IMDb RATING
4.6/10
6.7K
YOUR RATING
A teenage girl befriends a suspected high school slasher.A teenage girl befriends a suspected high school slasher.A teenage girl befriends a suspected high school slasher.
Donovan Leitch Jr.
- Brian Woods
- (as Donovan Leitch)
Brenda James
- Colleen
- (as Brenda Lynn Klemme)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
This movie is often ignored by horror fans, but pretty underrated. Yes its cheesy and yes the only reason most people will pick it up in a video store is because Brad Pitt is on the cover but it does have a huge overall entertainment factor. The story is typical of 80s teen slashers, and the movie does have a strong likeness to Prom Night, Slaughter High and Return to Horror High, which isn't a bad thing. The acting is OK but the story is very good, and the sense of 'whodunnit' is very gripping (almost as good as Scream). When the killer is revealed in the grand finale, the final battle of good and evil begins in one last fight!!! Its pretty darn good and if you have any hesitations in seeing it...just watch it and i'm sure you won't be disappointed!
I think it'd be fair to say that, if Cutting Class didn't have Brad Pitt, the entire would would have forgotten about it in '89.
On the surface, the concept of Cutting Class isn't terrible. It seems like it would have potential to be fairly fun. Plus, we're given the fabulous Jill Scholen as our leading lady and her track record with horror projects is pretty solid from The Stepfather to Popcorn. Surely, she wouldn't sign on to a turkey, right?
Sadly, this is wrong. Very wrong. Poor Scholen has very little to do, nor does the rest of the cast, including a very strangely placed Martin Mull and Roddy McDowell who must have owed someone a favor.
The tone varies between weird comedy and bland slashings, but neither work well by themselves and they certainly don't gel well together. Maybe the script read better than the film turned out. It's also shot with zero style and looks like an impossibly bland TV movie.
Cutting Class isn't worth a revisit. Bank some erasers together instead.
On the surface, the concept of Cutting Class isn't terrible. It seems like it would have potential to be fairly fun. Plus, we're given the fabulous Jill Scholen as our leading lady and her track record with horror projects is pretty solid from The Stepfather to Popcorn. Surely, she wouldn't sign on to a turkey, right?
Sadly, this is wrong. Very wrong. Poor Scholen has very little to do, nor does the rest of the cast, including a very strangely placed Martin Mull and Roddy McDowell who must have owed someone a favor.
The tone varies between weird comedy and bland slashings, but neither work well by themselves and they certainly don't gel well together. Maybe the script read better than the film turned out. It's also shot with zero style and looks like an impossibly bland TV movie.
Cutting Class isn't worth a revisit. Bank some erasers together instead.
A killer on the loose is murdering students and teachers from a cool high school. Now it's up to the popular kids and the most ignored of them, recently released from a psychiatric hospital, to solve the mystery behind the murders. In this almost ludicrous and predictable whodunit, everything is what appears to be and our fun is to see how foolish director and writer can get while coming up with obvious devices that doesn't even try to fool and impress the viewers. Maybe some of the violence was unexpected but they sure were looking for the laughs. And this is a barrel of laughter.
C'mon, it's not that bad. It's embarrassingly fun to watch a bunch of actors fully knowing they're stinking on scene, trying hard to look authentic and reliable, in this sort of parody of teen slasher flicks. A pretty good trash, now with a heavy cult following from Brad Pitt fans who are curious in seeing one of his earliest roles. And truth be told, he's the only one who worked the hardest to look good enough, in opposition to the cheesy acting from almost everyone. But Donovan Leitch steals the show in a weird way. As the troubled and lonesome Brian Woods, he's the most memorable face from this thing with his terrifying yet good looking eyes and face, a Ricky Fits kind of character - definitely not obsessed, just curious. But why does he have to dress like Frankenstein?
Although heavily inspired but countless (and better) movies, this one had its original parts. High point is when the killer challenges the math teacher to solve a difficult equation and discover which door from the classroom is the safe passage. That scene had me giving some nervous laughs.
It's enjoyable but only when you're in the mood to have fun and not take anything you see here in a serious way. But in the end "Cutting Class" shows us that skipping class is far more worse than killing people. Ouch. 6/10
C'mon, it's not that bad. It's embarrassingly fun to watch a bunch of actors fully knowing they're stinking on scene, trying hard to look authentic and reliable, in this sort of parody of teen slasher flicks. A pretty good trash, now with a heavy cult following from Brad Pitt fans who are curious in seeing one of his earliest roles. And truth be told, he's the only one who worked the hardest to look good enough, in opposition to the cheesy acting from almost everyone. But Donovan Leitch steals the show in a weird way. As the troubled and lonesome Brian Woods, he's the most memorable face from this thing with his terrifying yet good looking eyes and face, a Ricky Fits kind of character - definitely not obsessed, just curious. But why does he have to dress like Frankenstein?
Although heavily inspired but countless (and better) movies, this one had its original parts. High point is when the killer challenges the math teacher to solve a difficult equation and discover which door from the classroom is the safe passage. That scene had me giving some nervous laughs.
It's enjoyable but only when you're in the mood to have fun and not take anything you see here in a serious way. But in the end "Cutting Class" shows us that skipping class is far more worse than killing people. Ouch. 6/10
When I first rented this movie I thought I was in for your typical cheesy teen slasher movie; but this one was pretty good. So many of the characters were so freaky that you really aren't sure who's doing the killing until the last ten minutes of the film. The acting ranged from very bad to very good; with the best performance coming from actor Donovan Leitch (The Blob, Glory.) I bought a copy on VHS, now if they would just release it on DVD. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
"Cutting Class" is god awful, but it is soooooo funny. You and your friends have a better chance at scoring a laugh with this slasher flick than 90 percent of the films in the comedy section at the video store. The plot(if you can call it that)is about some murderer going around killing students, obviously nothing new. The suspects: Theres only two really, Brian(the former mental patient/creepy kid), and Dwight(the jock/main characters boyfriend). Its quite obvious which one of the two it is, but you dont even care about that stuff, you're watchin' for the laughs. Jill Schoelen is the main girl, Paula, and her Dad is on a hunting trip, and she has the house to herself, its not very safe. The movie stars Brad Pitt!! The rental price alone is worth the laughter you'll get from hearing him say "I'm bigger where it really counts." Jennifer Aniston, his wife, luckily cant throw this movie in his face, shes got Leperchaun under her belt. This film contains no sex, but it does try to spice it up: A cheerleader decides not to wear panties at The Big Game, Paula washes her hair wearin nothing BUT panties, and the principal makes Paula bend over to pick up her new cheerleading uniform so he can check out her rump. The gore is cheap and fake(impalements, axes in the head, hammers in the head), the acting sucks (although this film has some semi-decent names attached:Brad Pitt, Donavon Leitch, Martin Mull), and its SO 1980's. Dont hop to the conclusion that I'm trash for seeing this flick, I saw it on TV. You're not trash for renting this for laughs, you're trash for renting it for scares.
Lower your expectations, rent, and laugh!
Lower your expectations, rent, and laugh!
Did you know
- TriviaJill Schoelen and Brad Pitt met on this film and eventually became engaged, though they never got married.
- GoofsThe clothes that Paula and Dwight wear in the scene where Paula models for the art class are the same clothes they wear later in the film on the day when Mrs. Knocht is murdered, which takes place after the art teacher's murder. However, in scenes that take place during the day of the art teacher's death, Paula and Dwight wear outfits that are different from those in the modeling scene.
- Quotes
Dwight Ingalls: You know, Your fathers a lot bigger than I am. Of course, I bigger where it REALLY counts!
- Alternate versionsThe US Lionsgate DVD is advertised as the Unrated Version though it actually features a badly edited print. Missing are shots of blood spurts during Gary's throat slashing, the teacher with the axe in his head, Brian being hit with a hammer, and shots of a bloody Brian as he falls on the chainsaw. UK releases feature the fully uncut print.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Siskel & Ebert Interviews (1996)
- SoundtracksGUYS LIKE GIRLS
Written by Charles Gray, Ned Leukhardt, Mark Moreland and Andy Prieboy (as Andrew Prieboy)
Performed by Wall of Voodoo
Music Corporation of America, Inc. (BMI) and Skeek Music
Used by permission of MCA Music Publishing
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Apprenti tueur
- Filming locations
- Excelsior High School - 15711 Pioneer Boulevard, Norwalk, California, USA(Furley High - High school scenes.)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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