‘The Slumber Party Massacre’ Star Michael Villella Has Passed Away

Best known for playing the slasher Russ Thorn in 1982 classic The Slumber Party Massacre, actor Michael Villella has passed away at the age of 84, we’re sad to report this week.

A message posted to the actor’s official Facebook page reads, “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.” TMZ adds, “he passed away on Saturday afternoon due to multiple organ failure after spending over a month in the hospital.”

In addition to memorably playing the power drill-wielding killer in director Amy Holden Jones’ The Slumber Party Massacre, Michael Villella’s credits also include the movies Love Letters (1983), Gotham (1988), Wild Orchid (1989), and Wild Orchid II: Two Shades of Blue (1991), and the television shows “Amazing Stories” (1987) and “Getting Away With Murder” (2007).

More recently, he appeared in short films The White Room (2008) and Audition (2011).

The Slumber Party Massacre was actually Michael Villella’s on-screen debut. He explained in an interview about the role back in 2013, “I used a lot of my techniques that I learned from Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg. Things like animalizations and portrait exercises.” The character of Russ Thorn was immortalized with a NECA/Scream Factory action figure back in 2019.

Michael Villella is survived by his daughter, Chloe Villella.