Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988)

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988)
AKA The Imp, Beast You!

Starring Andras Jones, Linnea Quigley, Robin Stille, Hal Havins, John Stuart Wildman, Brinke Stevens, Michelle Bauer, Kathi O’Brecht, Carla Baron, George ‘Buck’ Flower, Michael Sonye

Directed by David DeCoteau

Expectations: Pretty high.

On the general scale:

On the B-movie scale:

Hmm… I thought there’d be more bowling. But despite a lack of bowling in a film boasting a “Bowl-O-Rama” in its title, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama is an absolute B-Movie gold mine. If you enjoy watching thin ’80s characters run away from demons more hilarious than scary, then this one fits the bill rather nicely. Everyone else will probably not make it past the first few minutes, but I’d say that anyone willfully sitting down to a movie titled Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama probably knows what they’re getting themselves into.

Instead of opening with sorority babes or bowling, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama opens in the dorm room of three dudes that don’t have a whole heck of a lot going on. The ultra nerd, Calvin, is watching Dreamaniac on TV, the fat guy, Jimmie, is laying back with a six-pack of brewskies, and the horny guy, Keith, is deep in an issue of Penthouse. But Keith’s got a secret up his sleeve: the location of the Delta Delta Delta (AKA Felta Delta) sorority initiation and the perfect vantage point to sneak a peek.

If this doesn’t sound like much of a horror movie, you’re right. The film is first and foremost a comedy, even when it takes a supernatural turn later on. The attacks never quite deliver scares, but they always make good on the laughs. Again, as long as you like this sort of thing. Comedy is perhaps the hardest genre to write about effectively as everyone’s tastes vary so wildly. But if you like dumb ’80s comedies and B-Horror, then you’ll definitely like Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama.

In addition to the comedy, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama delivers more than its share of ’80s male wish fulfillment. Of course, there’s the sorority babes, but there’s also whipped cream, domination, spanking, voyeurism, hazing initiations, cult rituals, extended shower scenes and locker room fantasies. They manage to pack a lot into this rather short, low-budget film, so if ’80s titillation titillates you, here’s your movie.

Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama was David DeCoteau’s third film and it is much more accomplished than his previous work. Creepozoids was a huge step up from Dreamaniac, and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama is another giant step forward. The film is often populated with nicely framed shots of the film’s nighttime mall location, with deep shadows and interesting blooms and shafts of light. This kind of film doesn’t hinge on great cinematography, but it definitely helps the film achieve an atmosphere than many low-budget horror films — especially modern ones — lack.

At this point, I don’t know that there’s much else I could say to sway anyone one way or the other. This is the type of movie you either like or you don’t, and I really dug it. Like a perfect, decadent piece of candy, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama is pure fun.