Director Sally Mattison and screenwriter Catherine Cyran eschew the usual playful humor that distinguished the first two immensely enjoyable films in this series in favor of a much darker, more harsh, and unpleasant approach to relating the standard story of an all-girls slumber party that's savagely crashed by a vicious killer brandishing an enormous power drill. The violence this time is extremely gory and sadistic, with the killer's distaff victims getting offed in assorted grisly and appalling ways (an electrocution by vibrator rates as the definite alarming highlight). The handsome and outwardly charming Brittain Frye makes for an unusual and interesting choice as the murderous Ken, who's the angry and unstable victim of sexual abuse by his police officer uncle. The gals are spunky and attractive, with stand-out contributions from Keely Christian as the cute and appealing Jackie Cassidy, the adorable Hope Marie Carlton as the cheery Janine, and Maria Ford as the foxy Maria, who sports a massive hairdo and bares her breasts prior to suffering a brutal and disturbing near rape by Ken and then meeting an especially gruesome untimely end. Moreover, the tone is quite grim and mean-spirited, with the deceptively breezy and lighthearted opening giving way to a much more cruel, twisted, and no-holds-barred ferocious sensibility that's anything but silly or inoffensive. It's this latter take-no-prisoners gritty and unflinching edge that in turn makes this slice'n'dice outing a movie that's deserving of greater respect and appraisal for boldly breaking away from the generally inane and innocuous mindset that was the prevalent attitude of the series prior to this last, most serious, and truly upsetting installment.

Teenage girls decide to have a slumber party which is interrupted(..to put it mildly)by a deranged madman whose mania derives from his sexual abuse as a child at the hands of his uncle.Third film in the series shows how tired the formula has become. Nothing at all fresh or original, even the killer's weapon of choice(..the cordless power drill)has become passé. The girls(..including bombshell Maria Ford)are all eye candy in their sleepover clothes, even if the actresses portraying them are unable to transcend their one-note characters. Basically, the film shows some of the girls having a beach hangout with their male friends from school. Juliette(Lulu Wilson)is enamored with a handsome blond, Kenny(Brittain Frye, in a dreadful performance)inviting him to the slumber party later that night..major catastrophic decision. The film presents two red herrings, a strange next door neighbor(Michael Harris) to Diane(Brandi Burkett), the one holding the slumber party, and an oddball staring at them at the beach(Yan Birch). I think no one will be fooled because it's just too obvious.But, the problem I have with this film(..despite the frustratingly questionable acts by the girls when up against the psychopath who locks them inside the house)is that the menace isn't the least bit convincing thanks in part to the performance of Frye. And, this guy is hit over the head by two lamps and a glass dish, is stabbed through the leg with a fireplace poker, with his eyes doused with floor cleaner, yet the girls still can not subdue him! There's one sequence which infuriated me..three girls, after the killer's eyes have been blinded, watch one of their own get her shirt ripped off and drilled to death without even attempting to help her! And, even when they do subdue him, the girls allow him to get free! You just want to pick up a heavy stone and clunk them over the heads! Anyway, the girls' boys are unable to stop him either, which makes this film hard to swallow because the killer isn't very imposing, except for his drill. The strength in numbers, even after they discover he's the wacko, fail to join forces to surround and cease him. They just disperse in all directions, with chaos as a result, the killer allowed to hunt each down, the drill doing some serious damage. Besides the drill boring through victims, there's little else that potent in the ultra-violence department. The murders are sadistic(..one victim's Achilles heel is sawed into with a chainsaw, another is stabbed in the chest by a "For Sale" sign post), but die-hard slasher fans have seen much worse. Maria Ford and Lulu Wilson shows us some flesh, so that's nice(..although Ford's mistreatment at the hands of the killer is pretty harsh). The motive for the killer to randomly kill women(..and the men who get in his way)is rather limp.

With part 2 of the series being such an off-the-wall experience (the psycho is a rock 'n' roll singer with a deadly guitar), it's a real shame to discover that the third chapter in the Slumber Party Massacre series is little more than a predictable formulaic slasher.Once again, a bunch of hot girls spend the evening together playing truth or dare, swilling champagne, dancing, and canoodling with their boyfriends (who naturally drop by to join in the fun), only to have their partying interrupted by a demented maniac brandishing a large power tool (a massive cordless drill - one of my favourite slasher weapons).Those familiar with the sub-genre should know exactly what to expect from this effort: gratuitous nudity from the big-haired babes, some lame pranks perpetrated by the boys, plenty of blood (but not really much in the way of decent effects), dumb policemen who won't lift a finger to help, a boring sex scene, a bath scene, and a red herring or two. What did surprise me, however, was that the identity of the killer was revealed halfway through the film rather than being left as a surprise for the end.Still, there are plenty worse examples of the genre out there (this one has a high 'cheese' factor which makes it quite bearable), and at least it sees fit to include a death by vibrator - not something you see very often in a horror film (don't get too excited, though - it's thrown in the bath and electrocutes the victim).

"Slumber Party Massacre 3" is one of the better slashers from the late 80s.**SPOILERS**Following a day at the beach, Jackie Cassidy, (Keely Christian) and her friends Diane, (Brandi Burkett) Janine, (Hope Marie Carlton) Susie, (Maria Claire) Maria, (Maria Ford) and Juliette, (Lulu Wilson) decide to go back to her house for a sleepover. As they party away the night, their friends Michael, (Devon Jenkin) Tom, (David Kriegel) and Frank, (David Lawrence) decide to crash the festivities, and soon after Ken Whitehouse, (Brittain Frye) an ex-boyfriend, shows up to win back his ex. As the is then filled with all of them partying, they soon discover that a mysterious killer is among them and taking the group out one-by-one with a gigantic power drill. Realizing the killer's identity, they all try to get away before succumbing to the maniac.The Good News: As far as cheesy 80s slashers go, this one isn't that bad with some good parts to it. From the kooky dance numbers at the party to the slumber party antics and atmosphere that soon turns into a wild group dance and eventual striptease and special effects, it feels like an 80s slasher for most of the time. These are quite fun and actually add an air of coherence to the other ones, which were pretty similar in that aspect. These are really fun to watch and are actually rather interesting, especially at the point where they all stay together and goof around. The gore itself isn't that bad for an 80s film and is mostly relegated to the drill boring through the bodies, mostly all the way through the body and out, leaving behind impressive wounds that are really dripping with viscera. This one also provides a couple of others that are non-drill related, where a real estate post is stabbed in the chest, a power saw slices through a person's ankles, another is whacked in the head with a sledgehammer and another has a live dildo placed into their bath-water, electrocuting them. That there's a lot more blood on display is really nice, making the kills that much more effective and fun for the gore-hounds who enjoy it. The big part is the spectacular final chases, which are just over-the-top and fun, with plenty of chasing, screaming and tons of bloodied bodies thrown apart. The house gives itself quite naturally with lots of rooms and hallways for that, and it is a great location to do this. Add in a nicely done, erotic sex scene and a healthy dose of one-liners, this one is relatively enjoyable.The Bad News: This one wasn't that bad, but there are some problems with it. The fact that most of the kills are done the same way, with the drill rammed through a body part, mostly the stomach, is somewhat of a problem. It's not original, it's not creative and doesn't have very many opportunities to distinguish itself from the other slashers out there. Rather than doing something with it, this one has nothing come from the kills as they're all done the same way and don't go anywhere, with the killing weapon and the amount of blood unleashed being the differences, and it really would've been better had a few more got knocked off with some other form of weapon, as those were pretty good and broke up the monotony of seeing all the kills done in the same manner. Another one is the fact with the subplot with the beach weirdo isn't handled really well. It's fairly obvious that it's a red herring, but the insistence upon trying to make it more serious with the same method is really troublesome, and it doesn't really need to be there other than add to the body count. The last flaw would be the cheese level. It might not be for some who want it to be more of a serious case film, and for it to be such less serious could be a detriment. Otherwise, this here is just decent.The Final Verdict: One of the better entries in the series, this one is a real blast and is really fun, especially for the really big cheese-fans. Recommended mainly to them, as well as the fans of the first two in the series as well as 80s slashers, while this one won't be really enjoyed for those who aren't big fans of the others.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Graphic Language and a mild sex scene