In 1986, Delta Pi sorority is about to swear in a few new members during their bonfire ceremony on the eve of college classes starting. But something goes very wrong, as their Housemother, who looks strangely like a deranged Blackie Lawless, loses her mind and slaughters a number of the girls. She escapes and the few survivors are left to deal with their trauma and loss. Fast forward to modern times (2013), and Delta Pi is about to have another initiation, and the crazed Housemother has returned, burnt and disfigured from her previous encounter. And she’s come back to kill again…
Sometimes you see a low-budget movie like this at the store and you find it for cheap so you take a chance. All in all, it isn’t a bad movie, just really cheap-looking at times (which is totally forgivable). It’s an homage or a modern retelling of the Slasher tropes from the 80s and it features decent characters, a goodly amount of flowing blood, and plenty of ta-ta’s to keep interest up. The acting is good in parts, terrible in others, but the spirit of the thing is right. They’re all having fun and the short running time keeps things from bogging down or growing stale. The worst part is actually the (very long) prologue set in the 80s. It felt forced and unnatural, the dialogue a bad approximation of how people must think everyone talked back then (I mean, nobody said “Gag me with a spoon” every other sentence). And there were too many knowing nods (did the sorority girl really need to pick up a Rubik’s Cube?). It was almost enough for me to turn it off but then the film jumped ahead to “modern” times and found its groove. In short, it got much better from there.
Die Die Delta Pi is a fun little movie. You can see everyone involved was having a good time, and the creators are certainly (and should be) proud of their DIY horror film. This isn’t something that will change your life or shake the world of cinema, but it’s a good way to pass about an hour and a half.
Two Stars out of Four