Satan's School for Girls

OK, everybody is always ragging on made-for-TV movies because yes, more often than not, they are really cheesy. But keep in mind made-for-TV movies are made-for-TV, so they are, of course, made on a much smaller budget. However, this is one TV film that rises above its low-budget status. This, for the most part, has to do with the supremely talented cast involved. '70's Scream Queen Pamela Franklin, fresh out of Richard Matheson's nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE, stars as a young woman who enrolls in a distinguished all-girls' school to probe her sister's mysterious suicide. The plot reminds me of Dario Argento's horror classic SUSPIRIA, but this TV movie was actually made four years before Argento's film, so perhaps Argento pilfered from this little seen gem. Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd, before they became 'Charlie's Angels', co-starred as two of Franklin's fellow classmates. Incidentally, Jackson later played the Jo Van Fleet role of THE HEADMISTRESS in the 2000 remake. Aaron Spelling produced both versions.

With a rather low score of 5.1 and a silly title, I expected "Satan's School for Girls" to be a lousy film. However, this made for TV picture actually hols up pretty well and I have no idea why its score is this low. In fact, I strongly suspect that this film was the inspiration for the Dario Argento classic "Suspiria".

When the film begins, Martha is on the run...being pursued by some unseen enemy. She eventually makes it to her sister's home but when Elizabeth arrives home, she finds Martha dead and hanging in the house! Martha had never been suicidal and despite the police ruling it a suicide, she decides to investigate. The trail leads to a weird 'girls' school (many of the actresses are 23-30) where there is a very strange sense of foreboding and some rather weird dealings. What is going on here?!

In many ways, it reminds me of "Suspiria". Both are set at a women's school and both have a great sense of foreboding instead of actually scary stuff happening most of the time. Both lead to similar finales as well. Plus, if you see it, you get to see "Charlie's Angels" stars of the future, Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd, as two of the girls enrolled in this bizarro school. Worth seeing.

I caught this on USA while I was home sick with the flu. Even though I was half awake and in a daze, I enjoyed it. Pamela Franklin was likable as a young woman who enrolls in the exclusive Salem Academy under a false name, in order to investigate the strange death of her sister Martha, who had gone to school there. Once she arrives, she meets up with strange faculty and students, and eerie occurences. There are great shots of Pamela crawling the hallways at night with a lantern in her hand as a storm rages outside, and there is an eerie climax. Catch this one if you can. I haven't seen the remake yet.

This is another movie which I have looked for over the years to see on latenight channels but is no longer available I believe. I really liked this because it had an overall scary plot running throughout the movie. Both of my kids, (Nate and Ryann like these types of movies and they are at the right age to spot good quality. I hope if anyone knows if this is still being shown around the country to let me know because I can't find it for anything. If you get a change to watch it, by all means do so. It will not let you down and is a little above a B grade movie. Look at how young all the pre Charlie's Angels are in this flick... Enjoy!

Following the mysterious suicide of her sister, a young woman enrolls herself in the girl's college she was attending to investigate what really happened.

This 70's telefilm can sort of be looked at as an earlier, far less extravagant version of "Suspiria". After a strong opening, emphasis is firmly placed on the investigation aspect. We get a solid cast, as was often the case in these old TV efforts. Pamela Franklin, so good in "And Soon the Darkness" and "Legend of Hell House", plays the lead role of investigating sibling. Also present is the lovely Kate Jackson, as well as Cheryl Ladd under a different name. It's interesting seeing these two together before they would later go on to star opposite each other in "Charlie's Angels". Not too surprising when you consider that both this movie and that show were Spelling productions.

There are some good moments here, but a few too many scenes of exploring dark corridors slow the film considerably. The ending is predictable, but I suppose that's to be expected given the title. It's worth a look, but don't expect one of the better TV horrors.