Hell High

"Hell High" follows a group of teenagers who decide to torment their domineering biology teacher by pulling a prank on her at her home late one night. Unfortunately for them, she is already disturbed from a double-murder she unwittingly caused as a child, and the teens are in for more than they bargained.

This late-'80s horror flick is an offbeat and unusual combination of teen exploitation with a heavy-handed revenge plot, as well as a few slasher-esque elements mixed in for good measure. The film opens with a bizarre and fairly disturbing scene in which the antagonist teacher, as a young girl, causes a horrific motorcycle accident that claims two lives in the bog behind her family home. This no doubt sets the tone for a slasher film, but "Hell High" instead opts to take the revenge horror route, predating similarly-themed films such as "Teaching Mrs. Tingle."

The teenagers in this film are, for the most part, very unlikable, which poses a bit of a problem from an audience perspective when they find themselves being hacked and slashed. While the biology teacher is not exactly an emblem of geniality, the teenagers and their actions grow progressively more twisted as the film goes on, which leaves the viewer in a conundrum as it's difficult to find allegiance to either here.

Despite this, the film is quite aptly made for a low-budget affair, with glossy cinematography and atmospheric locations, mainly the rural house where the majority of the film unfolds. Things ramp up to a breakneck pace in the last twenty minutes, leaving the picture feeling slightly backloaded, but there is a decent amount of suspense that precedes this, which prevents it from being a slog in the first three quarters. It also benefits from having a cynical and fitting conclusion.

Overall, "Hell High" is a fairly well-made horror film that leans more into teen revenge tropes than anything else. While the suggestive title may lead one to believe they are in for a school-set slasher, the film bucks those expectations quite swiftly. Though it has its share of structural issues, it is an offbeat and different film from many of its peers, and for that, it's worth watching. 6/10.

But that's what i did. We were at the mall, having just come from my orthodontic appointment, and I was supposed to go back to school. However, once the title "Hell High" caught our eye, we had to see it. I remember a goofily inane, low-budget horror movie that featured a scene of a beautiful teacher becoming vocally aroused just taking a shower (because when women soap up their breasts, they are helplessly turned on.) And that's almost all I remember. But I guess I fared better than a friend who, a few years previous, had seen Revenge of the Nerds with his little, old grandmother. And, thinking on it now, I saw Clash of the Titans when I was like eight or something with my grandfather. A chaste shot of a woman leaving a bath was pretty exciting then. Later on, at dinner, my sister yelled out that I had told her there was a "tushie" in the movie. I was mortified. I could hardly deny I had said it, after all, as her knowledge of said tushie was proof enough. A shadow fell over my grandfather's face and not another word was said for a long time. A horrible memory.

A little known, low-budget horror flick, Hell High actually has more in common with the vengeance exploitation films of the '70's than with the teen slashers that were so popular during its time.

When trouble making teens decide to terrorize their teacher, they go over board with some murderous consequences!

With a compelling story, moody atmosphere, and a good cast, Hell High (which has little to do with its title) is a horror film that manages to over come the limitations of its low budget. Even still, the film is pretty well made for a B horror flick. The music score and filming locations aren't bad either.

The cast of unknowns is pretty good. Maureen Mooney does a good turn as the tormented teacher. Christopher Cousins isn't half bad as a reluctant teen assailant. Best of all though is the late Christopher Stryker (who died of AIDS before the film could be released). He makes for a great teen bad boy and a surprisingly merciless villain! Stryker could have easily went on to bigger films.

Criticize it for what you will, but Hell High is one of the better 'lost' horror flicks of its day. It's 80's horror that takes a refreshing break from the slasher film conventions.

*** out of ****

(* out of *****) The Blockbuster Video Guide gave this movie three stars -- I'm thinking everyone involved in the Blockbuster franchise must have undergone mentally-corruptive radiation treatments in the '70s. Boy, is this movie stupid! It's your typical cruel prank/revenge/slasher plot, except it looks even cheaper and bored me even more than usual. Some mean (and over-aged) high school kids throw rocks at their mean teacher's house and then sexually molest her, so she jumps out the window. Well, of course she's not dead, and of course there's a traumatic incident from her childhood (she `accidentally' threw a bucktful of mud onto two libidinous motorists, causing them to fly off the bike and impale themselves on wooden stakes in a scene that I assume was supposed to be shocking, but, instead, had me laughing for a good five minutes), and, next thing you know, she's hopping mad and homicidal. Character motivations are weak and absurd, at best, and the plotting is almost transparent in this sick turkey. I loved the scene where the former football star and his friends drive a car onto the field in the middle of a game and intercept a pass while cheesy, triumphant music swells -- were we supposed to feel uplifted here and like this guy or something because he's not quite as cruel and sadistic as the other guy, he's just too much of a coward and a doofus to not go along with him? It stars -- well, really, who cares?

Lowlight: Oh dear, so much to choose from.... There's the tacky scene where the teacher's out cold and undressed on her bed and the slutty girl's showing her dopey ex-boyfriend how to properly touch a woman. But, no, let's just stick with the opening scene where the kid throws the mud at the bikers and they lose control and somehow land on those sharp wooden stakes. I'm sure there are even `better' scenes, but I'd have to rent the movie and watch it again to refresh my memory, and I'm just not ready to do that.

The stage curtains open ...

My journey through lost 80's horror films continues with this little known gem titled, "Hell High" (aka Real Trouble). A teen slasher flick that was written, produced, and directed by Douglas Grossman - a name I'm not familiar with, and a person who has apparently never directed any other films. The entire cast are relatively unknown with only the lead actor, Christopher Cousins, having any notable body of work as an actor - mostly in television. I've never seen it before today, but overall, I'm glad I did.

The film opens with a little girl playing in an abandoned shack near her home when a man and woman come roaring up on a motorcycle to have a little nookie. The girl hides and watches as the man, in a fit of anger, rips the head off of one of her dolls. As they are leaving, she throws mud into the man's eyes resulting in a fatal crash. The little girl runs away horrified. Years later, this little girl has become a teacher who has a classroom of unruly and disrespectful students, especially one who's name is Dickens. One night, Dickens and some friends take things too far when they decide to scare her in her own home. These events coupled with her past cause her to snap and become a homicidal nightmare.

I actually enjoyed this one. I felt it was a bit more intelligent than the typical 80's teen slasher movie. It made sense with a back story that is viable. The movie flows pretty well, is evenly paced, and is in no hurry to get anywhere. I thought the character development wasn't bad, and the acting was decent. Maureen Mooney sold me as the mentally unstable teacher who finally loses it in the end. There's hardly any gore, but the tension is high. There is some suspense, and when she unleashes hell on the kids, they only had themselves to blame. I enjoyed the soundtrack to it as well, the music was fitting.

I think I'd recommend this one. Especially to anyone who loves a good slasher type film from the 80's. It wasn't great, but it holds its own against other films from that time. I'm surprised I never picked up on it until now, but I'm glad I did. I am rating it a solid 6 stars out of 10. I'd watch it again. It isn't high on the re-watchability scale, but I would watch it again. Overall, a decent slice of horror and an enjoyable time.