The Dorm That Dripped Blood
1982 film by Stephen Carpenter, Jeffrey Obrow
The Dorm That Dripped Blood is a 1982 American slasher film directed by Stephen Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow, written by Carpenter, Obrow, and Stacey Giachino, and starring Laurie Lapinski, Stephen Sachs, David Snow, Pamela Holland, and Daphne Zuniga in her film debut. It follows a group of college students who stay on campus over the Christmas holiday to clean out a condemned dormitory, where an unknown assailant begins stalking and murdering them.
Filmed at UCLA from December 1980 to January 1981, the film was originally released in the USA and the UK under the title Pranks in 1982. When its distributors found this title non-conducive to box-office sales, the film was retitled "The Dorm That Dripped Blood" and re-released in 1983.
In the UK, it faced significant censorship due to its graphic violence, resulting in its inclusion on the BBFC's "video nasty" list, though it was later removed. Critical commentary from genre scholars in the ensuing years has heralded the film for its nihilistic conclusion, which challenged the emerging "final girl" trope in slasher films.
Plot
On a college campus, a young male coed is chased and killed by an unseen assailant. Meanwhile, Joanne Murray and her boyfriend, Tim, attend a campus party and learn that their dormitory, Morgan Meadows Hall, has been condemned. Along with friends Brian, Patty, Craig, and Debbie, Joanne is staying behind during the Christmas holiday to help clear the building ahead of its demolition. Tim leaves for a holiday skiing trip the next day, while Debbie reveals that she cannot stay because her parents are picking her up later that day.
The public source identifies “The Dorm That Dripped Blood” as 1982 film by Stephen Carpenter, Jeffrey Obrow. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Dorm, Dripped and Blood.
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7730711. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1982, 1980, 1981 and 1983.
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