A piece of dirt slasher film, lacking even that elementary 'veneer' or level of polish which makes it look like a sophisticated film. Instead this looks like just what it is, a cheap-as-chips slasher effort with a routine plot, no memorable twists or surprises, and some shoddy gore effects thrown in during a desperate attempt to entertain the horror crowd. God, if only this cheesy film wasn't so boring, it might even have been kind of fun, as we watch an unknown killer going around bumping off various uninteresting characters for the duration of the film. In fact, the only imagination here comes from the variety of the weapons wielded by the psycho, ranging from an electric drill to a garrote, an axe, a knife, a car, and even a deep fat frier. Sadly either the rather poor gore effects are nevertheless cut by those butchers at the BBFC, making the Vipco re-release an almost pointless exercise.The cast is a bunch of unknowns who act like amateurs, and as is usual for these affairs, the only person of note is the lead. Here it's the slim and pretty Daphne Zuniga (THE FLY II), appearing in her first motion picture, if you can call it that. She's marginally less annoying than most scream queens you'll have the opportunity of seeing if you're a horror fan. Amusing supporting characters include a bonehead jock, a weirdo-type with frizzy hair, a strange guy who would rather hunt around in a skip than watch his wife strip off her nightie, and some typically dumb cops.Although the run time is only eighty minutes, it seems like an age as the murders are spaced out too far and nothing happens in between. Most of it takes place in the dark in depressing locations, but the similarities with the horrific MANIAC end there. Instead this is dull and derivative through and through, not worth watching even for those with a penchant for this kind of cinema. Watch it only for the amusing hand-slicing-via-knife nightmare opening shot.

"The Dorm That Dripped Blood" follows a group of four college coeds who are staying behind on campus to help clean out an old dormitory hall that is scheduled to be demolished. As is par for the course, an unseen killer is lurking around with an arsenal of weapons— a drill gun and a spiked bat, to name a couple. Is it a local squatter wreaking havoc? Or someone else?Also released as "Pranks" and "Death Dorm" in the '80s, "The Dorm That Dripped Blood" is one of the darker entries in the genre, and has been something of a lost film for decades now. It was infamously chopped up by censors, and even the restored Blu-ray edition, which is the most complete version of the film to date, is sourced from secondary materials. While the film's rocky release history adds to the allure of the picture, what we have here is actually a solid slasher flick that is dripping with atmosphere; the cold, foreboding concrete dormitory setting lends the film one of its greatest strengths, as the killer lurks in the shadowy stairwells, atop the roof, and in the cavernous basement. The film was written and directed by UCLA students Jeffrey Obrow and Stephen Carpenter (Carpenter is behind the popular television series "Grimm" these days), and the direction is stylish and gritty, while the script makes some creative spins on slasher conventions; we don't have your typical villain walking around with a butcher knife here. The industrial theme of the killer's murder weapons seems to take influence from "The Toolbox Murders", and the film is also rather similar to that one in terms of tone as well— both are darker and more abrasive than the average slasher fare. Unlike some of the more visually polished campus slashers of the era ("The House on Sorority Row" and "Final Exam" come to mind), "The Dorm That Dripped Blood" tends to trade gloss and comic relief for a general mirthlessness. The cast is made up of unknowns, most of whom were probably fellow film students of Obrow and Carpenter, though it does feature Daphne Zuniga in her debut screen role— Zuniga, who later became famous on "Melrose Place", would star in the sorority slasher flick "The Initiation" in 1984, though I think "Dorm" is the better film in her slasher repertoire. The twist in the film's finale is overshadowed by its remarkably downbeat ending, which was a daring yet admirable move on part of the filmmakers. The special effects here are also impressive given the film's shoestring budget, and the the killer's brutal use of the spiked baseball bat has a disturbing and effective presence on screen.Overall, "The Dorm That Dripped Blood" is an oddball among its campus slasher peers of the 1980s, but not really for bad reasons. It's conventional in the way that it's framed, but surprisingly unconventional in the tone of its contents— it's a dark and unsettling slasher film that betrays and provokes its audience with a unique sort of success. The lack of big-budget polish really works in the film's favor, providing additional atmosphere and foreboding. Highlights: Daphne Zuniga's dad getting bludgeoned with a spiked bat in the dormitory stairwell, and everything about the demoralizing conclusion. Oh, and did I mention the pressure cooker? 8/10.

Over Christmas break, a group of college friends stay behind to help prepare the dorms to be torn down and replaced by apartment buildings. To make the work a bit more difficult, a murderous, Chucks-wearing psycho is wandering the halls of the dorm, preying on the group in various violent ways.Registered as one of the 74 'video nasties' listed by the U.K. in the 1980s, The Dorm That Dripped Blood had a good reputation built up for it prior to first viewing. The term 'video nasty' strikes into mind some images of some great explicit gore, violence, sex, etc.: All the things a horror fan dreams of. So, after hearing all of that info, I settled into Pranks (alt. title) expecting a sleazy slasher experience. . . and that's what it tried to be, but failed pretty much completely. Visually, the film's not great. The cinematography, gore (except for a couple scenes), and overall direction all fail. It's simply not enjoyable to watch. The unoriginal script is lacking and often throws in random things without any real reason (like the opening kill). There are some cool death scenes, including a pretty nice face melt (which can be seen on the poster), but that's about it for the positive. The acting is pretty bad, the story seems unimportant, the killer isn't cool or scary, and it suffers the one major error that any slasher flick should always avoid: it's a bit boring. Overall, for a film done by a few UCLA film students for $90,000 (which would be over double that today), The Dorm That Dripped Blood isn't a total mess. It has a couple good things, and is fairly watchable. . . But, as a slasher flick looking to be on the level of films like The House on Sorority Row and Pieces. . . it just cannot compare. Don't expect much, and you may at least be entertained. I hate to say it, but this is one of the few films I've seen that would actually be better with a remake. . . and yet, they go after great works like Black Christmas. Oh well. . .Obligatory Horror Elements:Subgenre: SlasherViolence/Gore: There are some brutally cool kills, and the gore is okay for the most part. . . but nothing special. Also, they off-screened some of the best murders.Sex/Nudity: There's a little unappealing (to me) nudity, but not very much.Cool Killer(s): Nah. The ending monologue(s) of the killer made him/her pretty uncool.Scares/Suspense: A jump scare or two, but nothing too effective.Mystery: I suppose, yeah, but I simply didn't care enough, and it's as obvious as the nose on the killer's face.- -Final verdict: 3.75/10. Bah! Humbug! -AP3-

This one probably does not fit in the bottom of the barrel of mediocre Slasher movies but it's surely a damn bad movie.The Holiday premise made it kind of interesting but after the first scenes the movie demonstrates it's poor production values and stupid plot. I mean, the sub-genre was at the moment all about an unseen maniac slashing teens for no apparent reasons but this one took it too far. There is absolutely no coherence in the events or nothing else to add.The clichès are more than boring, the gore is minimal, and so does the mystery.This is a fairly mediocre slasher entry that shouldn't be hyped even if it has a video nastie label.I am truly disappointed by this overrated piece of trash.