Slaughter High (Uncut Version)

...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 ever the victim of some type of cruel hazing in high school or middle school will identify with Marty and love this portion. Simon Scuddamore shows comic genius in this role. Even the fact that Marty gets over the initial shower stunt so quickly and seems not to take the haranguing seriously when confronted again by the louts at his locker, shown by the fact that he even accepts their dubious offer for a "wonder joint," keeps with the comic tone of the early part of the film.This movie is delightfully FUN. It has that raw mid-'80s trash feel of say "Bad Girls Dormitory" (also 1985) that can never be reproduced. Those responsible for the final prank and hence severely burning Marty are invited to a party in their alma mater and that's just what this movie is, one big party in low budget slasher heaven. There is abundant gore, sex, nudity, beer drinking, weed toking, and even harder drug use to boot. (It is assumed that you're viewing the authentic UNRATED version. Accept no substitutes. I myself own a still-sealed VHS copy of it that I will preserve forever, as well as a more common beat-up ex-rental copy to watch.) This movie was a rose among thorns of crowded 1987-era video store horror movie shelves.It's low budget to be sure, but the gore effects, handled by co-director Peter Litten and his Coast To Coast Productions, are top notch. The killings are so fun; from the grinding splatter via tractor trailer to the belly bursting to the electrocution during lovemaking, this delivers the goods.And I just LOVE Harry Manfredini's music! It's got that cheesy mid-'80s post-punk synthesizer feel that brings you back to the time this one was made.And, as a guy, one reason I have to confess that I keep coming back to "Slaughter High" time and time again is because it features perhaps the most beautiful girl in the world, the young British lass Kelly Baker (who appeared in the earlier British slasher "Don't Open Till Christmas" (1984), also a Dick Randall/Steve Minasian co-production). She appears here as nice girl Nancy, and is introduced most prominently about 20 minutes into the movie, when she is picked up by head goofball Skip (Carmine Iannaccone) on the way to the reunion. She is admittedly filled out but is far more beautiful than the anorexic waif models of today. As an American, I adore her quaint British charm and gorgeous golden hair and dazzling smile. If I had the resources, I'd probably start a Kelly Baker fan site.Finally, some have criticized the ending but I think it shows that the movie is all in good fun and that the killings were not meant to be taken seriously.It's great to see showings of a relatively obscure slasher like "Slaughter High" turning up today on mainstream outlets like On Demand. I myself first came to appreciate this film when TNT showed it on "Monstervision" (with legendary Texan drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs) in the late '90s. Will someone just please wake up and give this movie its long overdue DVD release? It truly is a classic.

Nope, this isn't a film about high school kids rocking out to the sounds of Mark Slaughter and co., this is a slasher film! Slaughter High!!The film starts off with dorky Marty falling victim to the sadistic pranks of his fellow classmates. If the first prank wasn't degrading enough(he gets over it rather quickly. I sure wouldn't), the second one is a full blown disaster with poor Marty getting burned and disfigured from nitric acid. Pranks which involve bunson burners, dangerous chemicals and laced marijuana will never turn out funny.In the slasher movie tradition, this can only mean revenge-deadly, bloody revenge. Five years later, Marty arranges a fake "reunion" at the high school with only the gang that was responsible for the prank. They all arrive, and even though the school is abandoned and clues are given that Marty is behind it all, the gang sets up camp for a night of partying. Soon Marty, garbed in his high school jacket and a jester mask, is on the prowl, taking out the pranksters. The insanely gorgeous Caroline Munroe is the star here, as well as Marty's prime target.Now, you may or may not have noticed that slasher flicks from the mid to late 80s are quite different in tone than those from the golden era of the early 80s. Audiences now knew the tricks and cliches, and the film makers seem to be aware of this. So when making a slasher movie, the aim was no longer to scare, but to play everything out more tongue in cheek and outrageous. April Fool's Day also took this approach. Hell, even Friday The 13th Part 6 was a comedy. Some consider this the downfall of the genre, which is pretty much was, but we still got some entertaining films from it. In Slaughter High, you can take the boneheaded actions of the characters with a grain of salt coz the film doesn't seem to be playing it straight anyway. In a grungy, abandoned high school with the knowledge that a killer is running around, wouold you take a bath? Alone? Would you crawl under a riding lawnmower to fix it? Alone? Of course not, but who cares? It's fun!It's not the goriest of slashers, but some of the deaths are rather brutal and memorable. Harry Manfredini's score sounds as though he's recovered bits of a lost FT13TH film.The creepiest thing here is the knowledge that Simon Scuddamore, who played Marty, committed suicide shortly after the film's release. Little seems to be known about the reasons and circumstances surrounding that.Thankfully this film is on DVD, but I have to say the transfer leaves much to be desired. It's part of Lionsgate's "Lost Collection", and Lionsgate is usually pretty reliable about the quality of it's reissues. The DVD more or less looks like you're watching a VHS copy. I suppose it could only be salvaged so much.Still, it's a great slasher flick and it's good to have it on DVD.

I love this sleazy 80s slasher flick. Slaughter High is a good blast from the past slasher flick.The clothes and hair are great.I love the musical score by Harry "Friday The 13th" Manfredini,it's somewhat similar to the Friday soundtrack but has more edge. Slaughter High has creative gory kills with NO CGI.Just good old fashioned special effects and prosthetics ,Oh the joys of the 70's and 80's slashers.. It really is superior in terms of shock, and suspense than so many other slasher films being made in the genre back then. What we have here is an unknown cast which is not the least bit boring. This works especially well also because we cannot identify these cast members with other roles we might have seen them in to take us away from being scared. Caroline Munro happens to be the only major star in the film. >>SPOILER>>The plot centers around Marty Rantzen who is a student being humilated by a group of classmates in the worst ways possible. Things then turn for the worst when a fire starts in chemistry class leaving Marty permenantly burned. A high school class reunion is then held five years later for those responsible for all the humiliation. Everyone attends to find out that the school is locked up. It is now a mystery as to who sent out the invitations. In order for this reunion to take place a few of the former students decide to break in. Because a storm is coming everyone spends the night inside the school. Unfortunately no one knows a killer is on the loose. This is for old school horror fans,especially fans of the 80's slasher genre. The whole feel of this movie is purposely cheesy but fun and funny. Once you start watching it is hard to take your eyes off it. Must be an 80's horror fan. Highly recommended.

I had heard about this movie for a while and was eager to watch it...well it lived up to all the good reviews...the acting was really credible for an eighties slasher and the story was good...the kills were really inventive for a well used premise...overall this is good value for money and i recommend it to any fan of this genre.

Typical cheesy horror with few known actors but I love it, even comes with different artwork and a keepsake inside.

Great campy slasher, 80s/friday the 13th feel to it, great quality + extras from arrow as always...don't hesitate just buy and enjoy

Good film

Marty Rantzen is your typical nerd, who for some reason doesn't suspect anything is wrong when the smoking hot Carol leads him to the girls shower room for sex. As anyone but Marty guessed, a prank is being played on him. It's april fools day and Carol along with a group of her friends trick Marty into getting nude, they film it and bully him before the gym teacher catches them and demands they all be in the gym after school for punishment. Whilst in the gym, Skip, the leader of the gang, manages to slip out and add something to the acid that Marty is working with in the science room. When Marty returns to the room, the acid explodes setting the room on fire. In a desperate attempt to turn the gas off, he knocks a bottle of acid onto the table and it splashes into his face. The medics arrive and take him away on a stretcher, but not before we get a glimpse of the now horribly disfigured Marty.Years later and it's april fools day again, Carol, Skip and all the others involved are meeting up at the school for a class reunion. When they arrive it appears the school has been closed for many years and is locked up, once they get inside they soon discover that this is a reunion of another kind. There is somebody dressed as a jester lurking in the halls of the school, waiting to kill the kids in gruesome and inventive ways. Who is the killer? Surely it couldn't be Marty exacting revenge all these years later.... Or could it?The acting is rather poor if truth be told, but it never really seemed to matter in '80s slasher films. They seemed to work regardless. Caroline Munro played Carol, she was a very sexy woman but was 36 at the time and was supposed to be playing a teenager at the start. She clearly looked at least 30, but then again most of the other cast members were around the 30 mark as well. I think the fact the actors were all far older than the characters they're playing adds a certain '80s charm to the film, if you watch most '80s horror movies (especially slasher films) then you will notice most teenagers were played by people in their mid twenties. The acting is that '80s cheesy acting that is enjoyable to watch, they seem to be enjoying themselves and it makes for a very entertaining film. Most of the cast were English and it's funny listening to their accents regularly slip between English and American.The directing and writing was shared between George Dugdale, Mark Ezra and Peter Litten. It's not very often a film has three directors, but as they wrote the film together, I assume any differences of opinion was sorted out in the writing stages. It's directed like many of the slasher films of the time, they haven't set out to make a masterpiece like Halloween. This was the '80s when horror films could be fun, the acting isn't great, the dialogue is cheesy but funny, the blood, gore and special effects aren't brilliant, but it's all so enjoyable that we don't care. It's good entertainment. There's gratuitous nudity, which is very welcome as the female cast were all very good looking. There's even Terry from Emmerdale with his bare backside out to make it even cheesier.As hilarious as the film is, like doors that seem to be locked one minute then open the next without any explanation, or the killer suddenly being in a totally different place within seconds. Or even the fifteen minute chase at the end where any real killer would have got her in two minutes flat, where I counted twice that she threw a weapon to the killer before running some more. The movie is creepy when it wants to be, the excellent music really sets the tone in some scenes, the long dark corridors offer a lot of atmosphere, and the jester costume is pretty chilling.Tragically, Simon Scuddamore who played Marty killed himself shortly after the film was finished. He was probably the best actor in the movie, he was very likeable and genuinely made you feel sorry for his character when the prank goes wrong. It's very hard to find out any information on his death, which adds an air of mystery to the film and his performance.Slaughter High has been released for the very first time on region 2, and Arrow have done a brilliant job with it. The picture quality is excellent for DVD, and the sound isn't far behind. The DVD contains all of the following extras.Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork.Double-sided fold-out artwork poster.Collector's booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by author Troy Howarth.Introduction by co-writer/ co-director Mark Ezra.Jesters and Jolts: Interview with co-writer/co-director Mark Ezra.Lamb to the Slaughter: The Scream Queen Career of Caroline Munro.Audio Commentary with star Caroline Munro, DVD World editor Allan Bryce and author and critic Calum Waddell.Audio Commentary with co-writer/ co-director Mark Ezra moderated by Teenage Wasteland author J. A. Kerswell.I'd wanted to own this film for a very long time, and I assumed that if we did finally get it, it would be a barebones disc with awful picture quality. Arrow have done a phenomenal job with Slaughter High, that good in fact that I've read comments from people in America that are jealous of how good our copy is, which makes a nice change as it's normally the other way. Arrow are doing a brilliant job of releasing the more obscure horror films, and releasing them in extras packed discs. Really good movie, outstanding disc.