video in 1992 with ten seconds of cuts to the aforementioned drill murder. Theatrical distribution In the United States, the film was released by its distributor under the title Pranks on September 10, 1982 in several U.S. cities, including Atlanta and Indianapolis. This title was altered from Carpenter and Obrow's original title, Death Dorm. After the distributors found the title unsatisfactory and non-conducive to box office sales, the film was re-released as The Dorm That Dripped Blood on July 15, 1983 in Baltimore and later expanded that fall to 40 U.S. theaters on September 23, 1983. During this secondary expanded theatrical run, the film grossed a total of $215,000. In the United Kingdom, it was released exclusively under the Pranks title through New Line Cinema. Critical reception Critic Stephen Hunter, writing for the Baltimore Sun, compared the film unfavorably against other slasher films of the time, noting that, "even featuring nine grisly killings... the film is almost energy-less." In a retrospective assessment of the film, journalist Jim Harper called the film "one of the best of the low budget eighties slashers. Even though the material is pretty derivative, the direction shows promise, and the script could have been a lot worse". Film journalist Adam Rockoff gave the film a negative assessment, calling it a "bland and uninspired slasher", adding: "The Dorm That Dripped Blood attempts one meager stab at originality by killing off the Final Girl in the film's last scene. This unnecessary, downbeat ending is actually a relief, for it signals not only an end to her annoying self-righteousness, but to the film as a whole". Gene Siskel picked it as one of his "Dogs of the Week" for a 1982 "Sneak Previews" show, declaring it to be another "women in danger" slasher piece of garbage. The Dorm That Dripped Blood holds an approval rating of 0% on movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on five critic reviews. Cavett Binion of AllMovie qualified it as a "derivative slasher clone", awarding it 1.5 out of 5 stars. TV Guide awarded the film 1 out of a possible 5 stars, calling it "utterly predictable and full of infuriating red herrings". Horror film review website Oh, the Horror! criticized the film's writing, direction, and "abysmal" acting but complimented the film's score and gore effects. Film scholar John Stanley, in Creature Features: The Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Movie Guide (2000), awarded