Scary Story Slumber Party

Finally! I’ve seen six out of the eleven shorts in Scary Story Slumber Party and I really thought highly of them. So, when Jonathan Moody announced he’d be releasing the anthology film at Blood On The Beach, well, that became one of the main reasons I had to go – to get the film in its entirety. After watching it last night, I am still impressed by the film and wish I could give everyone a shout out. People like Chris Roll, Ricky A’lonzo, and Victor Nash & Jet Noir did so much work for the film too. I just can’t include all the talented cast and crew or you’d be reading forever. Major compliments to everyone who was involved from editors to production assistants. The fun thing about this film is cast and crew are interchangeable – almost like if MADtv was serious and put out a horror film.

In terms of quality of film for Scary Story Slumber Party, everything was great. All of the short films looked like that had a lot of hard work and dedication. I particularly enjoyed that each piece wasn’t just a “blood and guts” short. It seemed like they had a theme. For example – Backstabber, obviously a play on feelings and situations including real backstabbers; The Pledge, the cruelty the young ones put each other through now a days; Unlucky Night, the risks of booty calls and one night stands; etc. As far as likeability, some were my favorites over others, while none of them were bad. So I used a star system for the first time on my reviews. 1 through 5; 1 being suck and 5 being amazing. My only real complaint about everything is that The Slumber Party, The Dare, and Noise Complaint clearly all take place in the same house.

With all that out-of-the-way, read my mini-reviews for each segment of Scary Story Slumber Party below.

The Slumber Party – starring Amberly Pecsek, Brittney Scalf, and Jessica Dole; written and directed by Jonathan Moody… This portion of the film plays as the introduction and conclusion to the movie, as well as the interludes to move from short to short. Nothing really to say here in either direction because not a lot of action happens. ***

Bashed – starring DaNae West and Russ Bryan; written and directed by Jonathan Moody… Successfully styled after 70s film and maybe Friday The 13^th. This short begs the question, at least to me, what is to be feared more, religious zealots or a crazy woman scorned?  ***

Backstabber – starring Diane Sokolowich, Jessica Hutson, and Vince Martinez; written and directed by Jonathan Moody… Probably the shortest of all the parts of the film. It may just be a story, but in reality things like this do happen to people. Pretty good and realistic. ***

The Pledge – starring Devanny Pinn, Rachael Lang, Amberly Pecsek, Ashley Vetere, and Jessica Hutson; written by Jonathan Moody, directed by Coven Delacruz… Visually the best short of the bunch. Parts of the script were “eh” at times, but I’m really impressed by the overall production value. Major probs to the lighting guy. ****

Imaginary Friend – starring Lindy Starr, Brittney Scalf, and Mathew Moore; written and directed by Jonathan Moody… Actually a very interesting short film. Original may be a better word. Think about it, what if your imaginary friends were real? Or are the manifestations just in your head? Major probs to Moody for the creative idea. ****

Event Invitation – starring Deann Baker, Heather Dorff, Tyler Klunick, Michael Dilacova, and Travis Legge; written by Travis Legge, directed by Myke Wilson…  Ah, Facebook, I knew you would be the death of us eventually! I don’t know why, but this short reminded me of the original Prom Night, which is not a bad thing. ***

The Dare – starring Jackey Hall, Ashley Vetere, Kelly B. Lewis, and Karen Kettells; written and directed by Jonathan Moody… The creepiest out of all the shorts that make up this movie. Games like truth or dare or messing with a ouija board never end well. And the big line, “He sucks in bed for a dead guy,” is hilarious. ****

Unlucky Night – starring Sierra Holmes, Jay Gates, and Jonathan Moody; written and directed by Jonathan Moody… Pretty fun short to watch even without the horror elements. Good story, lots of drama, terrific acting. Also, the threat of castration is scarier to me than the threat of having my kidneys stolen. *****

Valentine’s Prey – starring Devanny Pinn, Faron Brown, and Jonathan Moody; written and directed by Jonathan Moody… Best performance of the entire film is in this short by none other than Devanny Pinn. Although, the hit with the iron is sort of sloppy on both parts. And…is “Your Mine” a blooper? Is it supposed to be “You’re Mine?” I think I just stumbled on a global conspiracy in vday candy. ***

Capture and Kill – starring Eleanor Drew, Jesalyn White, Christopher J Duncan, Mikiah Umbertis, and Daniel Taraschke; written and directed by Johnny Johnson… My only big note for this short is that it reminds me of Wrong Turn. This is what I pictured happening to me while leaving New Jersey for the first time and driving through Delaware. This short raises a lot of questions – what happened? What is with the blaring siren? Are they on a compound of some sort? Hopefully Johnny Johnson visits this again in the future. ****

Noise Complaint – starring Diane Sokolowich, Ricky D’Alonzo, Brittney Scalf, Jonathan Moody, Amberly Pecsek, and Lindy Starr; written and directed by Jonathan Moody… I actually have nothing written for this short. Wasn’t bad, wasn’t great. A solid effort by everyone involved, but nothing to write home about. **.5