Screenplay

Writer-director Mark Rosman, who had attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and later graduated from New York University, got the idea for The House on Sorority Row after returning to his hometown in Los Angeles.^[4] Rosman had been a fraternity member at UCLA, which he used as a partial basis for writing the screenplay, which focused on a group of sorority sisters who find their lives threatened after covering up a fatal prank.^[5] Some elements of the film, primarily the usage of a pool to conceal their crime, were inspired by Les Diaboliques (1955), a French suspense film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot.^[6] He later stated he envisioned a suspense film in which "the female characters would not just be victims–the whole idea of it was that they were culpable, and that they were sort of bringing this on themselves".^[7] The screenplay had several working titles, including Screamer and Seven Sisters.^[8][9] Rosman initially accrued $125,000 as a starting budget, with the help of a friend who worked for VAE Productions, an independent studio that specialized in documentaries, based in Washington, D.C.^[10]

Casting

The majority of the casting for The House on Sorority Row took place in New York City, though Eileen Davidson and Janis Zido were cast out of the Los Angeles area.^[11] Davidson recalled auditioning at Rosman's house in Beverly Hills.^[12] Kate McNeil, who was cast in the role of Katey, won the part while still attending graduate courses in New York City.^[13]

Harley Jane Kozak recalled attending a casting call in a "warehouse in Manhattan" and receiving a phone call several weeks later with the news that she had won the part.^[14] Lois Kelso Hunt, who portrays the cantankerous housemother, was a local stage actress cast out of Washington, D.C.^[15]

Filming

The House on Sorority Row was the directorial debut of director Rosman as well as the first feature film of cinematographer Tim Suhrstedt. Both had met while working as assistant directors on Brian De Palma's Home Movies (1980).^[16] Filming took place on location in Pikesville, Maryland,^[14] with establishing campus shots at the University of Maryland,^[17] in the summer of 1981.^[14][18] The production had originally been slated to shoot in Washington, D.C., where the production company was located. However, Rosman found the house location featured in the film in Pikesville, which was in foreclosure, allowing the crew to film for a low cost.^[19] Upon arriving at the house to shoot, the crew found two squatters living in the house, who they allowed to work as video assistants.^[20] Vincent Peranio, a frequent collaborator with John Waters, agreed to serve as the film's production designer, and dressed the entire house to appear as a sorority.^[21]

The budget for the film was $300,000.^[22] However, the production ran out of funds midway through filming, and Rosman had to secure a loan from a cousin in Los Angeles in order to complete the film.^[23] Throughout principal photography, the cast stayed at Koinonia, a farm retreat in Pikesville where they lived together in "dorm-like" conditions.^[14] The film was a non-Screen Actors Guild production,^[24] and Kozak and McNeil both recall receiving $50 per diem compensation for their days on set.^[14][25]

While principal photography occurred exclusively in Maryland, additional transitional shots and pickups were completed in Los Angeles.^[26] Among these included the shot of Davidson's character being impaled through the eye with the cane.^[27]

Post-production

Film Ventures International, an independent distributor, purchased the film for distribution after principal photography was complete, and also gave the filmmakers an additional $125,000 to complete post-production (the majority of which went toward scoring and mixing the film).^[28] In an interview with director Mark Rosman, it was revealed that Lois Kelso Hunt's performance is entirely dubbed, as her natural speaking voice was deemed not "scary" enough for the role of Mrs. Slater.^[1] While her demeanor and performance were apt, Rosman found her voice not as husky as he had envisioned.^[29]

According to Rosman, Film Ventures requested two changes to the final cut of the film:^[30] The first was that the opening flashback scene, which was shot in black and white, be colorized; the sequence was then color-tinted to be black and blue.^[31] The second change was in regards to the original ending. In the director's original ending, Katherine is discovered floating dead in the pool, apparently Eric's final victim. Film Ventures felt the ending too downbeat, so as a result Katherine survives in the finished version.^[1]

Music

The film's music score was written by Richard Band and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra,^[19] recorded at Wembley Studios.^[32] The Washington, D.C.-based powerpop band 4 Out of 5 Doctors appears in the movie, performing several of their songs.^{[citation needed]}

La-La Land Records issued a disc of Band's score in 2015.^{[citation needed]}

Box office

During its wide release opening weekend in January 1983, the film earned $617,661 showing on 153 screens, ranking a low number 15 at the box office. However, the film jumped to number 1 and grossed nearly $10 million in its second weekend.^[2] Its ultimate gross totaled $10,604,986. The film was released in the United Kingdom in December 1983 under the title House of Evil.^[37]

Another account says its rentals were $3.8 million.^[38]

Critical response

During a 1982 theatrical run of the film, critic Anthony DellaFlora of the Albuquerque Journal wrote of the film: "[Horror films] are supposed to put you in a state of unmitigated terror. This one does neither. The House on Sorority Row may have brought new meaning to the term "Greek tragedy", but it certainly didn't scare anyone. Mark Rosman, who produced, directed and wrote the alleged thriller must take most of the blame for this".^[39] Lou Cedrone of The Baltimore Sun felt that there were "no surprises" or mystery in the film, adding that "the movie, bad as it is, is great fun if you are part of an audience that talks back to it".^[40] Stephen Hunter, also of the Baltimore Sun, felt the film was similarly predictable, but noted that "technically, the strongest element in the production is the photography, which is keen-edged, brightly colored and evocative", comparing it to the film of Rainer Werner Fassbinder.^[41]

Film scholar Adam Rockoff notes that the film was frequently compared to the films of Brian De Palma upon release, as Rosman had previously worked as an assistant for De Palma.^[42] Frank Hagen, published in the Standard-Speaker, favorably compared the film to the works of De Palma and Alfred Hitchcock, adding that it is "cuts above the routine rip-and-slash fare... Rosman knows how to maintain suspense and deliver a shock or two".^[43] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times praised the film as a "skillfully made horror picture that builds suspense and terror in which obligatory gore is presented with surprising restraint", ultimately deeming it a "promising debut from writer-director Rosman".^[44] The Daily Press's Henry Edgar echoed this sentiment, writing that the film favors suspense over gore, noting it as a "quality" thriller, and praising the performances of McNeil and Davidson, describing them as "credible" and "cunning, and realistic", respectively.^[45]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, The House on Sorority Row holds a 50% approval rating based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 5.23/10.^[46] Film scholar Scott Aaron Stine notes that the film has "competent production values, but this in no way compensates for the rote proceedings".^[47] John Kenneth Muir refers to the film as "a textbook example of the 1980s slasher film" that "boasts a devilish sense of humor".^[48] Critic Jim Harper notes the film as a moralistic slasher film and probable influence on films such as I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).^[49]

In 2017, Complex included the film in a retrospective of the best slasher films of all time.^[50] In a May 2018 retrospective published by Inquisitr, the film was deemed "a disturbing tale of revenge that plays as timely social commentary" and noted it as a horror film that "has stood the test of time".^[51]

Home media

Elite Entertainment released The House on Sorority Row on DVD in November 2000.^[52] The disc featured the film's original theatrical trailer as a supplementary feature. The DVD was re-printed and released again on November 18, 2003.^[53] It was again re-released on January 12, 2010 to commemorate the film's 25th anniversary.^[54]

Scorpion Releasing and Katarina's Nightmare Theater released a remastered edition on a 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo in January 2011.^[55] Scorpion Releasing and Code Red released a new Blu-ray edition on May 11, 2018, featuring a new 2K scan of the original master negative.^[56] This edition, sold exclusively online and limited to 1,600 units,^[57] features a slipcover and newly commissioned artwork.^[56]