Horror High (1973)

That was an excellent one.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Blistering performances.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

When horror movies have socially maladjusted kids getting abused by popular football players while showing how attractive girls can still fall for them, they're playing directly to their demographic. How many fright fans felt the same way or endured the same stings and arrows as the hero of this film?Everybody beats the crap of Vernon. His fellow students hate him. His teachers despise him. Even the janitor. His only friend is Robin (Rosie Holotik, Nurse Charlotte from Don't Look in the Basement), who is dating the main football player who abuses him. And his other friend, the mouse known as Mr. Mumps? Well, he's taking a mind-altering potion that Vernon's developed that makes the little fella super violent. In fact, it makes him so brutal that it kills the janitor's cat, who flips out and smashes the little fellow and forces Vernon to drink his own potion.Pat Cardi, the actor who played Vernon, was a busy child star, playing in over 100 TV shows and appearing as a young chimp in Battle for the Planet of the Apes. He grew up to create and found MovieFone, which in the pre-internet days was how people discovered what films were playing in theaters.Austin Stoker (Assault on Precinct 13, Abby) plays the detective who comes into the school once Vernon starts killing. The murder scenes form a proto-slasher vibe while the music is crazy, with primal power chords accentuating big moments (think the guitar sound from the Torso trailer). It also features Pittsburgh Steelers star "Mean" Joe Greene in a small role. If you live here in the Steel City, you need no introduction to Mean Joe. If you live elsewhere, he's the player who threw a jersey to the kid in the Coca-Cola commercial. He's also in The Black Six, one of the first all-black biker films, along with other NFL names like Gene Washington, Mercury Morris, Lem Barney, Willie Lanier and Carl Eller.At heart, this is a Jekyll & Hyde story (it's Carrie before Carrie, too) but told as if it were a 1950's teen monster movie refilmed through a 1970's doom-laden lens. Its script comes from Jack Fowler, who is really J.D. Feigelson, writer of Wes Craven's Chiller and Dark Night of the Scarecrow.The film - also known as The Twisted Brain - was shot in Texas and released by Crown International in March of 1974 to the drive-in circuit. It really picked up its cult cache thanks to frequent TV airings. Code Red put out an uncut version on blu-ray in 2009, following a Rhino release of the TV version of the film. They're both rather hard to get now, but worth seeking out. I found myself really liking this film, despite its budget and relative silliness at times

I can not believe the average rating is over 5. However everyone is entitled to their opinion. The acting is terrible, the plot is terrible, the filming is terrible, need I go on?? I couldn't even finish this garbage. I quit after Ms. Grindstaff, what a name huh, got offed. There is nothing that is redeeming about this film in my opinion. Kill everyone who dissed you or did even worse to you I can understand but for goodness sakes do it in a watchable manner. The cat that started it all was just lying on top of the guinea pigs cage and there was no real reason to hit at it with a broom. The pig was in a wire cage, the cat was not attempting to get in to the cage and the janitor is an idiotic character who gives inbred hillbillies a bad name.

Wow. I am amazed I went beyond the opening song with this film. After all, the song was just horrible in every possible way--whiny, bad and dreadful. Was this a portent of more awfulness to come or was this low-budget film actually worth seeing?The star of this film is a nerdy high school student (who, incidentally was 23 when the film was made). He's mistreated by his teachers, the janitor and his classmates. Like such to be Vernon Potts and you know that based on the title of this film that eventually all these people will have a major butt-kicking coming by the end of the film. But, in the meantime, we are treated to scene after scene of the most ridiculously nasty treatment of poor Vernon. Subtle this isn't.Later, a deranged (and horribly acted) janitor freaks out and forces poor Vernon to drink some formula he's been working on in the lab. And, not at all unexpectedly, Vernon is now a crazed killer beast. I love how incredibly stupid and cheesy the first act of retribution is--when he shoves the janitor's head in a conveniently placed bucket of sulfuric acid (I always have a few sitting around the house for just such emergencies). When Vernon has recovered, he's covered in blood and hides the evidence of his atrocity. Is this the last killing by good ol' Vern? Well, considering it's only the 25 minute mark, I doubt it.By the way, speaking of sulfuric acid in this murder scene, I noticed that the label on the drum was MISSPELLED!! Talk about sloppy!! Surely a chemical supply house can spell sulfuric!!The next day, the police come to the school to investigate the killing. This apparently was prompted when one of the kids in chemistry class opened the giant drum of 'sulphuric acid' and bits and pieces of the janitor and his cat were floating in it.There's more to it than this, but frankly it's all so dull and pointless I'll just wrap it up now. Overall, the acting, writing, special effects and direction totally suck. There really is nothing of interest or value in the film other than small parts played by Dallas Cowboys running back Calvin Hill and quarterback Craig Morton and linebacker D.D. Lewis, as well as Pittsburg Steelers defensive tackle Joe Greene and Chuck Beatty. It's interesting for anyone who watched football back in the 1970s--otherwise I have no idea why anyone would want to see this stinking film. Also, I hope I didn't miss any other players who were in the film--I'm trying my best considering that I was pretty young back then and my crazy old man memory isn't perfect!Worthless--a complete waste of time.

Nerdy kid with a knack for chemistry makes a potion that turns first his Guinea pig and then himself into a monster ala Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Using it he gets revenge on anyone who has ever wronged him.Perennial drive-in fodder is a half joking, half serious film that manages to be creepy despite itself. All of the characters are caricatures and the whole film plays out like a demented Tales from The Crypt story. the problem is that even though the film hits all the right notes at times, for the most part this is a really bad movie. Everything is poorly done from the acting to the make up to anything else you can think of. And yet the film still manages to be creepy. There are times in this film where there is real tension. Unfortunately other than the odd moment the film is so bad that you really won't want to watch it to the end.For those who grew up with it or bad movie lovers only