Die, Die Delta Pi II is a rarity … a no-budget neo-slasher homage that ACTUALLY delivers
A movie called Die, Die Delta Pi II: The Burnt One is automatically immune from any criticism. You really CAN’T objectively review it, because that means putting it on the same level as something like Shoah or Kobayashi’s The Human Condition trilogy. Those movies are actually artistic commentaries on existence; this movie, I feel it is very safe to say, is NOT.
I feel like the only way I can review this thing is by embracing my inner Joe Bob Briggs. Clearly, you can’t go into Die, Die Delta Pi II: The Burnt One with the same lens as, say, a Roger Ebert or Leonard Maltin. To give you a good idea of what this movie deems important, I think we’re only about 15 seconds into the film before the first set of exposed female breasts arrives. I don’t know how the filmmakers did it, but this might be the first movie in cinema history where a character somehow gets LESS naked to take a shower.
As the title implies, there actually WAS a Die Die Delta Pi part one. That came out in 2013 and no, I’m not sure how or why it took them 13 years after that to give us a sequel. Maybe it’s one of those Godfather II situations, where you set the bar so high you’re kinda worried about tarnishing the entire franchise with a substandard, ultra-late sequel.
Both Die, Die Delta Pi movies are directed by a guy name Sean Donohue. His oeuvre includes movies like Death-Scort Service Part 2: The Naked Dead, Satan Lives: The Rise of the Illuminati Hotties and Hobocop. Believe it or not, there’s actually a real life Sean Donohue Cinematic Universe where some of these movies overlap. He’s obviously a real cinema buff, as apparent by his homages. For example, there’s a scene early on in Die, Die Delta Pi II: The Burnt One is the sequel we’ve waited THIRTEEN years for. Die Delta Pi 2 that functions as both an ode to Fast Times At Ridgemont High AND Bikini Carwash Company 2. Needless to say, this Donohue fella knows his stuff.
Yes, there’s sort of a plot in this movie. It is indeed about a sorority, and they’re trying to recruit new members or raise money for something. Anyway, that’s about as much plot as we’re afforded and, frankly, about as much plot as we need for this thing to work. I guess it makes slightly more sense if you watched the first Die, Die Delta Pi movie, but I doubt it’s essential to enjoy part 2.
The two main characters — played by Dare Taylor and Amanda Orsini — are trying to reform the titular sorority, which is apparently cursed by … something. So one night they invite their lunkheaded boyfriends over along with three prospective sorority sisters for a drunken soiree and — well, you will NEVER believe what happens next.
No, literally, because they actually SUBVERT the expected slasher shenanigans this time around. Without giving away too much of the story, let’s just say a mysterious … occurrence … happens and the movie kinda turns into a procedural thriller for a little while. Somehow, this negative zero budget production becomes a BETTER spiritual remake of I Know What You Did Last Summer than the actual I Know What You Did Last Summer spiritual remake we got last year. And when it’s time for the mayhem to finally go down, we get some GREAT practical effects gore in this thing. You kinda get the feeling the people who made it have a deep reverence for stuff like The Burning and Don’t Go In The House, and that shows true taste and class.
The movie zigs when you expect it to zag and a lot of characters you don’t think will get killed get bumped off rather abruptly. The revelation of the killer kinda feels like a last second ass pull, but in a movie like that not only is it forgivable, it’s actually kinda charming. The climactic cat and mouse final chase is also surprisingly effective … with a fairly novel sequel hook for part three tucked into the very, very end of the film.
But here’s the most shocking thing about Die, Die Delta Pi II: it’s actually HILARIOUS. As in, I found myself legitimately LOL-ing at several points in the movie. There’s a GREAT scene pretty early on where the legendary Z actor Joel D. Wynkoop breaks into two football players’ dorm and starts belittling them and you can tell most of his lines were adlibbed and the director obviously did not want to lose any of Wynkoop’s impromptu brilliance. It goes on forever and it had me laughing my ass off. Which is something modern movies RARELY do.
Die, Die Delta Pi II is a small miracle of a movie. It’s a true labor of love made by people who obviously aren’t in it for the money and the end result is a truly entertaining B-movie throwback that left me with a massive smile on my face. Factor in the cameo from Rhonda Shear of Up All Night Fame and the movie’s lightning fast 67-minute run time and you have all the makings of a stellar late Saturday night distraction. Don’t let all of those A24 and Criterion snobs fool you — Die, Die Delta Pi II is what REAL independent horror filmmaking looks like.
DIRECTOR: Sean Donohue
WRITER: Sean Donohue
STARRING: Amanda Orsini, Dare Taylor, Cyndi Crotts, Aaron Idlis
STUDIO: Gatorblade Films
DISTRIBUTOR: Gatorblade Films
LANGUAGE: English
RUNTIME: 67 minutes
RELEASE DATE: August 11, 2026
