उपयोगकर्ता समीक्षाएं

After falling foul of a group of bullies at his new high school, promising young athlete David (Derrel Maury) is attacked and severely injured. His near-crippling leg injury leaves him angry, deranged and thirsty for revenge on those who would bully others.

This entertaining and thought-out horror movie is an interesting addition to the horror genre. Unlike many other similar films, ‘Massacre at Central High' spends a relatively large amount of time building up the plot and developing the central characters. It is through this intelligent characterisation that the viewer is positively encouraged to feel contempt for the gang of bullies. In some ways the actual acts of bullying and violence towards other students committed by the central gang are reminiscent of ‘Carrie' (1976), albeit on a much larger scale. Rather than have the torment revolving around one character, the entire school is subjected to often horrific acts and thus they live in fear of the gang that runs the school. While one could easily question the situations that the students continually find themselves in (such as where are the teachers?), the movie raises some questions about how far a group of people will go before someone steps in to halt their actions. In fact, the gang is convincingly portrayed as taking their violence and brutality further each time and even revelling in the new `experiences' that they create for themselves. Although the film is fairly entertaining even when taken at face value, there does seem to be underlying storylines throughout and while the film does indeed suffer somewhat from implausible situations, there is still a lot of enjoyment and thought provoking material that can be found within it.

Unfortunately, there are two main problems with the film. First of all the acting is of a generally low standard. While the performances are by and large tolerable for this type of movie, the limited talents of most of the performers can be somewhat sidetracking, and when an important point is to be made it maybe does not have the impact that it could have were a more talented actor have been involved. However, considering the obvious low-budget of this movie and the apparent effort that was put in by the entire cast, these lapses are forgivable. The second problem with the movie is that it seems to get sidetracked somewhat around two thirds of the way through and the storyline seems to branch off a little too far. While the second part of the story does have merit and tries to be as thought provoking as the earlier story, the movie fails to mesh together all that well. The slow pacing of the second part of the film becomes something of a distraction rather than being an advantage as it was in the first part. Also, the second part of the film turns the character of David into an almost typical slasher villain whereas in the earlier scenes of the film one felt compassion for him and supported his actions, just as one may support the actions of Doc. Collingwood in ‘Last House on the Left' (1972). Although the reason for David's later actions are explained (albeit completely obvious) there is a lack of further character development where an insight into David's deranged mind would have been something of a refinement.

Nonetheless, ‘Massacre at Central High' is still a generally well thought out movie and certainly an enjoyable enough watch. The grainy picture is, in some ways, a perfect addition to the movie although probably accidental. Fans of other revenge-style horror movies should probably enjoy this and it is recommended for those who like a nice, often subtle subtext to their films rather than just straight-forward and rather unimaginative horror. There are flaws with the film but most of those can be overlooked, even when the story seems to be bordering on the completely ridiculous or senseless. Entertaining, thought provoking and with well developed characters – recommended! My rating for ‘Massacre at Central High' – 7/10.

I always believed "Massacre at Central high" has always been categorized incorrectly. Despite the title, it's not a "horror" film (it's not scary and doesn't fit the mold) and it isn't a true "slasher" film. I always felt that this film was just a great drama, one where the actual killings are secondary to the messages the film has to offer for examination. I really don't like "message" or "deep" films that much, but this one is a rare exception as far as "deep" films go. The great thing about this film is, it doesn't have to be "deep" unless you deliberately look further into it.

This is really quite an intelligent film. It examines social class and status, power and authority, the rebellion and the aftermath of such rebellion. The story is very interesting - David comes to Central High, only to find his old best friend Mark is now a part of a group of four guys that pick on everyone and rule the school. David has a choice, join up or become one of the picked on. David starts showing his disdain for the group, and it's only a matter of time before the group gets fed up with giving David chance after chance, as pleaded by Mark.

David is the leader of the rebellion against the bullies, and when the problem is solved, new ones crop up because there is a void that needs to be filled - the oppressed become the new bullies and it's the start of the same cycle over again.

The examination of such nature, especially seeing the "new bullies" and how they take over the role is fascinating. One of them even buys a car from the parents of the leader of the bullies, the car belonging to their son who David has killed, to even more completely fill the role.

You never see any adults in Central High - this is intentional as the world we are seeing revolves totally around the students. Actually the only time you do see any adults is in the final sequence at the school dance, where they are very zombie-ish and lifeless, Central High being their own futureless living graveyard.

This is definitely an underrated amazing little film. A DVD release would be very much appreciated!

This movie was made six or eight years too soon. 1976 was the year that the micro-computer revolution was just getting into swing and it would be a few years before IBM would make Bill Gates a billionaire. So nobody paid much attention to this film. But, it had so much more to offer than the "light-hearted" Revenge of the Nerds films.

We open with a (they didn't have skin heads then) group of Nazi like blonde haired bullies terrorizing the lessor students into "politically correct" thinking ala the burgeoning "family values" <insert twisted cross here> movement. A new kid comes to school and although he has an "in" with the rulers of the hallways, their brutality offends him and he sides with the under dogs. Even using his own physical superiority at fighting to humiliate the gang--and worse steal their women. His friend in the gang is sympathetic, but tries to convince him to join up or get his comeuppance. Our hero gets his comeuppance in spades and now he really gets mad and turns to murder!

After the "Nazis" are eliminated one by one, a power vacuum ensues where there is a mad dash to fill it. We then realize that there is always going to be predator and prey and it just a matter of who is the strongest.

This film is the perfect allegory of High School Life--and Life in general. This is an unheralded masterpiece! It only suffered in production values, which were less than perfect.

"Massacre at Central High" is perhaps misleading in its title, which evokes a gore-filled splatterfest, which this film is not. The premise surrounds David, a teenager who transfers to a new high school where the students run wild, and a group of male bullies torment their peers without consequence. The unhinged David begins to murder each of the bullies, but his plan to cleanse the school backfires when those on the bottom of the social ladder take on the same traits as their former dead oppressors.

A weird but memorable entry in the horror genre, "Massacre at Central" high feels like it occurs in a dreamscape or an alternate world. This is largely due to the fact that the film features no "adult" figures to speak of; the bullies torment the students to extreme lengths, and even attempted gang rapes are left unreported and largely up to the students themselves to sort out. "Lord of the Flies" comes to mind, as well as some elements of "Carrie," minus the supernatural edge. This off-kilter universe in which the film orbits lends it a unique and memorable feel.

It's not what I'd classify as a conventionally "scary" film by any stretch of the imagination. It is a horror film, but only in the sense that there are savage murders occurring throughout and that the subject matter is generally dark. The film itself is aesthetically quite bright, boasting a distinctive Los Angeles atmosphere that is laid on thick. Malibu's beaches set the stage for several scenes, and the film feels every bit a "California" production.

Performances from Robert Carradine and Kimberly Beck (who would later become a genre favorite for her role in "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter") are some notable highlights, while Derrel Maury plays the outsider/deranged avenger with an appropriate distance. None of the performances are particularly provoking and are by and large rather bland, but serviceable given the material.

All in all, "Massacre at Central High" is a unique and thoroughly strange film that toes the line between exploitation slasher and thoughtful allegory. It is not a great film and at times feels extremely choppy, but it's a certain oddity and a respectable example of a filmmaker attempting something different. The fact that it predates the slasher by a significant amount of time also makes it an intriguing film on the historical timeline that is worth examining. 7/10.

Underground cult classic is one of the greatest vengeance thrillers of the 70's and simply one of the best youth-violence films ever!

Newcomer to a California high school doesn't like the fact that a gang of bullies is ruling the students and when he is attacked he strikes back big time! But, that's only the beginning.

Massacre at Central High is a low-budget dated film, but it is also an outstanding thriller with some excellent social commentary. It explores the themes of power, control, sexual rage, and social unrest among a body of very normal-looking teenagers, which makes it all the more a striking tale. It also strongly recalls the fear of every high school student, being an outcast and not having control of one's life. The plot of the film is engulfing, laced with violence, and given some nicely off-beat twists that keep the tale compelling through out. It ends with an explosive finale, literally.

The youthful cast is excellent in this film. Derrel Maury does a terrific turn as a seemingly normal youth. The always enjoyable Andrew Stevens is sympathetic as a popular teen drawn into Maury's plight. Kimberly Beck isn't bad as Steven's girlfriend. Robert Carradine is good as a hippie teen, desperate to see change. Ray Underwood is strong in his role as the bullying gang leader.

Massacre at Central High has become some what lost over the years, but certainly not because it isn't an effectively powerful film! It is a terrific multi-layered tale that well transcends its 'cheap horror' appearance to be a film with a strong universal message. See it!

**** out of ****

This movie might have been somewhat decent, if it hadn't been for the terrible filming, lighting and sound recording. Half the time you couldn't recognise the characters or understand their conversations. You had to guess who they were and what they were saying (which, I have to admit, was pretty fun!).I also noticed that all the actors were at least in their thirties while their characters were high school kids. They kept on talking about "old friends" (how old could they be, if they were not older than 18???) and their time in jail!! This seems pretty impossible for someone attending grade 12. The story itself was not even too bad, but all the efforts were in vain due to the amateurish way in which the film was shot.

I first saw this in the early 90s on a vhs. Revisited it recently.

This is not ur regular slasher movie inspite of the kills happening around a high skool involving teens. The swimming pool kill terrified me then. The film has lots of kills, lil nudity but the best part is the script n the characters.

The theme where the oppressed students take on the role of their bully oppressors really impressed me aft revisiting it now.

David, the new kid in school, prefers not to join the club that the only new friend he made ,Mark, runs in. Craig, the leader of said gang doesn't like that David isn't falling in line and when he saves some "bull dykes" from getting raped by the gang, he pays for his insolence. Now after a stint in the hospital, he plots revenge. Horrid acting hamper this 'message' horror movie. Homoerotic sub-text, lame killings, and bad dialog don't help either. And don't get me started on that theme song. Go rent "Class of 1984" instead.

My Grade: D

Eye Candy: Kimberly Beck & Cheyrl Smith show all; Lani O'Grady shows breasts

A real find. I remember I first read about it in "The Phantom's Ultimate Movie Guide." The title alone caught my attention as well as the review found in the book. I finally got to see it a year ago and I found it to be very intelligent and suspenseful, not to mention thought provoking. I am still contemplating the message behind the movie and that is what I love best about it. It is not blunt about what it is saying, it leaves it up to you to decide. Though technically a slasher flick, the movie is anything but routine, with plenty of twists to keep your attention. It is basically a parable of political corruption in a high school setting. It presents a high school where there is no authority and I must say that is not too unrealistic, when I got picked on by bullies in high school there seemed to be no teachers around anywhere. It was only in class when I actually saw the teachers or any other adults. The kids who were strongest physically seemed to be in charge of the halls. There were times where I wanted to just try to make a change but I felt it was futile. "Massacre At Central High" deals with such issues, but it also offers an alternative solution and the consequences of it. One of the few slasher flicks to deal effectively with real issues as well the often harsh reality that high school was for some.

(There are Spoilers) Arriving at Central High to begin classes David, Darrel Maury,is confronted with this gang of bullies, The Young Gestapo,lead by Bruce, Ray Underwood, who terrorize the students at the school.

Mark, Andrew Stevens, a good friend of David's, from a previous high school, and member of "The Young Gestapo" wants him to join them and stuck his neck out to assure Bruce & Co. that he will but David is unmoved and unimpressed and tends to stays by himself.

Keeping a safe distance between himself and the school bullies David for the most part is left alone with his friend Mark being more or less a buffer zone between them. It's when David see's Bruce and his gang grab Jane & Mary (Lani O'Grady & Cheryl Smith) and after dragging the girls into a deserted school room he jumps into action and makes short work of the bullies having them flee with their tails between their legs. Humiliated by the beating that David gave them and feeling that their control of the student body is slipping away the school bullies plan to get even with him but only after they offer David the "privilege" to join their gang and become one of them.

Driving out one evening to the beach Bruce has Mark go out and talk to David about joining but he sees David and his girlfriend Theresa, Kimberly Black, skinny-dipping in the ocean. This has an upset and bitter Mark come back to Bruce and his fellow bullies Craig & Paul, Steve Bond & Damon Douglas, telling them that David refused to take them up on their offer.

Finding David the next day fixing a car Bruce has the lift lowered on David's leg crushing it and leaving him a cripple. Mark who was mad at David for being with Theresa later found out from her that all they did was swim and nothing more, David refused to hurt his friend Mark by sleeping or having sex with Theresa, making Mark feel guilty for what happened to David.

It's then when the movie takes a political and ultra-violent turn with David back in school, after recovering from his leg injury, and slowly and methodically putting away Bruce Craig & Paul. David does this by causing them to fall to their deaths from high places, like the heights of power that they were on. In the end David unknowingly creates a power vacuum that's filled by the very students that the "Young Gestapos" victimized and they turned out to be even worse, and more vicious, then the bullies that they replaced.

Not your average teenager movie or a rip-off of "Rebel Without a Cause" "Massacre at Central High" shows what the saying "Power Corrupts" really means and uses the setting of students in a high school, not dictators or leader of nations, as the metaphor.

David sees that he personally created a monster by ridding the school of Bruce's gang of bullies and thus slowly and quietly goes insane because of it. The only way David can make things right again is to the destroy the very system that he created, the new students bullies, and goes about it with even more determination and ferocity that he did against Bruce's "Young Gestapo".

You know right away in the movie that this is not about teenagers in high school or another "Happy Days" like sitcom when you notice almost at once there's no teachers and adults in the cast except for the Alumni Ball at the end of the film.

David's plans to blow Central High up with everyone there including Theresa, who he's in love with, who's the only person in the world who can stop David from doing it. Can in this situation Love overcome the hatred that David has for the new order that he created? Or has David's hatred of the monster he spawned by now gotten so far out of hand that even Theresa's death isn't enough to make David change his evil sick and destructive plan!

To hear the name of this implies it is a typical horror/slasher film and it isn't. I loved this movie when my brother, a major film buff, first introduced me to it many years ago. Massacre may have its flaws(admittedly it's not a high budget movie!) but it is surprisingly chilling and would have alot of relevence, were it to be rereleased today.

The film ruthlessly drives home to the viewer what it can be like to be a a highschool student at a school where nobody cares-the lack of any adults in the movie and many scenes of bullying and tormenting bring the point home as did another great movie "Carrie".

However, Massacre takes the premise one, two, three steps further- this isn't "Carrie" as many have said, it's more "Carrie" meets "Lord of the flies". Massacre shows the flaws of all the main characters and lets nobody off the hook. That's all I will say but if your reading this and haven't seen it check it out-it's little known but is good!

"So you've become one of the privileged people." "Sure, but there's a difference. I deserve it. I had to work for it. Didn't come on no silver platter."

A teenage revenge film that's got a lot of the corniness and amateur feeling typical of the genre, but also elements of commentary on class and power, which made for a surprisingly good watch. It all starts when a new kid to the school (Darrel Maury) meets up with an old friend (Andrew Stevens), who tries to convince him to join up with a group of elitist bullies who rule the school with an iron hand, beating up boys and raping girls (trigger warning, the latter is a jarring scene). It's fitting that at the outset we see someone (Robert Carradine, pre-Revenge of the Nerds) painting a Nazi symbol on one of their lockers - he's caught by them and pummeled, of course.

The film establishes the bullies as being from rich families and feeling a sense of entitlement, driving expensive cars, contrasted to those who are less well off, driving broken down jalopies, or intellectuals. By itself that made it interesting, but once we see the film heading to dispense of these bullies one by one in brutal ways, while possibly cathartic, it seemed bound to follow the same old formulas. It finds another gear in the final half hour though, when in the absence of power, new bullies begin emerging, which was quite a statement on human nature, or perhaps for the hazards of overthrowing authoritarian governments.

The film is buoyed with its use of its California location, with things like the scenic coastline, hang gliding, surfing, and the beach all featured prominently. Unfortunately, it's also grounded in teenage male fantasy, such as the moment some of the kids go off to have a three way in a tent, nakedly cavorting about despite the recent horrific murders of their friends. There are illogical character motivations, mediocre acting, and a shocking absence of any adults. Yes, bullies do find ways to do their evil in the real world, but to not have parents, teachers, police, etc during all this mayhem felt a little odd. Just imagine if there had been teachers who were aware of, but complicit in the teenage power structure, or corrupt policemen who turned a blind eye, which could have added other dimensions. I have to say, the music is also terrible, and that opening song ("You're at the crossroads of your life...") may cause your ears to bleed as badly as the kid in the library. Last point - watch Darrel Maury hop down the stairs one-legged near the end, that was pretty impressive.

Much acclaimed flick this is. It's clear who the killer is from the first moments. But it's notorious for the reason that no weapons are used to kill the victims. No guns or knifes. That makes it an original slasher. It's not gory or even bloody because it's made just before the gory effects came in with Friday the 13th (1980). It's even not scary like Halloween (1978) but it's worth a look.

Just look for a few names to see, Andrew Stevens (Mark) maybe the most famous one but there's also Derrel Maury (David) and of course Kimberley Beck (Theresa) who goes full frontal here and moved further to Friday The 13th The Final Chapter (1984). But not only the thespians became famous in their era, there's also Rene Daalder, the Dutch director who was asked by Russ Meyer to direct this flick, together they made the never-completed collaboration with The Sex Pistols on Who Killed Bambi? Daalder also made video clips afterwards and was consultant and designer for FX for Robocop 2 (1990) and The Lawnmower Man (1992) amongst others.

With it's grainy look it do adds something toward this early slasher. It do has a bit of gratuitous nudity when a trio is having sex in a tent. Bring back the time when save sex was out of the question. No adults in this flick are shown, also something weird and it do has political undertones. Almost no blood, maybe it was a love story after all....Having no US release up to this writing it is available in the UK and Germany on the X-rated label still 666 copies were made. A cult classic with a lot of following.

Gore 0,5/5 Nudity 2/5 Effects 1/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

Massacre at Central High is one of the earlier exploitation/slasher films to feature a school full of thirty-something's getting bumped off, but that's not to say it's a cut above the rest of the genre. The film stands apart from others like it because it features a social commentary to go along with the bloodshed, but it's largely ill-conceived, and doesn't work the way it was obviously intended to. That's not to say that the social commentary isn't a good idea; these sorts of themes have worked well in many more professionally made films, but the inane dialogues and poor production values of this film make it too difficult to really take seriously, which doesn't do the social commentary any favours. The plot focuses on David; a new student at a high school in America. David was once friends with Mark, who is in a clique with the school bullies. They rule the school with an iron fist, but they get more than they bargained for when they decide to cowardly injure David under a car. Now crippled, he decides to take his revenge on the gang that did it.

Aside from the none too successful social commentary, this film also suffers because it's never all that interesting. The seventies style is there, but other than that, the film can be a bit dry. The murder scenes are more inventive than your common slasher fare, but they're not very gory and are mostly extremely unlikely. None of the performers succeed at convincing the audience that they're young enough to even go to school, and it's all rather wooden as well. This isn't always a problem with trashy low budget cinema, but there's little distraction with this film. The fact that the film was shot on a low budget is evident throughout, as the locations are often very bare, the cinematography is bland; and as mentioned, they couldn't afford any capable actors. One thing that writer-director Rene Daalder does succeed at, however, is putting the focus squarely on the society at the centre of the film at all times, and this is done by only showing the school "kids", and no adults. Overall, this might appeal more to the kind of people that enjoy slashers and the like; but I found this film very lacklustre.