Slaughter High
| Slaughter High | |
|---|---|
 R-Rated VHS artwork for Slaughter High |
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| Directed by | George Dugdale Mark Ezra Peter Litten |
| Produced by | Stephen Minasian Dick Randall |
| Written by | George Dugdale Mark Ezra Peter Litten |
| Starring | Caroline Munro Simon Scuddamore Billy Hartman |
| Music by | Harry Manfredini |
| Cinematography | Alan Pudney |
| Editing by | Jim Connock |
| Distributed by | Vestron Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 14, 1986 (USA) |
| Running time | 95 mins. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Slaughter High is a 1986 slasher film written and directed by George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, and Peter Litten.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The day begins with a popular student, Carol Manning (Caroline Munro), jokingly asking Marty Rantzen (Simon Scuddamore), the school nerd, to have sex with her in the women’s locker room. After he removes his clothes, Marty is surprisingly exposed to a group of students who tease him in several ways, including jabbing at his crotch with a javelin, giving him an electric shock, and dunking his head into a toilet bowl. This prank ends when the students’ coach comes in to find out what is happening.
The students are forced to perform a vigorous workout in the gymnasium. Still, two students give Marty a marijuana joint laced with poison, which he smokes in the science lab where he is working on a chemistry project. The joint makes him so sick he runs to the men's room to vomit. While he is gone, Skip, one of the popular kids, rigs the experiment to explode in Marty's face.
Upon Marty's return, the set-up works, causing Marty to panic, and a great fire to erupt in the lab after he knocks over a Bunsen burner. In the struggle, Marty accidentally bumps into a shelf where a precariously placed jug of acid sits, causing the jug to fall and break, which splashes acid on Marty's face, leaving him horribly disfigured. The sound attracts the attention of the students, who stand by the door in shock and many of them now start to show signs of remorse.
Years later, those behind the prank are invited back to the school for a reunion. Upon arriving, they discover that the campus was shuttered years ago and the building is in disrepair, awaiting demolition. They begin to think that one of the former students was behind the invitations, but everyone denies it.
They decide to break into the school to hang out and drink alcohol, and come across a room containing their old school lockers, which to their surprise are filled with their old belongings. They notice Marty's old locker, and the alumni begin questioning what happened to him after the prank-gone-awry. Skip tells them that Marty is doing fine and probably forgot all about what happened. He has supposedly been in a mental institution.
Soon thereafter, the friends begin to die in gruesome ways at the hands of a mysterious killer dressed like a jester. One's stomach explodes, one melts away in an acid bath, one is impaled on a javelin, one is chopped up by a riding lawn mower. They quickly come to believe it is Marty, deranged and bent on revenge. All the former students wind up dead then come back as ghosts and the film closes with Marty apparently going insane. He wakes up in a mental hospital, restrained to a bed and wearing bandages on his face, and had in fact dreamed the events of the massacre.
The film ends with Marty strangling the nurse, jamming a syringe into the doctor's eye, and peeling a chunk of skin from his own face.
[edit] Cast
- Caroline Munro...Carol Manning
- Simon Scuddamore...Marty Rantzen
- Carmine Iannaconne...Skip Pollack
- Donna Yeager...Stella
- Gary Martin...Joe
- Billy Hartman...Frank
- Michael Saffran...Ted Harrison
- John Segal...Carl Putney
- Kelly Baker...Nancy
- Sally Cross...Susan
- Josephine Scandi...Shirley
[edit] Production
Producers initially intended to call the film April Fool's Day, but renamed it after learning of Paramount's same-titled slasher film scheduled for release the same year.
The film was shot in England, and many of the actors use fake American accents.
Simon Scuddamore, who plays the film's slasher, committed suicide shortly after production of the film.
The original music score was composed by Harry Manfredini, of Friday the 13th fame.
[edit] Release
The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by Vestron Pictures in November 1986.[1]
Much of the gore was cut prior to release to obtain an R-rating; for its video premiere, the distributor Vestron Video released both the censored theatrical version and an unrated version that contained the excised violence.
Slaughter High was released as April Fool's Day on VHS in Japan only by Vestron International. To date, Japan is the only country to have a home video release of the film under its original title.
LionsGate released the film on DVD April 14, 2009 in the USA as part of their 'The Lost Collection'.[2] The DVD contains the unrated Vestron Video full screen VHS master print. The Vestron Video logo can be seen after the end credits on the DVD.
Lions Gate re-released the film to DVD on January 4, 2011 in a "4-Film Collection" set along with My Best Friend Is a Vampire, Repossessed and Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!.[3]
On July 10, 2011 Arrow Video will be releasing a new Special Edition DVD, which will be released Uncut for the first time in the United Kingdom and will contain the following Special Features:
- Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork
- Double-sided fold-out artwork poster
- Collector’s booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by author Troy Howarth, an interview with legendary composer Harry Manfredini by Calum Waddell and an interview with star Josephine Scandi by Justin Kerswell
- Available on DVD and UNCUT for the first time in the UK!
- Introduction by co-writer/ co-director Mark Ezra
- Jesters and Jolts: Interview with co-writer/co-director Mark Ezra
- Lamb to the Slaughter: The Scream Queen Career of Caroline Munro
- Audio Commentary with star Caroline Munro, DVD World editor Allan Bryce and author and critic Calum Waddell
- Audio Commentary with co-writer/ co-director Mark Ezra and moderated by Teenage Wasteland author J. A. Kerswell
[edit] References
- ^ "Company Credits for Slaughter High". imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091969/companycredits. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
- ^ "Slaughter High (DVD)". dvdempire.com. http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=1449514. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
- ^ "My Best Friend Is A Vampire / Repossessed / Slaughter High / Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (4-Film Collection)". dvdempire.com. http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=1560121. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
