Jun 23, 2024

Pledge Night (1988)



A pledge is killed during "Hell Week" of 1969. Now Sid's back - and he's going to make the Greeks pay.





































CHARACTERS
RATING: ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 8/10

REVIEW: I have to deduct points for a rocky start. The entire first half is devoid of kills with minimal sleaze. It spends way too much time focusing on the various pranks and hazing. But once it gets going, it gets going. It's a little too tongue-in-cheek and self-referential - an unfortunate trait among slasher films at the latter end of the eighties, culminating in Scream, the most self-referential of them all - which leads to Cabin in the Woods, Tucker & Dale, Final Girl, etc. For a while it seemed like there were more self-referential commentaries on slasher films than actual slasher films. But I digress. Anyway, the film doesn't take itself seriously and is just there to provide a wild, sexy, gory ride - and that it does. I suspect that one of the reasons it didn't do too well was its delayed release. It was actually filmed in 1988 and really didn't get a full release until 1990. By then, the already dwindling interest in slasher films had evaporated.  It also had a lot of the gore cut - it was submitted to the MPAA five times and the more explicit moments of gore had to be substantially toned down in order to secure an R rating.  I wonder how this film would have done with a timely release and with gore scenes intact. 


SYNOPSIS

The Phi Epsilon Nu fraternity hazing has begun in full force for Hell Week. The pledges have to pick up a cherry with their bare ass. Then, they have to eat the cherries! "Swallow the spoils of war." The pledges have stay in this crummy room and are basically tortured day in and day out. In the evening they have some fun at a local bar. Ronna Larsen plays the stripper who takes her top off. These guys are out of control maniacs. Seeing the stripper, they pile on each other and start dry humping. A couple of the guys take a girl (Cassandra Delaney) upstairs at the request of the fraternity head: "Why don't you take your lady friend up to the Boom Boom Room". The pledges wear corn cobs around their necks because, as part of the hazing, if anyone asks them that question, the pledges are required to respond with "Pull it and find out." The other end of the string is tied to their junk, and, well... you get it. Both guys get a squeeze of the girl in the Boom Boom Room.

The Backstory: In 1969 the fraternity hazing involved a bathtub full of various gross ingredients; the pledges would have to get in it. A pledged named Sid (Anthrax singer Joey Belladonna) got in the tub and died, because one of the ingredients was acid. As is tradition, the Gamma Gamma Gamma girls help make this vile concoction: Sandy (Suzanne Dean), Wendy (Shannon McMahon) and Connie (Cecelia Wilde). Sid has returned as "Acid Sid". One of the pledges is sitting on the throne, when Sid's hand emerges beneath him. Sandy takes a bath, and pledge Dan (Arthur Lundquist) enters the room and plugs a radio into the socket. He's become possessed by Sid. He throws the radio into the tub and she's electrocuted - writhing violently.

Next, Dan moves on to Connie. He ties her wrists to a pole in the kitchen, and kills her by drilling into her mouth with an egg beater. J.D. hears the screaming and runs into the kitchen and finds Connie dead. Wendy returns to the frat house with groceries. She finds Cassie as well. Wendy tells the pledges what's happened - but they're not sure whether this is just another Hell Week prank. Meanwhile, Sid is coming out of Dan's chest. The next ten minutes are pledges running to and fro, chased by Sid. Wendy and Bonner (Todd Eastland) pair up to stand against Sid. Bonner has been a central figure among the pledges - the only one with any morals or character. Wendy saves the day by turning the fire extinguisher on Acid Sid who is destroyed.... or is he?

Like any slasher worth his salt, Sid resurrects and grabs Wendy. Wendy faints, and Sid puts her on the couch. Sid unbuttons Wendy's blouse as she's passed out. Bonner arrives to save Wendy. But he doesn't have to kill Sid - the monster tells him that he only returned to protect him.. and disappears. The film's epilogue features one of the frat brothers, Rex (Steven Christopher Young), fooling around with Fran (Karyn Lee). Sid appears underneath their bed and sends a sword up through them. He's back! THE END

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