Top 9 High School Horrors
Steve Barton
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The ratty hair, the twisted teeth, the oily flesh. No, I’m not talking about the newest movie monster. I’m talking about our awkward high school years! In celebration of the release of All Cheerleaders Die, we’re taking a look back at the Top 9 High School Horrors.
Looking back, we can remember plenty of high school horrors, and combination skin is just one of them. There were a lot of possibilities for this list, and we’ve got 9 of our favorites listed below. But we would have to flunk ourselves if we didn’t turn in an honor roll of honorable mentions.
Of course another Lucky McKee film, The Woods, has to be listed, as does Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And those vivacious vixens from The Craft turned up the heat in their high school, and nobody – and we mean nobody – survives Cherry Falls.
And now, on to the…
Carrie (1976)
Perhaps the ultimate high school horror film, Carrie is a master class on the outcast teenager. Stephen King’s first novel, Carrie has been remade multiple times, but the power of the original film has never been matched. The many instances of abuse that Carrie endures both at school and at home are hellacious, but it’s the climactic prom scene that has burned into the minds of audiences for nearly 40 years. Sissy Spacek created a rare iconic horror moment when she reacted to the blood being poured on her and to this day the name Carrie still sends a shiver up many a spine.
The Faculty (1998)
Okay, so maybe you didn’t have the nicest teachers in the world when you were in high school, maybe even a real hard-ass or two, but we’re sure it was nothing compared to the teachers in The Faculty. Now this film had a heavy hitting cast and crew. Helmed by Robert Rodriguez, produced by Bob and Harvey Weinstein with a screenplay by Kevin Williamson of Scream fame, The Faculty certainly had some weight behind it. Featuring a parasitic alien invasion and starring Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Salma Hayek, Jordana Brewster and Famke Janssen it was a case of the inmates running the asylum as the student body had to protect their own bodies from infected teachers and administrators.
Ginger Snaps (2000)
The Fitzgerald Sisters were certainly a pair. Bullied and obsessed with death, the girls were such a unique and memorable pair. And as the story goes, it was a casting nightmare to find the right pair to play the duo. Ironically enough, after months of searching, Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins were cast on the same day. They auditioned on the same day and, interestingly enough, Isabelle and Perkins were born in the same hospital, attended the same pre-, elementary and private schools and were represented by the same agency. Karma, right? And although Perkins was four years older, she was cast as Bridgette, the younger sibling. Never before has a bullied student had so much bite!
Class of Nuke ‘Em High (1986)
Troma Studios is on display in all its gory greatness in Class of Nuke ‘Em High (originally entitled Atomic High School, Troma obviously made a great choice with the name change, as Nuke ‘Em High is such a clever play on words…and it rolls of the tongue beautifully!) And everything you need for a great Troma movie is here, Tromaville High School (situated just one mile from the Tromaville Nuclear Power Plant), a young couple in love and a violent band of misfits known as The Cretins. Class of Nuke ‘Em High was Troma’s follow-up to The Toxic Avenger, so it could be said that these were the golden years of the studio. However, it must be noted that the first film of the re-launch, Return to Nuke ‘Em High, Vol. 1, has been widely praised for resurrecting the spirit of the original film. Perhaps we’re in store for a second golden age of Troma.
Graduation Day (1981)
Troma Entertainment also produced the next film on our list, Graduation Day, this time for Columbia Pictures. In this high school bloodbath we see some of usual faces like Linnea Quigley and Lin Shaye (then billed as Linda Shaye), but there’s also an appearance by your favorite letter-turner and mine, Vanna White who plays one of the’ mean girls’. Who would ever believe the timeless Vanna White as a mean girl? The movie has some notable kills, the pole vault onto huge spikes probably the most toe-curling of the bunch. Surprisingly, the film made nearly $24 million at the box office with just a $250,000 budget. Like it or not, that adds up to an A+ in Accounting!
Return to Horror High (1987)
Return to Horror High… yes, that is George Clooney you see in the trailer below. This was Clooney’s feature film debut. Okay, so it’s not exactly Gravity, Mr. Clooney has come a long way, but Return to Horror High does have a certain charm about it. The story takes us to the halls of Crippen High School where a brutal murder had been committed…and the killer was never found! Several years later, Cosmic Pictures comes in to film a movie about the murders and the whole crew sets up right in Crippen High. And you know what that means. Movie crew members equals body count and that’s exactly what you get. Incidentally, Clooney isn’t the only star in this one, Ms. Marcia Brady herself, Maureen McCormick appears as well. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!
Scream (1996)
Wes Craven hit high school horror gold when he released Scream in 1996. Students in the Town of Woodsboro found themselves at the mercy of Ghostface. And as rumors and stories of the murders ran rampant through the school, the student body became ever more intrigued by the events transpiring. Part horror, part comedy, part homage, Scream was a breath of fresh air for the horror genre in 1996. Unfortunately, the kids of Woodsboro High School had to pay the price for it…and a most bloody price it was. Capped by a incredibly entertaining party scene and a bloody final twist, Scream passes with flying colors!
Prom Night (1980)
It seems that every time there is a murder or accidental death in a high school horror film backstory, a few years later it spurs a faceless killer to go on a murderous rampage. And such is the case in Prom Night, which, of course, featured legendary scream queen Jaime Lee Curtis and less than frequent horror actor Leslie Nielsen. And an interesting fact about Prom Night is that it nearly never happened. Filmmakers were having trouble finding funding until Curtis signed on. And they nearly signed a distro deal with Paramount which was going to open the movie in 700 theaters, until they got a sweeter deal from Avco Emabassy Theaters, which offered to open Prom Night in 1,200 theaters. Losing out on this film, Paramount released a different slasher in 1980, Friday the 17th.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Highlighted by the ‘Hey! No running in the hallways.’ scene, A Nightmare on Elm Street was yet another film that illustrated how a mysterious psycho killer can disrupt the learning process…especially if half the kids are falling asleep in class. And that’s in addition to the others that were already falling asleep in class just because of sheer boredom. You can’t all blame Kruger because you failed Chemistry. Another superstar, Johnny Depp, joins George Clooney on this list as Depp, of course, fell victim to the hands of Freddy in his first major performance. Yes, high school horror does tend to be a springboard for mega-stardom.
Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson’s All Cheerleaders Die hits Blu-ray and DVD today, July 22!
All Cheerleaders Die Synopsis
A rebel girl signs up a group of cheerleaders to help her take down the captain of their high school football team, but a supernatural turn of events thrusts the girls into a different battle.
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