogue is balanced well against the loud musical score. There are two audio options: DTS-HD MA English 2.0 Mono, and DTS-HD MA Isolated Music Track. The second option obviously contains no dialogue, only the wonderful score by Christopher Young, and a lot of silence.
DVD Copy of The Dorm That Dripped Blood: This DVD contains the same special features as the BD. The audio options are similar (Dolby Digital English 2.0 and Dolby Digital Isolated Music Track), but the picture quality is obviously lower than the BD. The difference isn’t huge, but noticeable. The DVD lists an Anamorphic Widescreen presentation with that same 1.66:1 aspect ratio.
Audio Commentary w/Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter: It’s apparent from that start that these two have been friends for quite some time. Carpenter and Obrow met in 1977 at UCLA, and The Dorm That Dripped Blood was actually one of these men’s thesis projects (which makes my upcoming thesis project look pathetic by comparison). They make mention of the success the actors in the film, and the production crew, has had since filming whenever applicable, showing their gratitude and support for their friends. This is one of the most insightful commentaries I have ever listened to. Because the film was a thesis project, the two directors were still learning as they were shooting this film, and that process is talked about extensively. There are a load of interesting anecdotes and insight into early ’80s film-making, making this an absolute must for fans of the film.
“My First Score” – Featurette (8:11): As mentioned, the score by Christopher Young is undoubtedly the best thing about this film. This feature is an interview with Young, and he sheds a lot of light onto the project that was The Dorm That Dripped Blood. This is a highly recommended featurette.
“My First Slasher” – Featurette (9:28): Make-up FX creator Matthew Mungle is interviewed, and he talks about how he came to work on his first slasher film. The group created the trailer before they made the feature film, like is seen nowadays to try and raise money for independent films. Mungle says he spent $1,800 to make all the FX for the film, which is only one of the many facts he reveals. Once one gets past the fact that the green screen artist makes the back portion of Mungle’s head disappear, this is a great feature.
Original The Dorm That Dripped Blood Theatrical Trailer (1:26): If I were alive in the early 80s, during this slasher craze, I would have absolutely been at the theatre to see this movie. This is an effective trailer, but also manages to give away most of the exciting parts of the plot.
Original Pranks Theatrical Trailer (1:53): A bit longer than the trailer above, and it plays on the Pranks title a lot at the start. Uses a lot of the same footage as the previous trailer, but manages to give even more away.
Reversible Cover Art with Alternate Artwork: The BD cover itself is reversible, with the default side containing The Dorm That Dripped Blood cover art, and the reverse side having Pranks cover art. The Pranks cover art is well done, with the films most famous weapon – the nail-encrusted baseball bat – on the front.
Fans of The Dorm That Dripped Blood/Death Dorm/Pranks are in for a treat with this BD release, but more thanks to the extras than the HD transfer. The audio commentary is excellent, and the short featurettes are just as interesting. That cult fan base will appreciate the added bits of gore in this Director’s Cut, but aside from this small sect, only the most ravenous slasher fans will enjoy this Dorm That Dripped Blood Blu-ray release.
Synapse Films presents The Dorm That Dripped Blood. Directed by: Jeffrey Obrow & Stephen Carpenter. Starring: Laurie Lapinski, Stephen Sachs, David Snow, Pamela Holland, Dennis Ely, Woody Roll, & Daphne Zuniga. Written by: Stephen Carpenter, Jeffrey Obrow, & Stacey Gaichino. Running time: 88 minutes. Rating: Not Rated. Released on Blu-ray: April 26, 2011.
