The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982)

Studio: CAV/Synapse Films
Theatrical Release: April 1982
Blu Ray Release: April 26, 2011
Not Rated

Review by James Klein

Synapse Films goes out of their way to rescue a rare slasher film from the 1980's that has sunk into VHS oblivion until now. I saw The Dorm That Dripped Blood under the title Pranks years ago on VHS and the picture was so dark and murky, I couldn't make out half of what was going on in the film. The Dorm That Dripped Blood is now presented fully uncut for the first time ever with a completely new sound mix as well as all the gore effects re-inserted back in. To make matters a bit more confusing, the movie is presented as Death Dorm which means that there are three titles to this film. The blu ray/DVD combo is loaded with extras and even comes with a reversible cover so you can display it under The Dorm That Dripped Blood or Pranks. With all of this effort Synapse has put into this film, it's sad to say that the actual movie isn't all that great and I can see why this has been a forgotten film.

It's close to Christmas vacation at this college and one of the dorms is going to be torn down over the vacation. A group of students have volunteered to help in the clean up department and stay at school while most of the students and faculty have left. While they do their clean up, they are slowly knocked off one by one by an unseen killer. Could the killer be the older janitor? Can it be this strange sleazebag who has his eye on Joanne, our main heroine? Or is it that creepy half-wit guy who looks like Richard Simmons?

The film was shot on a real low budget and it's very obvious. Some of the dorm doors are marked with chalk, the lighting is awful and hides some of the actors faces at times, some of the dialogue can either be groan-inducing or laughable. Basically it's an 80's slasher film with an even lower budget than most. The film however isn't without some good merits. The music by composer Christopher Young (Hellraiser) is very good, the make up effects are done well, and it is nice to see a very young Daphne Zuniga in an all too brief role as a college student who meets a quick demise.

For fans of the obscure or fans of 80's slasher films, The Dorm That Dripped Blood may be worth a look and there is no better way of seeing this than the above average blu ray disc that Synapse has issued.