Slaughter High (1986)

Directors: George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, Peter Mackenzie Litten

Starring: Caroline Munro, Simon Scuddamore, Carmine Iannaccone, Gary Martin

Eight people are invited to their alma mater for their 10-year reunion, where a fellow former student, disfigured from a prank gone wrong, is out to seek revenge.

Students at Doddsville Country High School play an April Fool’s Day prank on nerd Marty. It’s all fun and games, but when Skip messes with Marty’s science project, an accident leaves Marty badly burnt and scarred by nitric acid.

Ten years later, the eight students responsible for the prank, receives invitations for a reunion party at Doddsville – on 1 April. The school has been abandoned for over five years and it is a creepy place. They all believe prankster Skip to be responsible for the invitations and another April Fool’s Day joke. They are still playing pranks on each other – until Marty shows up to exact his revenge.

One by one Marty stalks his victims, killing them with his experiments. At first I thought I discovered another 80’s horror gem. I liked the characters, the setting in the spooky school, the motive of vengeance, and the good practical effects. But on closer inspection I noticed way too many flaws.

The characters were locked in the school with no way out, but during the third act one of the characters simply exited the school through the open front door, only to fall into a pit. In broad daylight in seemed unlikely for her to fall into the pit, and for Marty to be there the moment she did, to kill her. Another character believed Marty to be dead after a fight, and left a weapon right beside him. Off course he got up, took the weapon and stalked her again. After another fight with the same character, she once again believed he was dead and left a weapon right beside him!!! Honestly, how dumb can you be??? Why would you leave a weapon with a crazed killer?

These are just some examples which unfortunately ruined the film’s chances of becoming a gem (for me). Most of the kill scenes also felt too convenient, as if Marty knew exactly what his victims would be doing, and where. The ending is also pretty weird…

Would I watch it again? Sadly, no.