The Majorettes

How to make a micro-budget slasher

Someone is savagely murdering cheerleaders in a town on the Ohio River in Western Pennsylvania. Is the killer the leering high school janitor, a local thug or someone else?

An American production from the mid-80s, “The Majorettes” was released in Italy in 1986, in the UK in 1987 and in the USA in 1988 (on video). It was made with a cast of no-names and only cost $85,000 so there are some technical issues, like questionable sound in some sequences, the campy preacher, and some wooden acting here and there. If you can overlook these shortcomings, it delivers the goods for this genre by including the most important staples.

For instance, the script is well done and contains genuine surprises, based on a book by John A. Russo; the locations are good; the slayings are brutal; the gore is pretty convincing; there’s some effective action in the third act, which is also unexpected; the principle actors are fine for no-names; and the female cast is superlative.

Speaking of which, petite brunette Joy Deco is probably my favorite as one of the majorettes, yet fit Dana Marie Maiello (Barbara, the swimming girl) is worth a mention. There are a few other notables, like Sueanne Seamens (Judy).

The movie runs 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, which is just northwest of Pittsburgh, a 25-minute drive from the Ohio border, as well as O'Hara/Guyastua, an area just northeast of Pittsburgh on the other side of the Allegheny River.

GRADE: B/B-