Teacher Shortage

After arriving at a high school, a man learns a group of teachers is forced to attend a weekend seminar at a co-workers' house which turns into a troublesome situation when a deranged serial killer arrives looking to seek revenge on a prank gone wrong years earlier and tries to get away alive.

This was an incredibly enjoyable effort. Among the more impressive aspects here is the main setup involving the group at their main seminar meetings. The idea of getting together under the pretenses of improving their students' chances at school, including strategies to enhance their ability at scoring higher instead of actual learning and their resistance to those tactics, creates a fun setup here. The veiled commentary on the current status of public schooling, forsaking the actual teaching in favor of finding ways to get them to graduate, offers up a fantastic topical entrance point as the back-and-forth conversations offer enough to get acclimated to the characters in a fun way. As well, the film has a lot to like with the stalking scenes here. As these feature the striking use of red filters to evoke stylish giallo-like sequences, the stalking here is quite fun with ambushes in the school, at one of the teachers' house or the final attacks at the bar showing some great technical skills. The ability to be at ease with both the extended stalking and far shorter outbursts where the suddenness of the killer appearing has a great balance, keeping the pacing up in between everything while doling out stylish kills and plenty of suspense, is the best part of the film. The other positive aspect to like is the entire motivation for the killer to start their rampage. The initial prank from the post, changing the picture in the yearbook that everyone sees and laughs at, manages to serve as a worthwhile and humiliating inciting incident that's appropriately traumatic being followed up nicely by the scene in the bathroom taking the broken glass and committing suicide. What works as a simple, believable prank that would've been positive to pull off and serve as the proper overarching factor to spur her suicidal reaction but also serve as a reason to launch the actual rampage later is fine if simplistic slasher setup, giving this a lot to like overall here. There are a few minor problems here. The first problem here is the clueless rationale for going after the teachers for the prank that was committed. The far more likely targets would've been the people who put the prank together originally or the ones who let it happen, yet the rationale here to not only plan out the rampage as is but also try to sell what's going on here as the proper motivation to begin the rampage is somewhat underwhelming. An attempt at making it connect doesn't make sense with what it wants to pull off as the jumbled delivery is clunky and awkward, furthering that aspect even more. Some might find the red filter for the kills confusing, but beyond that, there isn't a whole lot wrong here.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Language.

It's a Rip-Roaring Blood Fest Centering Around the Effects & Consequences of Bullying , that begins with the Suicide of a Young High School Student & Ends in a Complete SlaughterFest ! It takes an Outstanding Cast of Professionals to make this oddly transformative Flik flower to Fruition ; & this Sparkling Crew delivers the Goods ! The Crux of the Story Centers around a Get-To-Know-You Teacher's Dinner presided over by "Sue Steel' a long time Teacher & Head of the English Department who's beginning to Embrace the Easy Way out ; & She's played by the Remarkable Debra Lamb , an absolute Legend in the Entertainment Industry ! Original Scream Queen Brinke Stevens still Packs a Wallop as 'Kathryn' , a dutiful Teacher trying to do Her job Fairly & Equally . Magnificent Mel Heflin , who's Traveling a Quick Road to Stardom is the disgruntled 'Valerie Battles' , Cool as a Cucumber & Sweeter than Cherry Pie Kaylee Williams is the Accommodating & Attractive 'Lauren Parker' , Then there's the Relative Newcomer to Film with the Astounding Screen Presence Samantha Marie as the Slightly Stuck-Up 'Alice Meadows' , & Iconic Tamara Glynn as 'Linda' , the Understanding Teacher with some personal Issues . Roger Conners as 'Michael Perry' & Chris Jehnert as 'Ryan Billings' play a couple of Teachers who have developed a Real Bond ; David E. McMahon is the obnoxious 'James Curtis' , & Michael Tula is the Fun Loving Skirt Chaser 'Brandt Carpenter' ; & Gorgeous Julie Anne Prescott Portrays the Tatood Bartender with the Perfect Top Shelf ; & the one that Started it All ... It's a Great Retro 80's Showpiece with some Modern Twists & a Climactic Ending ! They may be Short on Teachers ; but " TEACHER SHORTAGE " Possesses just the Right Amount of Blood , Action , & Frightening Fun !

This movie, imo, is almost as bad as it can get. Keep in mind I think a throwback slasher like Varsity Blood is a great example of a well done throwback style slasher.

Unfortunately there's not one redeeming quality I could find in this movie. The acting was absolutely dreadful, with the exception of having cast Brinke Stevens and Tamara Glynn who were underutilized anyways.

It's not fun to do a completely negative review and I give a LOT of leeway to slasher movies because there's really nowhere fresh to take the genre, but a nicely done homage to the past can be a great watch.

This is just a dreadful film.

If you're majoring in English, you might reconsider a career in education after watching Troy Escamilla's newest horror film. Put together a group of high school English teachers, a killer with an extremely creepy mask, and alcohol, and you've got "Teacher Shortage." The blood and gore are plentiful, as are the adroit performances by this award-winning film's cast. From the first beat of music (Guthrie Lowe) to the last, you'll be sucked into this menagerie of murder.

Writer and director, Troy Escamilla (Party Night, Mrs. Claus) has done a really great job of delivering a plot that is believable, enjoyable, and cohesive. It is very evident from the beginning of the film that Escamilla put a lot of thought into each character and how they are woven into their own slice of the plot. As the plot progresses, it does so authentically and doesn't feel forced. The characters seem to get to their various points in the plot because they're driven there by actions and circumstances, and the developments through the plot just make sense, which is something you don't see a lot of in the horror industry.

Chris Jehnert (Killer Unicorn, Trailer Park Princess) shines as Ryan Billings, an English teacher at Prescott High School who is in his first year of teaching. Actress and theatre teacher Uta Hagen wrote in her book, Respect for Acting, about acting genuinely. She said, "Talent is an amalgam of high sensitivity; easy vulnerability." Hagen would have loved Jehnert's vulnerable, innocent portrayal of Ryan because it is genuine and delicate and only makes the audience care more about the fate of Ryan Billings.

Jehnert's chemistry with Roger Conners (Viscera, The Curse of Lilith Ratchet) is really nice to watch. Conners plays Principal Perry, and the two actors build off each other as they perform. Conners lives in the moment, and his attentiveness to small details of his character is evident. The moments in which Jehnert and Conners share the screen are like an old "I Love Lucy" episode because they are actively listening to one another and reacting in the moment. Anyone can recite lines they've memorized, but it takes an actor to really listen and respond organically. On this exam, Jehnert and Conners both score an A+!

David McMahon (The Legend of Kate Kensington) really stands out in "Teacher Shortage" and expertly provides comedic relief as English teacher (and wine sommelier, apparently) James Curtis. McMahon is clearly the fun member of the group and does a good job of reeling the audience back in from getting too serious. His scenes with fellow English teachers Debra Lamb (Evil Spirits, Lake of Shadows), Samantha Marie (Supernatural Assassins), Michael Tula (Halloween Night), and Kaylee Williams (The Lashman) are really enjoyable to watch, and McMahon's fluency in sarcasm is top notch.

Derek Huey (Viscera, Mrs. Claus) deserves all of the awards for his cinematography in "Teacher Shortage." Huey's expert use of lighting makes intense moments of the film extremely creepy, and these moments stand out much more compared to similar scenes from other horror films. In one scene, Huey frames Sue Steel (Debra Lamb) wearing killer black heels and standing next to the dining room table and a broken glass. It sounds simple, but physically seeing the moment as it happens on film is really nice visually, and it contributes to the tone of the film.

After seeing "Teacher Shortage," the amount of awards and recognition being received is not surprising. The film won Best Director - Feature for the Crimson Screen Horror Film fest, for which it also received a nomination for Best Special Effects. The film also won Most Memorable Villain for the Something Wicked Film Festival, for which it also received nominations for Best Female Actor in a Film (Brinke Stevens) and Best Male Actor in a Film (Chris Jehnert). I have no doubt Escamilla and his cast and crew will receive more nominations, wins, and recognition.

"Teacher Shortage" is available right now for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime.

Loved it, 80's feel to it. Slasher flick. Well done!