Slaughter High (1986)
Review by the Fiend of Grue
Marty ( Simon Scuddamore) is a high school kid that has no luck. His nerdy appearance makes him an easy target for a group of popular teens at Doddsville County High. One April Fool’s day, brunette bombshell Carol (Caroline Munro) comes onto Marty in the girls locker room. Marty of course falls for it, but soon finds himself naked in front of his tormentors as they video tape and chant “Where’s the beef?” and dunk him head first into the toilet. The torment doesn’t stop there, later they give him a spiked joint in which he smokes and then leads to a horrible accident in which the school lab goes up in flames, leaving Marty severely burned.
Ten years later, invitations are sent out for a high school reunion with everyone to meet at the old school, the only thing is, the ones who use to pick on Marty are the only ones invited. After waiting around too long for others to arrive, the restless group breaks into their old abandoned school where they party and reminisce about their glory years. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that they are not alone and it was no coincidence that only they were invited. Soon, they begin to drop one by one at the hands of a vengeful Marty.
Slaughter High (whose original title was April Fool’s Day until that title was snatched up by Paramount just months earlier) is a cheesy, fun 80’s slasher. To some it may be a stretch, but I would even call this movie a classic, in it’s own right. Sure it’s a Friday The 13th ripoff/cash in like almost every other slasher was from this period, right down to the soundtrack being done by Friday alumni Harry Manfredini, but even so, this film has its audience due to its fun nature and nostalgic feel, both of which make it appealing to watch from time to time. And speaking of Friday The 13th, it’s a wonder that Slaughter High never garnered a sequel seeing that it came from a time in horror where almost everything had at least one sequel.
The acting isn’t worth mentioning because if you’ve seen any 80’s slasher, you pretty much know what to expect and Slaughter High isn’t any different. The cast, which couldn’t act their way out of a paper bag, is made up of thirty-something’s portraying teens which is nothing new, but here you can really tell. Simon Scuddamore though, is actually pretty good as a nerdy kid and does really well towards the end of the film as a vengeful psychopath wearing a Jester mask. Sadly, Scuddamore committed suicide very shortly after the film was released.
The gorgeous Caroline Munro, who some may remember as Joe Spinell’s girl companion from the classic Maniac, was actually 36 years old when this film was made and never looked better. She may not be a great actress but boy is she some good eye candy!
The film is anything but perfect with many scenes being overly implausible. For instance, right after a murder takes place, a girl who was sprayed with blood finds the time to take a bath. What? Yeah… it’s an excuse to get some cleavage on the screen, obviously. Then there’s the whole aspect of the group even wasting their time to break into the school in the first place. Thinking more logical, wouldn’t they have just went to a bar and had some drinks? Caroline Munro even says this at one point. Hey…it is the 80’s, who said you needed logic.
Slaughter High is a vastly over looked film but not for good reason: it’s quite hard to track down actually. Having never been released on DVD in any region, “Slaughter High” can now only be found on old VHS tapes or wasted out, poor DVD bootlegs. With inventive kills like the one I call the “beer drinking gut burst” or the “electrocuting orgasm bed” and with a decent amount of gore for it‘s time, this film could find a whole new audience if re-released today. It may be a tad too slow at times and the ending is sure to leave you with more questions than answers, but the fun factor never fades, making this movie worth your time.
Hopefully with the newest issue of HorrorHound Magazine having an article detailing the 20 most underrated slashers from the 80’s and listing Slaughter High at a respectable slot on that list, the film will get more attention and fans will demand a proper DVD release. In the meantime, if you like 80’s horror and/or slasher films, Slaughter High is worth seeking out now!
Watch the trailer for Slaughter High:
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