Return to Horror High

Horror spoofs either work or they don't - this one sadly doesn't. Within the first 5 minutes I knew that this was going to be a long hour & a half. It's a film within a film, an opportunity missed as this is something of a confusing mess. It's not that funny either. There's some reasonable gore - the lecherous teacher getting dissected is the standout scene - plus some gratuitous nudity thrown in. The killer wears a cool mask but is let down by wearing yellow rubber gloves, the type you wash up with! The DVD case gave George Clooney star billing but that's a con, he's only a very minor character in the first 10 minutes.

Albeit confusing at times, this movie is definitely worth a watch. The directing/editting is certainly reminiscent of _Perfect Blue (1997/I)_ (or more likely the other way around, with Perfect Blue being released a full decade after Return to Horror High). Either way, you just have to be really one your toes to make sense of the stories, or be prepared to watch it a few times. The jokes fly out more than the fake blood does. Often, they come together. If you can't appreciate this movie for what it is, you just need to pop a couple of valium pills, and calm down. They way you people write about this film would make one think that Ed Wood decided to make a horror-comedy about Waylon Jennings cooking up some raw fetuses.

This movie kicks twice as much butt when you get it on the double-sided DVD with _Return of the Killer Tomatoes! (1988)_

If everyone thought "Scream 3" had an interesting plot - a movie set falling prey to the killer resembling the Ghost Face Killer, then why don't you try this interesting horror flick of the 80's. As an avid fan of cult films, that is exactly what this film is. Early appearances by George Clooney and later appearances by "Dr. Ben Casey" Vince Edwards, "Marcia Brady" Maureen McCormick, "Mo Green" himself, Alex Rocco, and that kid from "Alice", Philip McKeon, all star in this film about a killer who returns to the high school where he killed years ago to terrorize a movie crew. The finale is a hell of a surprise.

This movie could serve as a wake-up call to all those who thought "Scream" was oh-so-stunningly-original. Witty lines like "Why does everyone always want to go to a dark basement without even a flashlight?", commenting on the oldest horror cliches, pop up here ten whole years before they became "fashionable". The film does have a very complex structure and adds one bizarre twist after another in the last 30 minutes, and ends up not making a whole lot of sense; in that respect, it reminded me of the funny 1976 whodunit-spoof "Murder By Death". And just like in that film, you'll be better off ignoring the plot and concentrating on the individual moments and scenes. There are some engaging performances (particularly by Lori Lethin and Alex Rocco as the producer - "write them a hopeful, life-affirming scene where they talk about love and children, and make sure it's set in the showers, so they can be naked!"), and in general the film offers much more creativity than you'd normally expect to find in this genre. (**1/2)

Yes, it was a standard cheesy 80s horror movie, but it had some nice touches. The filmmakers ambitiously tried to combine flashbacks with the movie-in-a-movie they were making, which was sometimes confusing, sometimes clever, but definitely worthwhile. You could do a lot worse than this one.