Die Die Delta Pi

Awful, charmless, amateur, inane, lousy, inept, tedious, failure. But other than that, great stuff.

The attempt at nostalgia for 1980s horror films is a total failure here. The dialogue, especially, is laughably lame. It's like someone watched a bunch of clichéd 1980s parodies and lifted words out of that. Whatever charm those old films had is completely absent here.

Yes, it's a very low budget attempt at a movie. And I suppose the effects should be consider "okay" given that, but "low budget" is not a valid excuse for a movie being so bad. If you can't make a movie and make it right, then don't make it at all.

At least it's short!

This film begins in 1986 with a sorority known as Delta Pi having their usual initiation before the new school season begins. Ignoring the fact that a serial killer is reported to be on the loose, the sisters of Delta Pi decide to have their annual bonfire outside and use this opportunity to play a prank on one particular student named "Marissa Chambers" (Olivia Blake). Unfortunately, something goes wrong, and Marissa is left horribly burned in the process. Meanwhile, the serial killer is also quite busy with several murders back on campus. The scene then shifts to the present day with one particular college student named "Diana Parker" (Kristin Avery) seeking to pledge to the Delta Pi sorority. Since her mother "Donna Parker" (Andrea Alfonso) was a former member 27 years earlier, this makes it easier for her to join. However, what Diana doesn't know is that her mother was there when Marissa was injured and, upon seeking to join the sorority, the killings start happening all over again. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was clearly a low-budget production and it suffered from the usual limitations as a result. The acting was generally weak, and the special effects could have used some improvement as well. Likewise, some of the camera angles weren't that good either. In short, this was a cheap slasher film which could have been better with sufficient financing. However, since that clearly wasn't the case, I have to rate this movie accordingly. Below average.

The mid eighties, a killer is on the lose and a sorority initiation involving silly-string goes wrong burning a girl to death. Cut to present day and the murders start again...

Directors Sean Donohue and Christopher Leto offer a love letter of sorts to the Slumber Party series and endless high-school massacre slasher films. Die Die Delta PI's eye catching cover art harks back to the 70s and early 80s hay days of slasher flicks. If choppy indie low budget slasher films float your boat this is for you.

Donohue's story is another revenge slasher flick with a shock ending that you really don't need me to tell you about. Let's put some of the acting, continuity, sound and lighting design to one side for a moment, everyone are certainly trying their hardest. Opening in spring 1986 then shifting to present day it tries to equal its peers with the slasher sub- genre perfect ingredients: 1. A high body count and 2: Nudity (Roxy Vandiver fans will be pleased). However, due to its execution and budget restraints it never reaches the highs of the films it emulates. That said, it's packed with gratuitous T & A, paddle spanking, bikinis and plenty of fake claret as a hooded figure picks off (the varying acting talents of) the characters one by one.

The cast include Christine Bell, Olivia Blake as Marissa Chambers and the talents of Keisha Burchard and Madison Conradis to name a few. Some of the actors deliver writer Arturo Portillo's lines better than others. The clever casting of the 80s actors to there present day counterparts deserve a mention, actors Donna Parker and Bianca Allaine spring to mind, Shade Burnett's Katherine Jordan and Marcus Koch's inventive effects are notable.

While Donohue and Leto's offering is very rough around the edges, keep telling yourself this is a very low budget horror, there's some good editing, plenty of bras, boobs and blood. Probably best viewed with a lot of alcohol and a group of friends until the cops turn up just like in the film.

After arriving at a college, a woman and her friends decide to pledge to her mother's old sorority after hearing it's going to be reopened decades after a tragedy on campus but as they prepare for the initiation a killer seeking revenge for the incident starts killing them one-by-one.

This was a pretty solid and fun indie slasher. Among the better aspects here is the straightforward and simplistic storyline that really plays into the old-school formula rather well. The lengthy opening flashback that shows life at the old sorority including the initial accident during the bonfire and the resultant massacre that takes place off-screen but still has some fun stumbling upon the bodies sets up both potential suspects. That the present-day material involving the daughter of the pledge who had been involved in the accident comes into the stories about her parents' involvement and their connection to everything going on makes this one quite fun. There's also a lot to like with the rather fun cheesy stalking scenes. The first encounter in the asylum where the killer strikes the staff in an attempt to wipe out the old witness is a fine sequence to get this started, while the attack at the campus room starts this one towards the frantic finale in fine form. This has quite a lot to like where it rampages through the cast in a frantic manner where the majority of the deaths occur in rapid fashion with some rather enjoyable indie-style gore brought about due to the suddenness of the attacks and ambushes that play out. Combined with a fine sleaze level here with some fine nudity, there's a lot to enjoy about it. The film does have some detriments. The main drawback to be had here concerns the rather stilted and underwhelming pace that leaves a lot of the film dealing with life on the campus. Rather than dealing with the killer going through the students one-by-one, this one tends to spend a lot of time on build-up rather than slaughter with the group hanging out for the initiation ritual or the guys trying to get their stash together. This all leaves the rampage until the final twenty minutes which is a bit uneven for a slasher film of this type which also goes along with the rushed ending that goes by incredibly quickly due to this uneven setup. Combined with the obvious low-budget indie production, these are what hold this one down.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, and Full Nudity.

Die Die Delta Pi starts things of with a 1980s horror vibe.

A prank at a sorority bonfire goes bad and a nerdy bookworm is accidentally injured. Another person is killing people at the sorority house while the bonfire is going on.

We then advance to modern times where a mother is dropping her daughter off for college, the same college where the accident and murders had occured years before.

The same sorority is pledging new members. One of the current members is aware of the sororities past incident. She learns one of the pledges is a legacy whose mother was in the sorority at the time of the murders.

Die Die Delta Pi is a fun independent horror film. With a fairly enjoyable cast. I like Amethist Young the best. Much of the female cast is very attractive too! Marcus Koch does a good job with the special effects. I have already seen his work in a few previous indie horror films. This is my first Sean Donohue film. I enjoyed this enough that I will check out some more of his work.