Night School (1981)

I love this movie so much

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The acting in this movie is really good.

An excellent slasher/whodunnit you might not have heard about.Brutal killings,attractive women.attractive men,big knife,Freudian Symbolism,shower scene and red herrings.Even a surprise ending,although one that is a bit out of place especially compared to the rest of the movie.It's all there.So how come Night School isn't a more popular title? Your guess is as good as mine. But it could be that it has to do with the relatively late release on DVD. The pacing is a little uneven at times which does hurt the tension slightly. And the ending could be considered unsatisfying.It's one you will see coming and at the same time not at all. Very inventive I have to say although like I said earlier a bit out of tune with the movie overall. Honestly,I had fun watching since it does most things right.And to see Rachel Ward's bottom in all it's glory can't be that bad,now is it?

Rachel Ward's nude scene is definitely the highlight of this pseudo-slasher flick. The story opens very strong. I mean, you rarely see a beheading by merry-go-round. The story itself is more of a who done it, with a couple of gigantic "red herrings", and some totally inadequate police work. Although the film does generate some tension in the beginning, things gradually unwind in the logic department. This is mainly due to some real "rubber band" stretches of credibility. Only Rachel Ward's presence keeps "Night School" out of forgettable land. The "surprise ending" definitely will not hold up to close scrutiny, and that is an almost fatal flaw. - MERK

Despite hailing from the golden age of American slashers, Night School (AKA Terror Eyes) shares more in common with the Italian giallo genre than your average early 80s U.S. kill-by-numbers flick: the plot revolves around a series of grisly murders that take place in and around a school; in typical giallo fashion, the majority of the action is centred around the investigation of the crimes rather than the actual murders themselves; the killer is clad head to toe in black motorcycle gear and carries a distinctive weapon (a Kukri knife); and like many an Italian murder/mystery, the motive for the slayings is just plain silly.Unfortunately, even though the ingredients seem right for a cool and classy Euro-style thriller, Night School ultimately fails to impress thanks to some dreadful casting, the sheer predictability of the plot (the identity of the killer is obvious from the outset), and director Ken Hughes' habit of 'pulling his punches' just as matters begin to get interesting. It's hard enough watching Rachel Ward struggle to act and Drew Snyder failing to convince as a lothario professor with the ability to charm his way into his students' knickers, without the added irritation of a potentially sleazy lesbian scene cut tragically short, the film's promising death scenes cutting away just as the killer delivers the fatal blow, and a lack of decent gore—all we see of the decapitated heads is the hair!As disappointing as it is, though, Night School will always remain of interest to horror fans for being one of the DPP's official video nasties (probably thanks to the admittedly vicious moment where the killer repeatedly slashes a terrified woman with his knife, her blood smearing all over the walls as she desperately tries to escape).

Someone, dressed in black helmet, jacket and pants, is attacking students who attend the anthropology class of Professor Millet, an established womanizer bedding his students under the nose of his girlfriend Eleanor Adjai(Rachel Ward, lovely, but lacking in performance, having trouble with the dialogue under her thick accent). The killer uses a curving knife as a decapitation device, leaving the severed heads in liquid, whether it be bucket, pond or aquarium. It's up to Harvard grad lieutenant Judd Austin(Leonard Mann)to find the killer, who leaves little-to-no trace of evidence, except the unorthodox methods of the crime scene.Okay psycho-thriller benefits from Fiedel's terrific score which is, at times, melodic, menacing & piercing. The music provides the director, along with his moody neo-noir photography of the city streets at night as the killer stalks his/her prey, to build good suspense even if the pay-off is less satisfying. The twist isn't much of one if the viewer is paying the least bit of attention. A certain waitress in a bar, for instance..who would kill her in such a fashion? Or, the method of execution on those who attended the class of Professor Millet..who'd have a reason to use such a method and why place the heads in liquid? You even get an answer towards the end, so the reveal leaves little impact. A good twist can work wonders, but this film suffers because of that, I felt. The film also is lacking in delivering really strong attacks, an essential ingredient in the slasher genre for which this belongs. We see the biker-outfitted psychopath, with his/her curving blade, slice at the victims, whose face displays the horror they find themselves with blood spread across walls, but nothing is ever elaborated, and practically everything happens off-screen. There are some moments of depraved kink such as a tribal sex sequence between Eleanor and Millet using bits of meat and blood while bathing. And, it's sleazy..the lifestyle of Millet who sleeps with his female students or the night school's lesbian superintendent who attempts to seduce a conquest of her teacher's before the killer interrupts. The decapitated heads are hinted at, some discovered by surprised folks like citizens who find the severed head of an employee in a fish aquarium, or the bar owner noticing his waitress' head in the sink, immersed in water. The film, typical of both giallo thrillers and 80's slashers has a a couple of red herrings, such as a peeping tom who works as a garbage man at the local tavern which yields the murdered waitress and Professor Millet himself(..for he's quite the authority in tribal customs and methods).There's a stab of black comedy at the very end regarding the lieutenant, who is the only one who knows who the true killer is yet can not prove it, and someone behind the seat of his car, which finishes this with a nice, tasteless touch. I think the low IMDb score is ridiculous. This may not be a shining example of cinematic grace, but it's got some fine elements that deserve better than a 2.9/10.