Slaughter High

Standard horror with a rumored real-life tragic footnote
There's nothing really new here except for a rather eye-opening sequence where the nerd-who-will-become-the-slasher is soundly humiliated in front of "the gang"--complete with extended and rather graphic male nudity. Supposedly, the actor who played the nerd, Simon Scuddamore, committed suicide shortly after its release, which makes watching this scene a faintly queasy experience.
The Citizen Kane Of Funny Bad Movies.
I saw this movie almost ten years ago with my brother on one of our weekly horror movie nights. This one always stuck out in my mind. I loved it so much because it didn't really take it self so seriously. Sure, the acting is stilted, and their accents make them sound like deaf people learning to speak! The movie's about a nerd in high school who gets pranked by the popular kids and the prank turns deadly. Or so they think. Turns out that the nerd is alive and ready for revenge (years later, though!). My favorite part of the movie is when the popular kids are reuniting at the abandoned school, and this big motorcycling oaf from the gang comes roaring in on his bike and falls off (even though he clearly is safely getting off the bike and lands on the grass), and the camera closes in on him as he says "Oh, man, that-bike-has-got-to-go". And he says it so slowly and pauses after each word. I used to tell my friends about that scene, and they never believed me that the actor said it that...
One of the best movies of all time!!
...In fact, it is my absolute FAVORITE only after George Romero's original "Night of the Living Dead" (1968). A bold claim to make, I know, but you know there's something special about a movie that isn't even available and yet has (to date) 42 enthusiastic Amazon reviews. And if reading these reviews isn't evidence that "Slaughter High" is a love it or hate it movie, I don't know what is. And I for one LOVE it.

The slasher movie is considered to be a largely North American phenomenon but alas, the Brits come up with my favorite one of all time. It's as if the writing/directing triple threat of Peter Litten, George Dugdale, and Mark Ezra sensed in 1985 that all of the formulaic cliches of 1981-era slashers had all been done to death when played straight and an entry of a more trashy tongue-in-cheek nature was in order. And they succeeded brilliantly in creating the best one possible.

The opening 20 minutes or so are priceless. I think that anyone who was...
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