We've purposefully tried to pick films that capture some cultural aspect of the 80s that gave it that strange charm we've all come to know and love. In case you missed out on our previous reviews, make sure to visit our 1970s-1990s page here on the website. This week we are reviewing Salughter High.
Slaughter High came out in 1986 during the height of the slasher craze. The film centers around April Fools Day and a prank that went very wrong. The film was originally supposed to be released under the title April Fools Day, but when the studio behind the movie realized that Warner Brother was releasing a movie with that title that same year they were forced to change it to Slaughter High.
First, they embarrass Marty by tricking him into thinking he is going to have sex with one of the cheerleaders. They take pictures of him after he gets naked and then dunk his head in the toilet.
However, when a prank in the chemistry lab goes wrong and burns Marty beyond recognition Marty vows revenge on the group.
Years later the group of teens responsible for Marty's accident are all invited to a high school reunion. When they arrive at the school the place looks abandoned. They begin to suspect something is wrong until they go inside and find a room decked out with decorations and tons of food and booze on the table.
Then, it appears that someone is hiding in the hallways of the abandoned school, waiting to kill them all off. The group realizes that they've been locked inside the school for the night. Marty is back and he has a thirst for blood and revenge.
This dark tone is actually the main element that makes Slaughter High great. Marty is truly a sick minded individual--a realistic and frightening depiction of someone who was ranked relentlessly.
Each of the actors do fine in their rolls, as small as most of them are. The largest distraction from the performance is the fact that almost all the actors have fluctuating accents. Sometimes they have a British accent and other time American. At times the picture is too dark or grainy to see what is going on. It would be nice to see a Blu-Ray transfer of this film at some point.
Additionally distracting is the final moments of the film. The final girl flees from the murderer for almost twenty minutes--a long, drawn out sequence that could have easily been cut in half. And considering most of the rest of the movie jumps right in with the gore and the scares it makes this final twenty minutes really stand out.
Summing it Up
Deaths: 12
Language: 3
Gore Factor: 5
Sex Factor: 4
Scare Factor: 4
Fun Factor: 3
Overall Rating: 4