Night School

The girls that study in a night school are being killed and decapitated. A police lieutenant and his partner (comic relief?) start to investigate the murders.

"Night School" takes place in Boston. The film begins with a brief view of the night skyline of Boston. We hear a melancholic and beautiful soundtrack that serves to enhance the poetry of city (and its people) and night. Soon after the camera becomes more intimate and we see old lamp posts, dark streets and small houses. The beautiful soundtrack goes on... and Boston looks quite pretty.

"Night School" is in some ways almost a giallo. There are some connection points:

1) Leonard Mann, an Italo-American actor that worked mainly in Italian films, including gialli like "Death Steps in the Dark" and "The Monster of Florence". In "Night School" he's the police lieutenant that investigates the murders but he's different from those policemen that we usually find in many thrillers. He's not trigger-happy and he hasn't trembling fists dying to punch a bad guy's nose. He's intelligent, sensitive and ready to follow his intuition.

2) The killing scenes are stylish and imaginative. The killer dresses all in black, black helmet and black gloves. But "Night School" is very discreet in what concerns nudity. In one scene Rachel Ward takes a shower. Not much is shown, but many Italian gialli would not shy away from FFN. Anyway "Night School" is quite engaging, charming and different from the normal fare.

3) There are many pretty girls (and some of them will be ruthlessly killed by the decapitator).

The highlights in "Night School" are Rachel Ward (her beauty illuminates the screen) and Leonard Mann. In short, I think that "Night School" is a very enjoyable film. Those that want a non-stop action film with lots of bullets and fists breaking bones (fast! fast! fast!), should look elsewhere.

In Boston, Massachusetts, young women are being decapitated by an unknown psycho who wears a black motorcycle helmet and brandishes a long, curved blade. It's down to cop Lieutenant Judd Austin (Leonard Mann) to try to solve the puzzling case. Night School was released in the UK under the title "Terror Eyes", cut for cinema but initially released uncut on video. The latter found itself banned by the authorities as a "Video Nasty", personally I can't see what all the fuss was about. Although generally classed as a slasher movie it is also a police thriller and has a lot in common with the European Giallo movies, including the killer's appearance. It is not terribly nasty or gory, though it has one or two memorable moments, a head being thrown into an aquarium being one, shocking visitors as well as the fish! The plot has a couple of red herrings, the reveal was quite good but partly ruined by a rather silly ending. Brit Rachel Ward is the lead female character, she looks great but her acting - along with a few others - wasn't very good. Script isn't exactly great either, I did love the line "What the hell was the head doing in the sink?" though. I watched this on VHS, I know the film has garnered something of a following but it's a 6/10 for me. Made during the Golden Age of the Slasher Movie, I found nothing golden here.

This is a slasher film with a twist or two. It seems there's a loony loose in Boston who decapitates women and stuffs the heads in water. Several of the victims attended a women's college and so the cops zero in on a womanizing professor of anthropology who specializes in the customs of tribal New Guinea, including shrunken heads.

The prof (Drew Snyder) is also a real snot who's shacked up with his research assistant (Rachel Ward) who defends his every move. The cop (Leonard Mann) can't get an angle on the heads in water gimmick, and his sidekick (Joseph Sicari) is totally clueless. There is also a lesbian dean (Annette Miller) who preys on the girls and seems like the likely killer. As the student population drops, the cops gets desperate and go after a peeping tom but get lucky when he happens to be peeping on a victim. Certainly no classic, but there are enough twists to keep it going. Not especially vivid in its violence. Nice Boston locations.

This really is somewhat of a hidden gem among slashers, which as you will know if you are a slasher aficionado, is a valuable find. I went into Night School not really expecting much for some reason. Well, I say 'for some reason', but let's face it- even if you are a hardcore slasher and/or horror fan, you can't deny the fact that most of these films can be unoriginal at best and downright trash more often than you'd like to admit. Especially 80's slashers, i'm sad to say. But every so often in our sojourns we find a pleasant surprise that makes the hours spent watching awful movies worthwhile. Night School is one of those movies. This film, while really not too original, is still head and shoulders above most of its peers. Beholden more to the Italian giallo of the decade before than its Halloween inspired contemporaries, Night School makes up for what it lacks in plot with atmosphere and campy situations and dialogue. I say campy, but I mean campy in the way that films such as Suspiria or even Friday the 13th were campy; the dialogue can be peculiar and silly but it contributes to an overall sense of dream logic. The London setting also adds to the overall atmosphere. In conclusion this film is a good (but not great) one by my standards, but don't go into expecting a typical 80's cheesy slasher. I enjoyed it once and I'd probably enjoy it again; I'd say it's definitely worth a re-watch. Oh and as a little side note all of that talk about anthropology and ancient cultures practicing beheading and cannibalism gave me an intense urge to watch Fulci's Zombi 2 again... seek it out and watch it if you can get your hands on it, that one is highly recommended if you like Italian cannibal exploitation films.

Probably best recognised for being the debut feature for of the ravishing British actress Rachel Ward, but "Night School" deserves a little more credit for that lone reason. I wasn't expecting it be as good it was, but while it's your by-the-numbers mystery psycho slasher it managed to resourcefully up the suspense and intrigue in some well presented set-pieces. The usual revelation behind it all doesn't come as much as a surprise (where we seem to be quite ahead of the clueless detective/s scratching their heads), along with the second twist (which is even more foreseeable), but then it ends with a neat final one which seems to be a mock send-up of the typical shock closing. "Don't you ever take your job seriously". I'm kind of surprised by its middling to poor reputation, as I found it more than competent than its 80s crop. Good atmospheric, authentic locations are masterfully framed by cinematographer Mark Irwin. His expressively flowing camera stages some inventive frames and effectively helps building up the tension before the initial shock. He films the ominous looking killer (decked in black leather and bike helmet) quite well. Director Ken Hughes' slick touch lets it flow, nailing the terrorising tension with a real sting to its tail. Hughes style kind of reminded me off Hitchcock, but the modern unpleasantness is evident (slicing and dicing with ritual decapitation on mind, but little is seen) and lurking within is a sneering sleazy undertone. The black and white story remains interesting, due to the solid performances (Leonard Mann, Drew Snyder, Rachel Ward and an amusing Joseph R. Sicari) and particularly sharp script. Brad Fiedel composes the score in an understated manner, but it eerily works. A modest psycho slasher offering.