Sadly, I think director Alex Pucci’s grindhouse slasher film entitled “Frat House Massacre” will just be mistaken for other shelf fillers out on the market, and that’s a damn shame. A few years ago when we finally had the chance to pop in Alex Pucci’s throwback to seventies revenge thrillers, we were floored. Finally after a few years of touting the film to websites, Mr. Pucci’s slasher revenge thriller gets the treatment it deserves by Synapse Films. They pull out all of the stops for this re-release of “Frat House Massacre” enlisting 5.1 Surround Sound, and a bevy of extras including two new commentary tracks and a Making Of featurette.
If readers remember we hyped this film in a few of our articles if only because director Alex Pucci was able to get out of the depths of the indie horror comedy and deliver a straight forward original slasher film that invoked the seventies ambience to deliver something of an innovative horror film for slasher fans alike. “Frat House Massacre” is given the royal treatment and subjected to repeated viewings it’s still a damn good slasher film that strives in delivering one of the more unique premises in a horror film I’ve seen in a while. Brothers Sean and Bobby are parted by a coma after brother Bobby ventures out on his own and suffers a tragic car crash. After a few years Sean seeks his education at the local college and runs afoul a murderous fraternity on campus who delights in torturing their respective brothers and brutally murdering anyone they suspect will turn tail and betray their trust.
Through this director Pucci is able to maintain much of the seventies decorum by donning a lot of retro fashion and keeping up with the lingo of the decade as loyally as possible. This gives “Frat House Massacre” the vibe that this is some lost gem that was forgotten in the decade which the gloss and vibe add to, respectively. Much like Ti West’s “The House of the Devil,” Alex Pucci commits to the era and it pays off in spades. The performances for this production are remarkable as Pucci is able to keep his cast committed to their own roles in this intricate plan of revenge, and along the way what starts as a college thriller morphs in to layers with other sub-genres showing their faces.
“Frat House Massacre” works as a slasher, a whodunnit, and revenge thriller all at once and when Pucci is able to, he combines all three concepts in to one slaughterific piece of horror fodder that will please folks in the mood for a good hack and slash flick. To top that off there is the delightfully devious performance by scream queen Niki Rubin who plays the evil Diana, the sorority girl with a mysterious link to the murders being dealt on the campus. Alex Pucci has really advanced as a director from his last film “Camp Daze,” and he offers up a truly great slasher film that will whet the appetites of anyone in the mood for a non-traditional fixture of the sub-genre and then some. A few years later, director Alex Pucci’s slasher film is still one of the finest indie offerings I’ve seen in years. A nostalgic and innovative twist on the whodunit revenge film, “Frat House Massacre” is given a royal treatment suitable for any self respecting slasher geek.