Hell High (1989)
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Whether I've actually seen this movie before or not will forever remain a mystery to me, but while watching it I kept thinking I've seen it before. That happens when you've watched way too many horror movies over the years. Anyway, this is the DVD-release of one of the last slasher flicks to come out of the 80's and it's actually not a bad one either. It doesn't use the same basic formula that we're used to seeing -- you know the one where the teens go camp somewhere or "party" in a a far-out and empty location only to get killed off by some shadowy or masked killer and in the end discover it's one of them that's killing everyone. Nope, this movie is a little different and that's what makes it unique and interesting.
In this movie we follow a group of teen friends -- the "tough" no-rules guy, the nice guy, the overweight doofus, and of course, the slut -- as they attempt to pull a prank on their nerdy female teacher. There's a local legend in the town of a couple killings that occurred in a swamp in the outskirts of town and so they decide to get some of the mud from that area and throw it on the windows of the teacher's home in attempt to scare the hell outta her. Little do they know that the teacher had something to do with the murders when she was a child and the prank only causes her to snap and take matters in her own hands.
I liked this flick -- it's a little slow in the middle, but I liked how the plot wasn't the same old routine, so it kept my interest. Of course most of the deaths don't occur until towards the end, but if you can sit through the movie without being bored then you'll get a decent pay off towards the end when the teacher gets her revenge on the whack students. If you look passed the plot-holes and slow pick-up of action sequences, then you'll probably dig the flick like I did. If you get the DVD you'll get to check a nice intro from critic Joe Bob Briggs, whom adds a little trivia and background on the film -- cool stuff.
A decent little slasher that breaks the mold of the typical theme we're all used to seeing from the 80's. Worth a check if you can sit through the story, but don't expect a lot of deaths or gore.