Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

gwnightscream This 1981 horror film stars Leonard Mann, Rachel Ward and Drew Snyder. This begins with a young woman being decapitated by a mysterious killer. We then meet police detective, Austin (Mann) who investigates and starts finding more headless women. Soon, he suspects a college professor, Vincent (Snyder) who knew the victims and his live-in assistant, Eleanor (Ward). This isn't bad, except for some acting and Brad Fiedel's score is chilling. Give this a view at least once if you're into slasher flicks.

FlashCallahan Someone is killing off the female students who are taking night classes at a local college.Each victim is decapitated and has her head thrown into the nearest body of water for some unknown reason.The detectives working the case discover a connection between the victims and a certain professor at the college, which makes him their prime suspect in the killings.Is the professor really responsible for the murders or is someone else to blame.........Regarded as one of the notorious video nasties here in the U.K. for a number of years, Night School isn't just your average run of the mill stalk n' slasher set in a school, it's actually quite a compelling whodunnit.It's only weak link is the fact that the red herring may as well be wearing a jacket saying 'hey audience!! it's not me!!'.Anyone with a knowledge of horror, especially the wonderful eighties horror movement will know that the prime suspect in this is certainly not the antagonist, even more so when he appears to be less than bothered when his students are literally losing their heads.But then there's no one else whom really appears suspect, until one of the characters starts to act just that little bit too strange. And the makers must have thought we would have been duped with the Professer hook, line, and sinker at this time.Most of the characters have some sort of ulterior motive against someone else, and for some reason, the Dean decides to take a huge offence to the professor just when she becomes more amorous toward another student.There are moments of great tension though. The opening kill where the killer teases their victim is pretty sadistic, and another scene, set in a kitchen with just the owner looking for something, is really nerve wracking, and it's obvious that the Final Destination franchise borrowed this particular scene on many occasion.The final act lets the film down a little, as it's pretty clear during one scene earlier who the killer is, and what their motivation is.So all in all, if your a fan of the eighties slasher movement, it's a must, there are some pretty tense moments in the film, and it's very well acted, especially from Ward and that bloke who gets shot at the beginning of Commando putting his bins out.But it's the final scene, where the detectives partner dresses up as the killer and hides in the back of his car, that just gives the film the cult following it has today.It's hilarious, and just mocks the previous ninety minutes.Classy...

slasherstudios Anne Barron (Meb Boden) is a teacher's aide at the Jack-N-Jill Daycare Center in Boston. It's the early evening and the last child has been picked up by her mother. Anne is relaxing on the playground carousel when someone pulls up on a motorcycle, wearing a pink helmet. Anne is startled. Suddenly the stranger pulls out a machete and starts spinning the carousel. The machete is held up in the air and the terrified woman goes around and around - until she's struck with it.Judd Austin (Leonard Mann) is the cop assigned to the case. He is called to the scene and when he gets there, he sees a gruesome sight. The girl was decapitated and her head was put in a bucket of water nearby. The distraught director of the center tells the officer that Anne worked there during the day - and was attending night classes at Wendell College. At the hospital, Judd and his partner Taj (Joseph R. Sicari) discuss a similar case from the previous week. Another girl was found decapitated and her head was dumped in a pond. They wonder if there's any connection between the two murders."Night School" is a typical run-of-the-mill early 80's whodunit slasher with a decapitation twist. This is the kind of movie where half of the money is trying to figure out where the detectives are going to find the missing heads. The twist ending is pretty predictable and the acting is a bit wooden (Rachel Ward, in her film debut, is all sorts of terrible here) but the film is never boring and has been directed with style. Boston looks positively wretched on film here and it gives the slasher a bit of a grungy "Departed" vibe. Overall, it's definitely worth checking out, just check your expectations-and your head--at the door.

lost-in-limbo Probably best recognised for being the debut feature for of the ravishing British actress Rachel Ward, but "Night School" deserves a little more credit for that lone reason. I wasn't expecting it be as good it was, but while it's your by-the-numbers mystery psycho slasher it managed to resourcefully up the suspense and intrigue in some well presented set-pieces. The usual revelation behind it all doesn't come as much as a surprise (where we seem to be quite ahead of the clueless detective/s scratching their heads), along with the second twist (which is even more foreseeable), but then it ends with a neat final one which seems to be a mock send-up of the typical shock closing. "Don't you ever take your job seriously". I'm kind of surprised by its middling to poor reputation, as I found it more than competent than its 80s crop. Good atmospheric, authentic locations are masterfully framed by cinematographer Mark Irwin. His expressively flowing camera stages some inventive frames and effectively helps building up the tension before the initial shock. He films the ominous looking killer (decked in black leather and bike helmet) quite well. Director Ken Hughes' slick touch lets it flow, nailing the terrorising tension with a real sting to its tail. Hughes style kind of reminded me off Hitchcock, but the modern unpleasantness is evident (slicing and dicing with ritual decapitation on mind, but little is seen) and lurking within is a sneering sleazy undertone. The black and white story remains interesting, due to the solid performances (Leonard Mann, Drew Snyder, Rachel Ward and an amusing Joseph R. Sicari) and particularly sharp script. Brad Fiedel composes the score in an understated manner, but it eerily works. A modest psycho slasher offering.