Malibu High

It's definitely the best story I've ever seen about a girl who wants better grades and then becomes a prostitute and then becomes an assassin. Part of the excellent "Welcome to the Grindhouse" series complete with trailers for other good trash. This movie also contains the ODDEST music cues ever; one was used on the old SCTV and they also use the song that became "The People's Court" theme. Bad acting, unbelievable plotting make this is a "MUST OWN" for connoisseurs of bad cinema. The DVD is paired with "Trip with the Teacher" another grade Z champion seemingly "inspired" by "Last House on the Left." The entire "Welcome to the Grindhouse" is essential DVD.

OK, this is a B movie. Let's just start there and realize that this film is just not a great piece of cinema. Now, knowing that, we can move forward. This is the best film of its type there is. Here's the synopsis. Girl is in high school. Girl's mother suggests that she get a job. Girl becomes prostitute. Girl kills pimp. Girl becomes HitGirl-for-the-Mob. Lots of other subplots to keep you entertained. Probably too many. But the lines in this groaner are worth the price of admission, if you can find it anywhere. "I'm a hooker - not a hitgirl!". Come on! Does it get better than that? MH belongs in the Hall of Fame with Faster Pussycat Kill Kill, They Came From Within and Attack of the Killer Tomatos, and is the best of the bunch. This film is an A+ in the world of the B-.

Jill Lansing, the main lead in this grindhouse gave a excellent performance but sadly it was her only movie she played in. Never heard of seen her again. And let me tell you that this is pure grindhouse. In the first minute Kim (Jill Lansing) wakes up , naked of course and the first thing she does is putting on a fag. Imagine this in today's film standards. The clothes, hair, even the score is so typical for that era, men, do I love those flicks. After Kim is dumped by her boyfriend for a rich girl she's on the loose. School doesn't work and she just don't care. But without any money she decides after a disco night (listen and watch it) to become another woman. One that teachers don't dare to flunk because she's seducing and making love to them. But Kim goes a bit further and goes into the world of hookers. Naturally, things go awry for Kim. You don't watch it for the acting because some are really wooden. The editing, sound and vision was really well for a grindhouse. The so-called erotic scene's are a bit dull, you just see the acting but anyhow you still want to know what is going to happen to Kim. And Kim does gives the breast, sorry, best she can. The ending is a bit weird, you can see it coming but how the cops arrive at the beach is still a bit weird. I mean, no cell phones in those days. I surely recommend it to the grindhouse geeks out there, you won't regret it.

You don't go into seeing this one with any grandiose notions, and, if you are like me, you should be pleasantly surprised that this is one of those vintage "bad" movies that is just loads of fun to sit through. Kim Bentley loses her boyfriend and so she begins failing her classes, etc... when she decides to become a prostitute and then later an assassin picking up booze, weed, and coke along the way. Jill Lansing appearing in what seems to be her only screen credit gives a credible performance as the "hooker to hit girl" as she frequently disrobes and lets her breasts get lots of air, seduces two of her teachers for grades, and runs a profitable business from the back of her pimp's van. We get lots of stereotypes here and the plot is pretty threadbare when it comes to anything other than giving us lurid and "shocking" behaviours to be witnessed. The rest of the cast is better-than-average for a movie of this ilk, and I laughed out loud several times at the bizarre going ons and what I was suppose(perhaps not) to take seriously. In addition to all this Kim has a few hazy flashbacks about her father hanging himself. Malibu High is sleazy and fun - and entertaining. It has what you would expect in a picture like this but packages it well. As some have noted the soundtrack is weird to say the least as we get an instrumental People's Court theme used in a most inopportune moment and that bizarre SCTV strident tone used when something significant is being conveyed - at least that is what the director is trying to convey.

It's no wonder that the Drive-ins were drug, booze and party havens in the '70s with this type of fare being shown! Even with all of it's flaws, there is something I really like about this movie. The plot alone was what made me want to watch this hooter flick in the first place. High School flunky, turned Hooker, turned Hitgirl! When Kim gets bad grades, she seduces her Teachers and it escalates from there to becoming a full blown hooker. Not on the street mind you, but in the back of a van! What more of a classic Drive-in masterpiece could this be? The acting is awful and stiff. Speaking of stiff, the sex scenes are almost, if not worse than the acting! The camera work looks more like a home movie than a theatrical presentation. The fashions in this movie look more like mid '70s than 1979 fashion. What really cracks me up is when Kim (Jill Lansing) decides to become a hooker and shows up to school in a halter top and mini skirt! Where did she get that mini skirt from? It looks like it was made of cardboard! Didn't anyone tell Kim that mini skirts were out of fashion by 1974? The other thing that makes me laugh about this movie is the music. It sounds like what you used to hear at the supermarket. That canned piped in music called "Muzak". It's not offensive, it just doesn't really suit the movie. At the same time though, it is what gives this movie it's charm. There are a couple of music selections I had heard before. One was the music that plays after Kim tells her Mom off. This music was used for the station identification on the comedy show SCTV, which ran in the early '80s here in Canada. The next selection was during the chase scene at the end. The music being used is the same music for the syndicated TV show "The People's Court" opening! The one thing that stands out in this movie is the 1971 Mustang convertible. It's the real star of the show! It is nice to see this version of Mustang caught on film forever without rust and holes all over it, which these cars were known for. If you like movies like "The Van", "The Pom Pom Girls", and "H.O.T.S.", you may find this movie disappointing. But if you are like me and can appreciate trash flicks like "The Lonely Lady" and "The Seduction", then you will enjoy this made-for-drive-in classic!