‘Slaughter High’ Is a Forgotten ‘80s Slasher Worth Rediscovering [The Overlooked Motel]
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Today’s pick is a rough-around-the-edges slasher film that gets far more right than wrong. Slaughter High is a feature that took me more than one viewing to come around to. I thought it was average at best the first time I watched it. However, upon a second viewing, I connected more deeply with the picture. The kills are gruesome, the retribution spree is nicely justified, and the primary antagonist strikes a smart balance between sympathetic and maniacal.
The setup goes accordingly:
Slaughter High follows high school misfit Marty (Simon Scuddamore). Marty desperately wants to fit in with his peers but he’s nerdy as hell and always finds himself the butt of his classmates’ cruel jokes. A group of his more popular counterparts tricks Marty into thinking he’s going to have sex with one of his female classmates, only to publicly humiliate him in his birthday suit. Later the same day, the mean-spirited pranksters make a backhanded peace offering in the form of a tainted joint. One thing leads to another and Marty winds up permanently disfigured and institutionalized.
Five years on from that fateful day, the students who bullied poor Marty get an invite to a five-year class reunion. Little do the former classmates know, this is no ordinary reunion. Marty has been waiting for his revenge and he clearly understands that it is a dish best served cold. Ice cold.
I had trouble getting into Slaughter High the first time because the inciting incident is so vile that it’s hard to watch. It might be a little too mean-spirited. However, that’s largely by design and ultimately serves an important purpose. Marty’s visceral revenge spree comes across as well-justified because of the hell he endures at the hands of his ruthless classmates. These people torment him relentlessly with no regard for his well-being or personal safety. When their first gag gets them in trouble, they blame the victim and extend a tainted olive branch to mislead him a second time. What’s more, they knowingly do all of this on poor Marty’s birthday. People like that should be taught a lesson. In real life, the lesson wouldn’t involve violence. But in the context of an ‘80s slasher picture, the retribution perfectly fits the crimes by which the unprovoked nastiness was preceded.
The characters in Slaughter High make up for some of the film’s shortcomings.
Marty is a well-rendered portrayal of a high school misfit. He is a bit out of touch with reality and doesn’t fit in despite his best attempts to blend with his peers. But he has done absolutely nothing to warrant the type of cruel treatment to which he is subjected. Simon Scuddamore plays Marty with such sincerity that it’s difficult not to feel sorry for the lad. He’s a smart kid who means well enough but doesn’t know the first thing about social hierarchy. That makes Marty a sympathetic character and gives the viewer reason to invest in him as much as any of his tormentors, making his eventual revenge spree all the more enjoyable to watch.
Speaking of that revenge spree, the comeuppance unfolds five years after the ill-conceived pranks that saw Marty institutionalized. Staggering the timeline for the retribution portion is a smart move by the screenwriting team of George Dugdale, Mark Ezra, and Peter Mackenzie Litten. Affording the pranksters a period of maturation prior to their showdown with Marty gives them the chance to grow into more tolerable people. That makes them more palatable on the whole and gives us reason to feel something when they kick off. As I’ve said many times before, a movie should make us feel something. Any form of emotional connection makes for a more dynamic and enjoyable viewing experience than the complete absence of such a conceit.
The right balance between relatable and reprehensible.
Slaughter High makes sound use of that (limited) emotional connection we begin to develop with some of these characters and the film strikes just the right balance with the sendoffs. A slasher picture with victims who are too sympathetic runs the risk of alienating viewers. There is little joy in watching a cast of characters to whom we are deeply endeared bite the dust. However, a stalk-and-slash flick with characters who have no redeeming qualities is almost as troublesome. The viewer should feel something for the characters. But striking the right balance can be tricky.
Slaughter High walks that fine line commendably. The core cast members gradually ingratiate themselves to the audience as they mingle at the ‘reunion’. So, when they begin to bite the dust, that has the potential to trigger a minor emotional reaction. Since these people aren’t saints, however, it’s not entirely distressing when they meet the business end of a sharp instrument.
Before you seek out the film, allow me to offer a warning: The ending isn’t great. In fact, that’s a big part of what kept me from fully connecting with Slaughter High via my inaugural viewing. There’s an unnecessary twist in the very final moments that adds absolutely nothing to the proceedings. The acting is also marginal, at best. Not to mention, the film is an obvious product of its time. However, I’ve come to accept all of that, along with some of the picture’s other flaws through subsequent viewings. If you can set aside what doesn’t quite work, you may find that there’s plenty that does.
Stream Slaughter High now.
It’s safe to say that Slaughter High won’t be for everyone. The film has its fair share of flaws. But if you are a fan of ‘80s slasher trash and think the flick may be of interest, head over to Plex where you can find the picture streaming for free (with ads) as of the publication of this post.
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