I happened to randomly catch a festival screening of Prep School in LA recently and was glad I did. Obvious from the title, the movie is set at a fancy private school and concerns the trials and tribulations of the students and some of the faculty.
The first 10-15 minutes of the movie is a little meandering, with some promising young actors and funny dialogue peppered throughout, so I was totally unprepared (and pleasantly surprised) by a very dark and twisted turn the movie takes.
Without giving too much away, the main character Thomas is slowly realizing that his friends are not who they appear to be. One friend is a bully, another has emotional issues, and one friend in particular is revealed to be one of the most vile characters I've seen in any high school movie (there were audible gasps at my screening over some of the things coming out of this character's mouth).
I was ultimately surprised by how involved I got with the plot and these characters, especially after the slow start, and I was actually left wanting more by the time the end credits rolled.
The movie has some problems, mostly stemming from its small budget. The conceit of a European style (and rugby-obsessed) boarding school existing on the West Coast doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Also, while most of the lead actors are quite good (particularly the messed-up friends of Thomas), some of the one-scene or two-scene players don't fare as well.
That being said, if you're a fan of small indie dramas, this is an unusually gripping and memorable one. Not sure if this will get a wider release, but I'll keep an eye out for this to pop up on Netflix to give it another watch.
