Actor Michael Villella, who starred in “The Slumber Party Massacre,” has died. He was 84.
Villella’s passing was confirmed in a statement on his Facebook page on Saturday.
“It is with a Heavy ♥️ that Michael Pasquale Villella has left this world, may he rest in peace. May God welcome Michael with open arms and bring him into heaven,” the message read.
Villella’s daughter, Chloe, also confirmed the news on Facebook.
“May you rest in peace daddy ♥️💋,” Chloe wrote in her post.
According to TMZ, Villella died due to multiple organ failure after spending over a month in the hospital.
Villella, in his first acting role, played serial killer Russ Thorn in 1982’s “The Slumber Party Massacre.”
The film was originally written as a parody of the slasher genre but became a straightforward horror film. It was directed by Amy Jones and also starred Michele Michaels and Robin Stille.
Despite a negative reception from critics, “The Slumber Party Massacre” spawned two sequels that came out in 1987 and 1990, followed by a fourth film in 2021.
There were also two spinoff film series, the “Sorority House Massacre” trilogy, and the “Cheerleader Massacre” movies, that were inspired by “The Slumber Party Massacre.”
Villella made a cameo in 1990’s “Sorority House Massacre II” and appeared in the 2010 documentary “Sleepless Nights: Revisiting the Slumber Party Massacres.”
His other movie acting credits include “Love Letters” (1983), “Gotham” (1988), “Wild Orchid” (1989), and “Wild Orchid II” (1991).
He also appeared in the TV shows “Amazing Stories” (1987) and “Getting Away with Murder” (2007).
Villella spoke about his acting career, including what it was like playing Russ in “The Slumber Party Massacre,” in a past interview with Racks and Razors.
“I had to give Russ a life… 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,” Villella said.
When asked what his hardest scene in the movie was, Villella said, “I can’t remember struggling in any scene… the crew sometimes had to struggle with me.. I was so much into the killing they had to drag me off them…”
He also shared at the time that he still gets feedback from fans of the horror genre series.
“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,” Villella said.
