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.

A killer in a motorcycle helmet is decapitating attractive babes attend a night school class taught by an anthropology professor.It all has to do with some head-hunting rituals from Papua New Guinea.Very enjoyable cop drama/slasher with some elements of giallo.There is a truly sensual shower scene with a a ravishingly beautiful Rachel Ward and three decapitated heads of victims are found in various strange places including an aquarium.The killings are mostly off-screen and there is a bit of sleaze.The melodically creepy piano based score by Brad Fiedel of "Just Before Dawn" is truly effective.If you enjoyed "What Have You Done to Your Daughters" give "Night School" a chance.It truly is one of the slashers that resembles the Italian giallo that inspired the genre in the first place.8 out of 10.

Anne Barron (Meb Boden) is a teacher's aide at the Jack-N-Jill Daycare Center in Boston. It's the early evening and the last child has been picked up by her mother. Anne is relaxing on the playground carousel when someone pulls up on a motorcycle, wearing a pink helmet. Anne is startled. Suddenly the stranger pulls out a machete and starts spinning the carousel. The machete is held up in the air and the terrified woman goes around and around - until she's struck with it.

Judd Austin (Leonard Mann) is the cop assigned to the case. He is called to the scene and when he gets there, he sees a gruesome sight. The girl was decapitated and her head was put in a bucket of water nearby. The distraught director of the center tells the officer that Anne worked there during the day - and was attending night classes at Wendell College. At the hospital, Judd and his partner Taj (Joseph R. Sicari) discuss a similar case from the previous week. Another girl was found decapitated and her head was dumped in a pond. They wonder if there's any connection between the two murders.

"Night School" is a typical run-of-the-mill early 80's whodunit slasher with a decapitation twist. This is the kind of movie where half of the money is trying to figure out where the detectives are going to find the missing heads. The twist ending is pretty predictable and the acting is a bit wooden (Rachel Ward, in her film debut, is all sorts of terrible here) but the film is never boring and has been directed with style. Boston looks positively wretched on film here and it gives the slasher a bit of a grungy "Departed" vibe. Overall, it's definitely worth checking out, just check your expectations-and your head--at the door.