Michael Villella, ‘The Slumber Party Massacre’ actor, dies at 84 after health complications
Villella played the killer in the cult horror movie financed by Roger Corman
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Your support makes all the difference.Michael Villella, the actor best known for playing killer Russ Thorn in the cult horror movieThe Slumber Party Massacre, has died. He was 84.
Villella made his acting debut in the 1982 film, which was financed by prolific film producer Roger Corman.
The actor’s daughter Chloe Villella announced her father’s death in a brief statement on Saturday (November 24) on Facebook.
“May you rest in peace daddy,” she wrote, alongside a picture showing a photograph of her father displayed next to a burning candle.
According to TMZ, Villella died of multiple organ failure after spending over a month in the hospital.
The Slumber Party Massacre was conceived and written by feminist author Rita Mae Brown as a parody of the slasher genre. It was filmed more like a straight horror and gained a loyal following, as well as inspiring multiple sequels and a string of spin-offs including the Sorority House Massacre trilogy and the Cheerleader Massacre films.
Villella’s performance as the escaped mass murderer Russ Thorn, who kills using a power drill, made an immediate and visceral impact on viewers. In a review for The Chicago Reader, critic Dave Kehr praised the “unusually appealing cast and generally good pacing by director Amy Jones.”
“The screenplay, by novelist Rita Mae Brown (Rubyfruit Jungle), contains some funny asides on teenage sibling rivalry and peer group cohesion, and there is a surprising stab at black humor during a scene involving a dead pizza boy (Aaron Lipstadt),” continued Kehr.
“This was a New World picture, although it was released under another name, and it features that studio’s ineffable way of subverting reactionary genres by introducing trace amounts of progressive ideology.
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The film went on to gross $3.6 million at the box office, against an estimated budget of just $220,000.
Villella continued to act, appearing in such films as Love Letters (1983), Gotham (1988) and Wild Orchid (1989). He also appeared in episodes of Amazing Stories (1987) and Getting Away with Murder as recently as 2007.
Fans have been paying tribute to Villella on social media, with one writing on X/Twitter: “RIP Michael Villella. The man who played Russ Thorn in the classic 80’s slasher, THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE has passed away. Few horror villains could rock the denim like he did and make lines like ‘It takes a lot of love for a person to...do this’ sound creepy as all get out.”
The actor is survived by his daughter and ex-wife.
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