Hell High (1989)

Powerful

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

If you want to see a movie with a plot, don't watch Hell High. If you want to see a movie and not spend 2/3 of it scratching your head, don't see Hell High. In fact, if you grew up anywhere in the world other than Scarsdale, New York, DO NOT SEE HELL HIGH!!! It is the worst movie imaginable. But I will say, it does have one amazing redeeming quality. If you attended Scarsdale High School, I do recommend seeing it because about 8 minutes of the film are shot in the hallways and a science classroom. The feeling of seeing your high school in a "professional" horror movie is really cool and probably worth it for that if for no other reason. If you do not meet the one criteria I offered, It's the biggest waste of money EVER. You might as well take your 5 dollars and put them in a Cuisinart.

A little known, low-budget horror flick, Hell High actually has more in common with the vengeance exploitation films of the '70's than with the teen slashers that were so popular during its time.When trouble making teens decide to terrorize their teacher, they go over board with some murderous consequences!With a compelling story, moody atmosphere, and a good cast, Hell High (which has little to do with its title) is a horror film that manages to over come the limitations of its low budget. Even still, the film is pretty well made for a B horror flick. The music score and filming locations aren't bad either.The cast of unknowns is pretty good. Maureen Mooney does a good turn as the tormented teacher. Christopher Cousins isn't half bad as a reluctant teen assailant. Best of all though is the late Christopher Stryker (who died of AIDS before the film could be released). He makes for a great teen bad boy and a surprisingly merciless villain! Stryker could have easily went on to bigger films.Criticize it for what you will, but Hell High is one of the better 'lost' horror flicks of its day. It's 80's horror that takes a refreshing break from the slasher film conventions.*** out of ****

As a kid, Brooke, inadvertently causes the death of two college kids when she throws mud on them (I don't know either). 18 years later she is the high school teacher with unruly students. After bitch slapping one, the kid and his three friends (They include the token slut, fat geek, and 'rebbelious' outcast) attack her in her home. The teacher goes crazy (crazier). The optional commentary by Joe Bob makes this slightly more bearable. Whereas seeing this on it's own is almost a complete travesty. Who knows maybe I was too sober for this flick. But I highly doubt it.DVD Extra: Intro by Joe Bob Briggs; Joe Bob Briggs commentary; second commentary with director Douglas Grossman; Interview with Grossman; Writer Leo Evans interview; red band theatrical trailer; 2 TV spots; Trailers for "Blood Shack", "Flesh Eaters", "Faceless", and "The Hollywood Strangler meets the Skidrow Slasher" Eye Candy: Karen Russell goes topless (the only real ones in the flick); Mauren Mooney shows ass, the breasts are a body Double (BOOOO!!!!); and another body double for Millie Prezioso (double BOOOO!!!) My Grade: D

This is the stupidest film I've seen since "Zombie Nightmare." A little girl with blond pigtails and a frilly pink dress (The Bad Seed, anyone?) accidentally kills a teenage biker and his girlfriend by throwing swamp mud into their faces while they are driving. The two are thrown and impaled on some conveniently placed stakes and the girl runs away, forever scarred and guilt ridden. Fast forward about 20 years and the pigtailed little cretin is now a science teacher at a local high school. Her students are unruly and disrespectful and when she slaps one arrogant jerk across the face, he vows revenge. He and his loser friends - cast an overweight nerd, a slut and a dumb jock - attack the teacher in her house one night, throwing handfuls of green swamp muck against her windows and dancing on her roof whilst wearing Halloween masks. Of course, they take the whole thing Too Far and the already mentally fragile teacher snaps, running around the rest of the movie in a silky nightie with a machete in one hand. This really isn't a typical slasher, if you want the truth. The terrorized teens all deserve what they get, displaying no morals whatsoever and basically proving themselves to be every bit as psychotic as their teacher. There are some nice touches to be found here: the killer is a woman, the slut swings both ways and the one guy with a thin moral streak is only Doing The Right Thing to save his own bright future. This film doesn't suffer from unoriginality - it suffers from painful stupidity. The script is horrible, the cast can't act worth a damn and the situations that arise are so utterly implausible that you'll be wondering if this was set in some parallel dimension where common sense doesn't exist. For example: the proper reaction upon finding your next door neighbor covered with mud and crouched in front of her broken window with a machete in her hand is NOT to force feed her some 'ludes and then leave! Good gods, who wrote this? A 5 year old with ADD?Once again, Joe Bob Briggs and his comedy commentary make this a much more bearable viewing experience. Otherwise, this is a terrible 80s slasher, filled with all of the hideous fashions of that depressing decade. A couple of graphic murders may impress gore fans, but sitting through the other 70 odd minutes just isn't worth the effort. I've seen more interesting toilet bowl stains.