★ 5 / 10
I had seen this a few years ago
JPV852
I had seen this a few years ago and decided to give it another watch since I got the Vinegar Syndrome 4K UHD (part of the yearly subscription). I didn't…
I had seen this a few years ago and decided to give it another watch since I got the Vinegar Syndrome 4K UHD (part of the yearly subscription). I didn't remember a whole lot but still easily guessed the one twist and the other at the end. It's not terrible and certainly watchable but one of those 80s slashers that is easy to forget. **2.5/5**
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★ 7 / 10
Well-crafted little slasher flick Night School (1980) ***1/2
Allan C
Well-crafted little slasher flick Night School (1980) ***1/2 A leather-clad killer, motorcycle helmet-wearing slasher, is beheading Boston college kids. A…
Well-crafted little slasher flick
Night School (1980) ***1/2
A leather-clad killer, motorcycle helmet-wearing slasher, is beheading Boston college kids. A police detective, a professor, and a British exchange student, Rachel Ward (AGAINST ALL ODDS, THE THORN BIRDS), in her film debut. The script is pretty dumb, but director Ken Hughes (CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, OF HUMAN BONDAGE) is more talented of a director than you get for these sorts of slasher flicks. Hughes brings some hints of Italian Giallos, recalling Dario Argento’s black-gloved killers in DEEP RED or OPERA, but although the violence is strong for an American slasher film, it’s nowhere as shocking as an Argento film. The film generally feels like a big studio trying to make a respectable thriller with slasher tropes, as opposed to a maniac hacking his way through campers or babysitters, and it really does pay off. It's not a classic like HALLOWEEN or even MANIAC COP, but NIGHT SCHOOL is a classier slasher flick than I was expecting and one I’ll probably revisit at some point, despite a dumb twist ending.
AI CAPSUL REVIEW:
In Night School (1981), a helmeted killer is beheading Boston college students, drawing in a detective, a professor, and a British exchange student played by Rachel Ward in her debut. Though the script is silly, director Ken Hughes lends the film unexpected polish and Giallo-inspired style, making it a surprisingly classy, atmospheric slasher despite its dumb twist ending.
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★ 6 / 10
Movie is well made, An above average slasher
CodyZamboni Z
Movie is well made, An above average slasher with moments of humor, As a cop tries to stop a psycho from chopping off pretty coeds' heads. With a few red…
Movie is well made, An above average slasher with moments of humor, As a cop tries to stop a psycho from chopping off pretty coeds' heads. With a few red herrings, I guessed the killer's ID halfway through, There are moments of brutal violence, One gross out scene about eating stew, A silly love scene in the shower, where a dude spreads blood red jelly all over his girlfriend. A jokey final moment. That said, movie makes good use of Boston locations, and Rachel Ward is so stunningly beautiful.
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