Sorority Row

Ah, CRY WOLF – very underrated, underappeciated whodunnit for all the same reasons APRIL FOOLS DAY was – heck, felt like a companion flick. But I digress. Actor from that film, Julian Morris stars in SORORITY ROW (2009), and speaks about the redux:

Were you familiar with the original House on Sorority Row, and, if so, how faithful is this remake?

I had heard about the original, but it wasn’t a movie I had seen. When I read the script for the new one, I watched the older version and have in fact met the original writer and director, Mark Rosman. He actually came to set a number of days when we were filming the new one. He’s a huge supporter of the new one, which is a totally different animal. Characters are being changed and the killer is different. The new version is definitely contemporized.

Who do you play in the film and how does he get sucked into all the chaos going on?

I play Andy, the boyfriend of the lead girl, Cassidy, and at first, I see her in this awful sorority house with these awful sorority sisters. He doesn’t know about their prank gone wrong, so I’m not sure why she’s trying to distance herself from the sorority. Being the good boyfriend, I give her my support. I’m also the valedictorian. I give a speech and initiate the graduation ceremony. Of course, when the serial killer starts striking, I’m the one who has to save my girlfriend.

The guilty pleasures of many horror movies are the gruesome deaths. Which one made you squirm the most?

I don’t know if it’s because the writers of the script are sick or the director is sicker but this one is really good. A lot of the deaths involve a slight edge or dark twist of humor. It makes them all the more perverse and worse. My favorite one involves Margo Harshman’s character Chugs who is seeing her psychiatrist and having an affair with him. Of course, it’s not the therapist who is there but the killer. I don’t want to give it away but it’s fantastic. My death is pretty good as well.

Is the whodunit aspect as important as the gore?

For this type of film and genre, it often is. The great thing about Sorority Row is it’s a horror, but not in the same vein as Hostel or Saw, where it’s gratuitous violence. It harkens back to the genre pieces of the ‘90s, like I Know What You Did Last Summer or Scream, where you have that humor running through it. It’s slightly self defacing and self referential. Particularly for these films, the whodunit aspect is vital. That’s very true for Sorority Row where you are wondering who did it and how the killer knew about the prank. Is it one of them? An outsider? Are they from the sorority house? A lot of these sorority sisters are awful people so when they are killed, you really enjoy it. In a way, you are rooting for whoever is behind this mask and graduation gown. It’s also thrilling when you have the reveal to see who it is.

In Cry Wolf, the deaths were mainly smoke and mirrors, so how much corn syrup did you have to deal with for Sorority Row?

A lot. It’s funny but Cry Wolf was pretty tame in comparison, but at the time I didn’t think it was. There is a lot of corn syrup in this one and it does have an R rating.

Source: FearNet

The official site for SORORITY ROW (2009) recently opened at the well-named thetapi-ordie.com – not much there right now but I did catch this clear look of the new birdcane! Although it isn’t as prominent weapon as in the original (who wants a straight repeat anyway, certainly not I), it fills me with warmth inside to see shots like this – look, it’s even got the gold head!

About 10 years ago I made a custom Eric Slater action figure complete with birdcane, until someone “cleaning up” my room accidently broke the gold head off. I gotta glue that shit back on sometime.

But I digress – birdcane = goodness. Keep an eye on Retro Slashers as we’ve tapped SORORITY ROW for Special Coverage – we recently conducted an Exclusive Interview with pretty cast member Margo Harshman.

Took me a while to digest the trailer for SORORITY ROW (2009). While HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW (1983) is my favorite retro slasher, this redux is one of the increasing number of “requels” – remakes that feel more like sequels. At the very least I’ll be watching to play catch-out on a number of confirmed references back to the original that only fans like us would catch, like “sea pig” and the bird cane.

Like My Bloody Valentine 3D, the House On Sorority Row redux is one I’m interested in. The original is my absolute favorite retro slasher, but my eyes are not clouded by unmatchable nostalgia here. The title has been shortened to simply Sorority Row, hopefully the film won’t carry the usual remake stigma. A pretty big ball in its court is that the screenwriter Josh Stolberg is a huge fan of the classic and can prove it beyond the standard Hollywood lip service.

Q: Many fans have been wondering, will the famous “I’m a sea pig” be there in the remake?

A: As it’s my favorite line in the original film, I’d be surprised if you didn’t see it in there.

Q: How did you manage to get Mark Rosman on board this project?

A: Mark owned the rights to the film, so any kind of remake or re-imagining had to go through him. Which is how he came aboard as a producer on the project. It makes me happy that he’s attached because I’d hate to think we were going in a direction that he disapproved of.

Q: Did any of the original cast and crew give and send you their blessings for remaking the 1983 classic?

A: Aside from Mark, I haven’t had any contact with any of the original participants. I actually tried to get in touch with Kate McNeil at one point to tell her it was happening. For a while I was thinking that she may be interested in playing the part of the house-mother (I know she still acts, as well as teaches), but when the studio decided to stunt cast, I knew it wouldn’t work out. Unfortunately, the only sizable “adult” role is Carrie Fisher’s part — we focus almost entirely on the college kids. I DO have a really cool original, foreign poster that Mark hadn’t even ever seen so I’m hoping to have her sign it at some point. I hope they invite the original girls to the premiere.

Read a lot more insight at Josh’s Blog.