Prom Party Massacre Brings Queer Camp and Killer Tunes to CinePride
As we’ve been sharing with you lately, a brand-new film festival is arriving in LA today: CinePride Film Festival. Among the many titles in the lineup for the festival’s inaugural event is Prom Party Massacre, a one-of-a-kind horror short that dares to be a slasher-musical hybrid. You’ll be able to catch it on September 13 (tickets available here), and trust us, this is one ride you won’t want to miss.
Directed by Jordan Gustafson, written by Philip Tice, and produced by Brass Mantle Entertainment, Prom Party Massacre tells the story of a gay high school student who throws a wild prom party in the hopes of finally winning over his crush: the closeted football captain. But the fun doesn’t last long. When the popular kids start turning up dead, the partygoers quickly realize there’s a killer among them. Equal parts camp, chaos, and queer teenage yearning, this film doesn’t just play with horror tropes; it reclaims them.
The short had its world premiere last month at the Queer Screams Film Festival in Portland’s historic Clinton Street Theater, where it took home the award for Best Editing. Victims & Villains praised the film as “a truly rare breed,” noting that its music “hits its audience with infectious enthusiasm.” And the party’s just getting started. Prom Party Massacre is also set to screen later this year at Atlanta’s Out on Film Festival, Soho International Film Festival, Utah Queer Film Festival, and more.
The creative team behind the film has been upfront about their mission: to bring queer representation front and center in a genre that has so often sidelined or mishandled us. “As queer creatives, we have long watched queer characters die, be portrayed inauthentically, or simply not exist in the properties we love,” they shared in a statement.
“This is not reflective of our time, or any time for that matter, so we want to flip the script on the archetypes that audiences know.” Drawing inspiration from camp classics like Little Shop of Horrors and Heathers, they blend 50s doo-wop with an 80s slasher aesthetic, creating something wholly original and unapologetically queer.
Starring Philip Tice, Ashley Campbell, Theo Tiedemann, Tommaso di Blasi, Julia Davo, Jake Ellsworth, and Miranda Dawson, Prom Party Massacre is a pop-fueled, blood-soaked celebration of queer joy, desire, and survival. At just 18 minutes long, it’s proof that a short runtime can pack a deadly punch.
So if you’re catching Prom Party Massacre at Cinepride this week—or at another festival later this year—hold on tight. This is a prom night you’ll never forget.
Tickets can be found at CinePride.org or Prom Party Massacre’s Instagram page. Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!
Featured Image: Image Courtesy of Brass Mantle Entertainment
