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Sadly Over-hyped

Crappy film

Blistering performances.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

High school nerd Marty is humiliated and badly mauled in an April Fool's Day prank at his high school. Ten years later, his group of tormentors are invited to a high school reunion at their now-abandoned school which they come to find is due for demolition. It seems no one is inside-at first.This late-eighties British-American co-production is one of the weirder slasher offerings because it has its hand in multiple baskets: It's a slasher, but it's also a quasi-spoof in some senses; self-aware, self-reflexive, and chock full of references to its numerous contemporaries. Why, exactly, I'm not sure, as it doesn't seem to do anything this-the allusions and references are just sort of dropped in there with what seems to have been little forethought-and that's kind of how the whole film feels.Part of "Slaughter High"'s lopsidedness may have to do with the fact that it was made by a trio of filmmakers who shared both writing and directing duties; it feels a bit all-over-the-place, and I assume this is why. The first half of the film is really full of nonsense, supported by stilted dialogue delivered in a melange of bizarre caricatures of American accents. The cast is full of rather attractive men and women, but the characters are profoundly unlikable from the first scene on. Bond girl Caroline Munro, who is known to horror fans for her role in the seminal American grindhouse flick "Maniac," is the only semi-tolerable character (which is good, as she's the final girl), but the fact that she's supposed to be playing a 28-year-old and yet has the hair and dress of a 55-year-old Southern divorcee is admittedly distracting. After the film kicks into its second act, the murders come on fast and strong, and some of them are gruesome and silly, but there is an ever-persistent tongue-in-cheek sensibility about them that leaves the threat ultimately non-threatening.Despite everything I've said which may lead one to believe I despise the film, I really don't-I do not love it, but I do believe it has two key elements that are fantastic: The first is its setting, which is a sprawling, Gothic, rundown "high school" (it was apparently really a sanitarium, which makes far more sense)-it's a phenomenally scary location that is used rather well. Unfortunately, the overall tone of the film belies its strong atmosphere and set. The second thing that I feel avenges the film is its last ten minutes, which are legitimately well-played-downbeat, surprising, and utterly weird, erring into "Carnival of Souls" territory. Again, it doesn't make much sense, but the logic of "Slaughter High" is not one to necessarily be made sense of. In any event, I found myself paying more attention at this stage in the film, possibly because it finally seemed like something interesting was happening-and it was, though I'm not quite sure what, or why.Overall, "Slaughter High" is a bit of a bricolage slasher flick that, though amusing at times, doesn't seem to know what it wants or what it's doing. What makes it worthwhile is its stellar setting and surprising conclusion, both of which demand far more attention from the audience than anything else in it. Mildly fun, though not endlessly watchable. 6/10.

Routine '80s slasher about a group of people gathering for a high school reunion and being killed off one by one. This is one of many slashers with the same premise: nerdy outcast is bullied and usually disfigured by assholes but comes back years later for revenge. The only "star" in the movie is Caroline Munro. She was 36 at the time, which makes her playing a teenager in early scenes a hoot. The production's pretty cheap but I do enjoy the location shooting, one of the primary selling points of '70s & '80s slasher films. The score is by Harry Manfredini of Friday the 13th fame. He reuses some of that memorable score here. But the best part of his new score is this Sanford & Son-ish bit of music that seems more at home in a comedy than a horror movie. It gives the movie an extra bit of quirkiness that I liked. There's also a comically bad heavy metal theme song. It's not a terrible movie of its type but very predictable. It helps that it doesn't take itself seriously.

"Slaughter High" has been given an official DVD release but, going by the quality, you'd never know that. If it wasn't for the Lionsgate branding, trailers, and cheap trivia track "special feature," you'd be forgiven for thinking this was a bootleg. The full-screen video is ripped off the same VHS copy all the YouTube video pirates use. The image is almost indecipherably dark at times. The picture is grainy, scratchy, washed out, and full of tracking errors. The audio is tinny and frequently distorted. They even maintained the Vestron Video logo at the end! You could criticize Lionsgate for the shoddy release. Actually, you should do that. Yet, when I pressed play at the menu, a rush of nostalgia washed over me. I remember this world of scratchy VHS-rips and barely watchable uploads. (By the way, if you want a decent disc of the film, import Arrow's Region 0 release from the UK.) Anyway, the actual movie. "Slaughter High" begins in a high school. Duh. Thirty-six year old Caroline Munro plays a high school student, part of a group of the school's "cool" kids playing a prank on resident nerd Marty Ratzen. Marty is seduced, stripped naked, strapped into a bizarre condom, photograph in the nude, sprayed with cold water, and has his head dunked in a toilet. Afterwards, the gym teacher yells at Marty for being in the girl's bathroom. His humiliation isn't over yet, as another one of the bullies hand him an exploding joint. This goes horribly wrong and the nerd is splashed with acid, deforming his face. A decade later, the same group of bullies are invited back to the now-abandoned hospital for an April Fool's Day party. Predictably, a lunatic in a jester mask begins murdering them in gruesome, contrived ways. Gee, who saw that one coming? The film was produced by Dick Randall, the same man behind "Pieces" and countless other low-budget trash offerings. While "Slaughter High" is neither as sleazy nor hilarious as "Pieces," it comes awfully close at times. Aside from the thirty year olds cast as teenagers, the film is full of ridiculous slasher nonsense. Somebody just drank and acidic soda, their stomach literally splitting open. What is Nancy's first course of action after that? To take a bath in one of the dilapidated building's tubs. Surprise, the tub is full of acid! Her face melts via stop-motion animation. Despite their friends dying left and right, two of the invitees decide now is the best time to have sex. The woman implores the man to talk dirty, leading to him grunting out "T**s!" and "F**k!" The killer drops an activated lawn mower on a victim. The guy never thinks to roll out from under the vehicle. Characters play practical jokes, a rat leaps out at someone, and the creepy old janitor dies first. If you want clichés, "Slaughter High" delivers swiftly with its own demented sense of humor.The film's hilarious oddness is exacerbated by an unexpected mean-spirited streak. None of the characters are likable. Yes, Caroline Munro's Carol expresses some guilt over the accident, but just a little. Marty, at first, might be a victim. Yet his cluelessness, awkwardness, and overwhelming dorkiness make him hard to root for. The other victims show such astonishing stupidity that they endear no sympathy. "Slaughter High" quickly dissolves into awful people doing awful things to each other.But a devoted stalk-and-slash fan can find something worth-while in any thing. Honestly, when it comes to grimy, Z-grade slashers, "Slaughter High" is a better example. It's certainly better then, say, "Blood Cult" or "Honeymoon Horror." The empty hallways of the high school provide some decent atmosphere. Directing trio George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, and Peter Litten throw in one or two inventive shot, like a close-up of Marty's hands bursting through a picture of himself or a POV of someone falling from a robe. The kills are ridiculous but quite creative. I mean, any maniac can stab someone, and Marty does, but it takes a real creative mind to melt someone in an acid bath. The final chase sequence goes on for way too long but admittedly hits the horror fan sweet spot for me. The jester mask and letter man jacket combo is actually a pretty cool get-up. When many slasher films were content to stick their killer in a ski mask, that one sticks out. Henry Manfredini's score is pretty terrible but his fans will probably enjoy it.Ultimately contributing to "Slaughter High's" atmosphere of nastiness is that Simon Scuddamore, the actor playing Marty, committed suicide from a drug overdose not long after filming wrapped. Apparently, he suffered from depression. It's easy to imagine that his character's torment added to his real life depression. The film's thrown together, nonsensical ending features slow-motion murder, self-mutilation, and character's forever stuck in mental anguish. Dude, what a bummer. So "Slaughter High" is not a good movie in any traditional sense. Yet those with a stomach for the stupid, senseless and cheap will find it has an indelible atmosphere all its own.

This is a largely unknown slasher film but if you are a true slasher geek you probably would've heard of this one. The plot is that Marty Rantzen, a high school nerd, gets picked on by a group of jocks and girls. One of their pranks go wrong resulting with nitric acid burning Marty's face. 5 years later all the bullies are invited to a school reunion at their old school. When they get inside the school the bullies are killed off one by one by Marty, who sent the invitations and is out for revenge. Now some of the acting is pretty bad and most of the actors in this film have had very little film roles (Except for Caroline Munro). The music is also a bit repetitive but enjoyable. However, Simon Scuddamore's role as Marty is great and he looked like he had a lot of fun with his role. Sadly, this was Simon's only film role as he committed suicide right after the film was made. But overall Slaughter High is a pretty good horror movie and it is worth watching.