Pledge Night (1988)

As hazing season begins for the Phi Up fraternity, they are confronted by Acid Sid, a pledge who died years ago. They better run from his wrath.

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."

In the evening they have some fun at a local bar. [Ronna Larsen plays the stripper.]

 

A couple of the pledges hook up with a girl played by Cassandra Delaney. [Delaney was actually the wife of John Denver!]

The fraternity head makes a suggestion: "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.

The pledges awkwardly debate on who gets to go first. The girl asks, "Don't I get a choice?"

After a decision is made, the pledge fumbles with her bra and finally unclasps it with an awkward laugh.

The Backstory: The fraternity hazing in 1969 went terribly wrong.

The hazing involved a bathtub full of various gross ingredients which the pledges would have to submerge themselves in. A pledge 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 sorority girls help prepare for the event. Wendy (Shannon McMahon) sets the table for the "Initation Banquet".

Bonner (Todd Eastland) expresses concern to Wendy that this hazing seems unsafe, and he wonders what became of Rex, a missing pledge. She assures him it's all fun and games.

Part of the tradition involves the sorority girls preparing the vile concotion to pour in the bathtub. Wendy is asissted by her sorority sisters Connie (Cecelia Wilde) and Sandy (Suzanne Dean). Sandy is grossed out by the stench.

Hell Week comes to a close with the climactic rituals where the pledges are put through further even more bizarre humiliations.

Sid has returned as "Acid Sid". One of the pledges is sitting on the throne when Sid's hand emerges beneath him.

Sandy (Suzanne Dean) is getting ready in the frat house bathroom.

Dan (Arthur Lundquist), a pledge, has become possessed by Sid. Holding a radio, Dan knocks on the bathroom door.

Sandy is taking a bath. She yells, "Go away willya? I'll be out in a few minutes."

The knocks continue. Sandy asks, "Who's there?"

Dan storms into the bathroom and plugs the radio into the outlet. He then tosses the radio into the bathtub with Sandy.

The lights flicker out and Sandy is electrocuted. Dan stares at her while she writhes and ultimately dies.

Dan (still possessed by Sid) stoically approaches Connie (Cecelia Wilde) who is unpacking more supplies for initiation.

Connie puts on an apron preparing to make another initiation concotion. She babbles on, oblivious to Dan's odd behavior.

Dan abruptly ties Connie's wrists to the pipe then unzips her sweatshirt. She worries that someone is going to come in.

Still thinking this is just good fun, Connie laughs when Dan pulls out an egg beater - and proceeds to kill her with it.

J.D., the head of the fraternity, hears the screaming. He rushes into the room and finds Connie dead.

J.D. screams and runs hysterically from the room.

J.D. is killed by Dan. The pledges hear the mahem going on in the other parts of the frat house. Wendy cautions them against leaving the room. "Whoever is out there is still in the house."

"It's a lot safer locked in here where they can't get us."

They watch as Sid returns and proceeds to murder the pledges one by one.

A cat and mouse game ensues as Sid stalks his prey around the frat house. The pledges try to defend themselves, but Sid is too powerful.

Sid nearly kills Bonner, but Wendy saves him by spraying the demon with a fire extinguisher.

With Sid seemingly dead, Wendy tells Bonner to go into town and get help. She unwisely insists that she stay here and call the police.

Wendy waits on the phone and we see Sid has returned - his hand silently appearing behind her.

Wendy runs downstairs. Sid catches her and she faints, falling on the couch. Sid then begins to grope her while she's unconscious.

While she's passed out, Sid rips open her sweater and blouse exclaiming, "If it feels good... do it!" At that moment Bonner returns. Sid says "I only came back to protect you", then inexplicably disappears.

Epilogue: Rex (Steven Christopher Young), Wendy's ex-boyfriend, is fooling around with Fran (Karyn Lee).

As Rex and Fran have sex on the bunkbed, Sid appears below and impales them with his sword, saying "Outta sight!" THE END

VZ6 SCORECARD

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. 

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. 

We have to start with Shannon McMahon's nude scene.  Pretty surprising for a few reasons.  First, it takes place in the last few minutes of the movie, during the climax.  Typically, you don't have an actress go the entire runtime of a film, only to show her boobs at the last minute.  In this scene, McMahon faints and has her speater and blouse ripped open, revealing her boobs. McMahon mainly found success as a producer.  She produced a number of episodes of Toddlers & Tiaras as well as The G-Word and Alaskan Bush People.  She's also published a book on Irish customs.

Would you believe the girl who lets her boobs get fondled in the boom boom room is played by the wife of John Denver?  Yep. Cassandra Delaney was married to Denver from the 1988 to 1993.  So, they got hitched right around the time this film was being made.  Denver died in a plane accident four years after their divorce.

This scene has stuck with me since I first saw this film many years back.  It is so alarming and unexpected. Yes, the kill method is pretty dumb - an egg beater.  But the scene where her body is discovered is shocking as fuck.  Did not expect her to be staring horrifically right at the camera with her boobs out.  What must it have been like for Cecelia Wilde to film this scene? It's a pretty lengthy scene too, with a couple of the characters discovering her body and then running out traumatized.  Wilde was only in one other film - a small part in Psychos in Love the year before.  She appeared in an episode of Law & Order a couple years after this.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ 7/10