Actor Michael Villella, who starred in cult classic slasher The Slumber Party Massacre, has died after more than a month in the hospital due to multiple organ failure, according to TMZ. He was 84.
Villella’s passing was confirmed on his official Facebook page on Saturday, Nov. 23. “It is with a Heavy [heart] that Michael Pasquale Villella has left this world, may he rest in peace,” a statement read. “May God welcome Michael with open arms and bring him into heaven.” Villella’s daughter Chloe also confirmed the news on her Facebook, writing, “May you rest in peace daddy.”
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Villella made horror history in his first acting role as serial killer Russ Thorn in the 1982 film The Slumber Party Massacre, which was directed by Amy Jones and also starred Michele Michaels and Robin Stille. Despite a poor critical reception, The Slumber Party Massacre became a beloved cult classic for horror fans, prompting two sequels in 1987 and 1990 as well as a revival of the franchise in 2021.
The Sorority House Massacre and Cheerleader Massacre films were other films inspired by The Slumber Party Massacre. Villella made an appearance in Sorority House Massacre II in 1990 and revisited his iconic role in the 2010 documentary Sleepless Nights: Revisiting the Slumber Party Massacres.
In an interview with Racks and Razors. Villella said he first knew he wanted to be an entertainer “around age 11,” when he had relatives at the house “and I started to dance on my toes” before his uncle told him, “Boys don’t dance like that.”
Despite his early love of performance, Villella said he “never thought about acting” until he was in his late 30s. Ironically, horror films “scare the s-t out of me,” he admitted, saying that the “scariest film I ever saw was Abbot and Costello Meets Frankenstein.”
Even without a background in horror, Villella told the outlet that he made such an impression as Russ by giving him “life” as more than just a serial killer. “The way he walked the way he approached his victim … his inner life, to do what he did he, he had to do it for love,” he explained, adding that when it comes to his character’s impact, “I think one of the things that turned people on was that I wore no mask or make up I was a regular guy… who wandered too far into the other side.”
In addition to The Slumber Party Massacre, Villella’s other acting credits include Love Letters (1983), Gotham (1988), Wild Orchid (1989) and Wild Orchid II (1991), as well as roles in the TV shows Amazing Stories (1987) and Getting Away with Murder (2007).
