Sorority House Massacre III: Hard to Die

Sorority House Massacre III: Hard to Die (also known as Tower of Terror or simply Hard to Die)[1] is a 1990 American slasher film written by Mark Thomas McGee and James B. Rogers, directed by Jim Wynorski, and starring Gail Harris and Melissa Moore. The film features a similar storyline and many of the same actresses from its predecessor, and Wynorski's previous film Sorority House Massacre II, which Hard to Die is essentially a remake of.

Sorority House Massacre III: Hard to Die
Hard to Die VHS cover
Directed byJim Wynorski
Produced byJim Wynorski
Written byMark Thomas McGee
James B. Rogers
StarringGail Harris
Melissa Moore
Bridget Carney
Karen Mayo-Chandler
Peter Spellos
Debra Dare
Music byChuck Cirino
CinematographyJürgen Baum
Production
company
Miracle Pictures
Distributed byNew Horizons Home Video
Release date
  • 1990 (1990)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film was released direct-to-video in 1990, but it was released theatrically in 1992 under the name Tower of Terror and received an NC-17 rating.

Production

Jim Wynorski had made the previous film for Julie Corman called Sorority House Massacre II. Corman's husband Roger wanted Wynorski to remake it, using the same story and cast. Wynorski says "When Roger Corman saw what I did for his wife in just seven days, he wanted me to do the same for him."[2]

Corman wanted to re-use the sets which had just been used for Corporate Affairs (1990), which consisted of a reception area and a few suites. According to Mark Thomas McGee, who was hired to work on the script:

This change in locale presented Jim and I with a problem—how to get the women out of their clothes and into their underwear. (Try to imagine someone like David Lean or William Wyler wrestling with a dilemma like this.) Not that women would ever run around in their under- wear regardless of the location, but it was a little easier to swallow when they were in a sorority house. I asked Jim if it would be too much of a problem to redress the reception area to make it seem like we're on different levels of a high rise instead of a single level office. Jim liked that idea because it opened up all sorts of possibilities for us. It not only gave the ladies more room to run and hide from the killer, it also meant (and this was the genius of the stroke) that they could discover a lingerie company on another level. The sequence where these ladies become so excited when they discover these frilly and sexy undergarments (and just can't wait to try them on) is as ridiculous and infantile as anything you can imagine. But half-naked women is just about all that a film like this has to offer.[3]

McGee says he had a week to write a script. He spent five days going in a different direction, but then realised Corman genuinely wanted a true remake, and spent two days redrafting.[3]

Wynorski says with the film, "I took Orville's hardships to even further extremes."[2]

The film is alternatively known as Tower of Terror.[3]

Plot

A group of women are about to experience the most horrifying night of their lives - trapped in a deserted skyscraper, with a crazed killer at their heels. Soon, their innocent overtime duty becomes an action-filled evening of terror and suspense - yet they choose to defy the odds and fight back ... trading fear for firepower in a high-stakes, all-out fight to the death.

Cast
  • Gail Harris as Linda Dawn Grant (as Robyn Harris)
  • Karen Mayo-Chandler as Diana (as Lindsay Taylor)
  • Deborah Dutch as Jackie Cassidy (as Debra Dare)
  • Melissa Moore as Jessica 'Tess'
  • Bridget Carney as Candy Shayne
  • Toni Naples as Sergeant Phyllis Shawlee (credited as Karen Chorak)
  • Jürgen Baum as Lieutenant Mike Block
  • Bob Sheridan as Cop In Lobby
  • Carolet Girard as Fifi Latour
  • Peter Spellos as Orville Ketchum
  • Don Key as Brad Plympton
  • Forrest J Ackerman as Dr. Ed Newton
  • James B. Rogers as Messenger (as J.B. Rogers)
  • Domonic Muir as Larry Bronkowski
  • Eric Baum as Agent
  • Amelia Sheridan as Helga
  • Don Peterson as Husband
  • Kelli Maroney as Wife (as D. Mason Keener)
  • Greg Lauoi as Cameraman
  • Cirsten Weldon as Agent's Girlfriend
  • Monique Gabrielle as CD Girl (as Lucy Burnett)
  • Ronald V. Borst as Pedestrian
  • Jim Wynorski as Director (uncredited)

References
  1. https://diaboliquemagazine.com/30-years-on-hard-to-die-will-never-die/
  2. Sellers, Christian (19 April 2009). "Exclusive Interview With Cult Filmmaker JIM WYNORSKI". Retro Slashers. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  3. McGee, Mark Thomas (2016). Katzman, Nicholson and Corman - Shaping Hollywood's Future. Bear Manor Media. pp. 249–250.
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