Scream Queen B-Team

When I first saw Sorority House Vampires From Hell, I fell in love. It’s a horror-comedy with all B-movie essentials and strong female protagonists—basically, everything I’m looking for. Just try to deny that this sounds awesome: sorority pledges take on a vampire queen and her minions, with everything from parody music videos to surfer-dude subtitles thrown in for good measure. Of course, I wanted to know if the filmmaker had done anything else in a similar vein. That’s where things got complicated.

I was thrilled to discover that director Geoffrey de Valois had actually made two other vampire films: The Vampire Conspiracy and Vampire Centerfolds. Finding a way to see them would be another matter entirely. 

But before I jump ahead and start connecting red string to the notes on my bulletin board, let’s get back to Sorority House Vampires. Turns out that was originally the whole title, until From Hell was tacked on for its DVD release. As I found more info in old issues of Draculina, I began to unravel the long, twisted history of this very unusual sorority. 

Though shot in the early nineties, a falling out with the producer led to the movie being shelved for a few years. Dennis Devine (Dead Girls, Fatal Images), who had worked on the story, re-shot and cut out segments of the film before releasing it on VHS. I haven’t been able to find this version of the movie yet, so I can’t speak to the extent of the changes. According to Raymond Honeycutt, who then acquired the rights and released this baby on DVD, some of the funniest stuff was removed. If the zombie fashion show got cut, I’m gonna be real miffed when I eventually get my hands on that tape.

In an interview with Draculina, Honeycutt provided a lot of context. He was apparently just a well-meaning fan looking to finish the movie and get it on disc. With the blessing of the director, he set out to procure the master tapes and shoot a new intro and outro. He ultimately added his segments to de Valois’ rough cut and made that available to weirdos like me. Hey, I’ll take it. While its road to release was long and full of obstructions, this first chapter in the trilogy is still the easiest of the three to find.

Even as his original vampire epic was languishing unseen, Geoffrey de Valois was working on a follow-up. Bigger and bawdier, it was then known as The Vampire Conspiracy. This time around, vampires are using technology to capture slaves for the purposes of mutant-birthing (with the ultimate goal of world domination, of course) as a sorority pledge battles her personal demons until she becomes a literal monster and embarks on her own sorority house massacre. Even more wild than it sounds, this movie is an absolute favorite. Just like SHVFH, it’s a women-driven horror-comedy with a surplus of things one might expect from a flick with a cover like this. And lucky for you, the director has uploaded it to YouTube and Vimeo as The Dark Gift.

That initially confused the heck out of me, since I stumbled upon the online version before I tracked down the VHS release of The Vampire Conspiracy. Put out in 1998 by Salt City Home Video (purveyors of Savage Harvest and other SOV greats), it’s now pretty tough to find. But between the tape and the photo-comic produced by Draculina, I was able to determine that The Dark Gift is mostly The Vampire Conspiracy, with a couple scenes from Vampire Centerfolds.

What’s Vampire Centerfolds, you ask? Such a question vexed me as well—for several months. There’s almost nothing online about it, and the VHS is even more elusive than its predecessor. But after spending a lot of time and several hundred dollars on this pursuit, I have finally solved the mystery of Vampire Centerfolds. So it’s kind of a behind-the-scenes documentary covering both Sorority House Vampires and Vampire Conspiracy, with a new wraparound story and a couple other scenes that made their way into The Dark Gift. I was a little disappointed at first that it’s not another feature film, but seeing the making of two faves is still pretty darn fun.

I just wish that an impossibly rare VHS tape wasn’t the only way to see it, and would really love for Vampire Conspiracy to get a proper DVD release. There’s so much unwatchable dreck that’s very easy to find on disc, yet these movies that I genuinely enjoy remain so elusive. 

The late nineties were a very weird time for low-budget horror. Too many films were lost to the dwindling video market before DVD created a resurgence. I’m so glad to have discovered this series—if only it hadn’t taken months of searching to actually see all the movies. Vampire Conspiracy reminds me of the best Troma flicks, with its crazy plot, wild visuals, and offbeat sensibilities. There aren’t many films I’d be more excited to buy on disc. And Vampire Centerfolds would at least make a great special feature.

Until that happens, I highly recommend checking out the online version of The Dark Gift available on the director’s channels. And if, like me, you’re cuckoo for multipacks, there are many ways to get your hands on Sorority House Vampires.