Massacre no Colégio

"Slaughter High" is, perhaps, the most underrated slasher flick of the 1980s. It is one of the few films in the genre that is enthralling throughout. That being said, it also relies heavily on the standard slasher formula: A group of young men and women get killed one by one gruesomely until the final showdown.

The reason why "Slaughter High" stands above most movies in its genre is that it goes more over-the-top. Marty, the killer, has good reason to hold a grudge against his former classmates. They electrocuted him as he stood naked in a girl's locker room shower, jabbed at his crotch with a javelin, and, to top it off, rigged his science lab experiment so it could disfigure him.

So, the victims in this movie are about as unlikeable as you get. When they reunite years later -- at a high school reunion put on by Marty himself -- you realize they haven't matured all that much. They're a bunch of sociopaths.

It is mind-boggling why they would not wonder why they were the only ones to show up to the reunion, which, by the way, is held at a school that has since fell into disrepair. And who would think it's a good idea to drink beer and liquor found in the abandoned building in a room that happens to have their old lockers -- as well as Marty's -- on display? There are many leaps of faith the viewer needs to take to enjoy this film. The ending makes little or no sense. And the screenwriters have a strange understanding of how April Fool's Day works: The movie claims that pranks are no longer allowed after noon.

In all, the movie is one of the best examples of the slasher genre, despite all of its flaws. It is hard to understand why it hasn't yet found its way to DVD, when so many other run-of-the-mill slasher flicks are graced with special editions.

This one is just okay, the setting of the abandoned high school is cool and a lot of the death scenes are creative. But in the other hand, the acting sucks and the characters are two dimensional while also making the stupidest decisions known to man kind. After one of their friends dies they all decide to go to sleep! Who would do that!? I would actually give this a lower rating but the ending gives it some points. Overall it's an entertaining mess of a movie and I kinda like it.

Eight American high school graduates return to their now-defunct school for a 5-year reunion celebration. Unfortunately for them the nerd they picked on and inadvertently ruined is also there with fatal revenge in mind.

The dilapidated school building that "Slaughter High" (1986) is mostly set recalls "Death Tunnel" (2005), but "Slaughter High" is subpar by comparison; it lacks the professionalism and aesthetics of that later film. Whether you like "Death Tunnel" or not is a different story, but it IS professionally made with awesome visuals, state-of-the-art editing, a superlative female cast and excellent score/soundtrack.

So "Slaughter High" is a decidedly Grade B 80's slasher in production values; and arguably Grade C. It's marred by a dated score and a little camp, particularly the nerd, but is otherwise decent for what it is. Everyone involved knew it wasn't a top-of-the-line production, but gave it their best to entertain the audience. The ending features an original twist that is done much better a year later in "Slumber Party Massacre II."

The beautiful Caroline Munro was a little long in the tooth at 36 (during shooting) to play a high school senior and early 20's B-movie actress by the second act, but her attractive vibrancy pulls it off. Nevertheless, her heyday was the 70s and her star was falling at this point, which didn't seem to bother her a bit. Kelly Baker is worth mentioning as Nancy while Carmine Iannaccone is charismatic as Skip.

Simon Scudamore, the actor who plays the nerd unfortunately committed suicide after the completion of the movie on November 21, 1984, an apparently intentional drug overdose.

The film runs 1 hour, 30 minutes; it was shot in England as follows: St. Marylebone Grammar School, London (interiors of school); Holloway Sanatorium, Surrey (exteriors of school); London (interior and exterior of apartment); and Wentworth Golf Club, Surrey (the road where the car breaks down).

GRADE: C

This film is the epitome of bad 80's slasher films: a decent idea that comes out really bad and rips off good slasher films in the process.

Marty, the stereotypical high-school nerd, is horribly disfigured in an accident caused by a prank gone too far. Years later, Marty invites the pranksters back to their old high school for a reunion. One by one, Marty stalks and murders them.

Sounds pretty good but given the bad script, bad acting, bad special effects and no trace of suspense, the film is nothing but a cheesy gore-fest littered with numerous plot holes. The illogical behavior of the characters is bad enough, but the dialogue is just plain painful to witness. Even if you like bad B-movies, this one is still awful.

I paid $1 for this movie in one of those dollar stores and would really like my money back.

Saw this film years ago on video and found a cheap copy of it recently.Yeah i know they're not exactly the right age for the parts they're playing and of course most of the cast can't disguise their British accents but i still like it for a laugh!

Some of the murder scenes are inventive though how did he know they'd end up on the bed or taking a bath???!!!!

Ending is a bit strange and sorry to hear about the suicide of the guy who played Marty.Otherwise an enjoyable film not to be taken seriously!