Released to TV in 2000, "Satan's School for Girls" is a remake of the 1973 TV movie of the same name. The story revolves around a young woman (Shannen Doherty) who enrolls at an all-girls college in Massachusetts to investigate her sister's supposed suicide. She befriends some girls (Julie Benz, Taraji P. Henson & Mandy Schaffer) and becomes involved with a dude (Daniel Cosgrove) while investigating the witchcraft of some Goth chicks (e.g. Victoria Sanchez). Kate Jackson plays the Dean and Richard Joseph Paul a girl-crazy professor.
While this is better than the underwhelming original version, it has its own flaws. Despite the TV budget, it starts out good and mysterious, which goes on for the better part of an hour, but then unravels into cartoony TV horror. Doherty is fine as the dispirited protagonist. While people complain about her dismal disposition it goes with the role. Sanchez stands out amongst the girls at the school, not to mention Schaffer. Despite this, the filmmakers generally drop the ball on the female front, considering the resources at their disposal (and I'm not talking' bout nudity or porn). The semi-sleazy professor is the creepiest character while Cosgrove is amiable as Doherty's boyfriend, but their sexual union seems premature and forced. Another thing I liked is a certain plot twist: You think the story's going one way and it suddenly changes. Of course, this is so common now it's no longer surprising.
As far as the last 35 minutes go, it's tough to pull off satanic ritual sequences with a straight face, which is why Roman Polanski limited the satanic sequence in his "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) to a mere two minutes at the climax (not that I'm a fan of that one-dimensional movie in light of it being 99% drama in an old NYC apartment and 1% horror). Filmmakers have to be careful with these kinds of scenes or they become more laughable than spooky. So most of the first two acts rate a solid "B" or, at least, "B-", but the final act is weak. Still, it's worth seeing for the positives.
The movie runs 87 minutes and was shot at John Abbott College and Montréal, Québec.
GRADE: C+
