Main Cast: Lori Lethin, Brendan Hughes, Alex Rocco, Scott Jacoby, Andy Romano
Release Year: 1987
Country: US/CA
Run Time: 95 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
In 1982, Crippen High School was the scene of a gruesome series of dismemberment murders, but the killer was never identified. Five years later, Cosmic Pictures arrives at the long-abandoned campus to make a low-budget horror movie based on the tragedy, and suddenly the terror begins anew. The police department arrives at the school to find the building and grounds covered in gore and human body parts, the remains of the unfortunate film crew. The only survivor of this new massacre is the screenwriter, Arthur (Richard Brestoff), who tries to explain the horrifying events to the authorities. The troubled production's leading lady is angered over the demeaning nature of her role, the producer and director argue over the film's lack of artistic merits, and when cast members start disappearing, everyone else assumes that they're just quitting out of disgust. Who is the culprit? Is it the school's principal, appearing as himself in the film for the sake of realism? The janitor, who hopes to parlay his cameo into a pornography career? Or maybe Steven (Brendan Hughes), who was a student at Crippen during the original murder spree and finds himself reluctantly cast as the hero? This self-referential slasher parody features George Clooney in a small part as the film's first victim, and The Brady Bunch's Maureen McCormick as a policewoman with a lust for blood and hot dogs. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
Review
Any film that features George Clooney's blood seeping out from underneath a door in the first ten minutes has got to have something going for itself, and against all odds, Return to Horror High does indeed. By 1987 the slasher genre had run its course, aside from a few stragglers, and the teenage body count films were ripe for parody. Most combinations of horror and humor fail at both, and though the comedy is very broad, this hybrid doesn't forget to aim for shocks and connects more often than should be expected. Several of the murder set pieces are visually unique (the deadly sandbox and a biology teacher's dissection in particular), and since the jokes are all at the expense of the low-budget film industry, Return to Horror High plays like an underachieving precursor to the Scream series without as much self-satisfied post-modernism. The appearance of a pre-stardom Clooney is merely serendipity, but the stunt casting of Maureen McCormick (Marcia from The Brady Bunch) as a policewoman with a gore fetish is meant to play off her image, and she takes full advantage. Though he could easily sleepwalk through the role, Alex Rocco also appears to have fun as a crusty, morally challenged movie producer. The rest of the cast is a faceless assortment of newcomers and genre vets (like any true splatter flick), so director Bill Froehlich runs them through a maze of a story that makes less and less sense as it proceeds, and absolutely none when it's all "explained" at the end. Nevertheless, horror fans who aren't looking for anything too serious might have fun with the gruesome effects, kaleidoscopic shifts of reality and tone, and broad parody. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
Richard Brestoff - Arthur Lyman Kastleman; Al Fann - Amos; Pepper Martin - Chif Deyner; Maureen McCormick - Officer Tyler; Vince Edwards - Richard Birnbaum; George Clooney - Oliver; Darcy de Moss - Sheri Haines; Cliff Emmich - Dillon; Panchito Gomez - Choo Choo; Michael Kramer - Donny Porter; Marvin J. McIntyre - Robbie Rice; Philip McKeon - Richard Farley; Remy O'Neill - Esther Molvania; Kristi Somers - Ginny McCall; Larry Spinak - Peter; Will Etra - Mangled Face/Hatchet Face; Dexter Hamlett - Freddie; Joy Heston - Becky; Frank Kniest - Camera Assistant; John Mueller - Jimmy; Alison Noble - Jeanine; George Fisher - Masked Figure
Credit
Linda Francis - Casting, Marcy Grace Groehlich - Costume Designer, Rachel Talalay - First Assistant Director, Bill Froehlich - Director, Nancy Forner - Editor, Greg H. Sims - Executive Producer, Stacy Widelitz - Composer (Music Score), Wendy Fraser - Songwriter, Larry Weir - Songwriter, Stacy Widelitz - Songwriter, Michael Spatola - Makeup, Greta Grigorian - Production Designer, Roy H. Wagner - Cinematographer, Mark Lisson - Producer, Wayne Beauchamp - Special Effects, Debby Porter - Stunts, George Fisher - Stunts, Dana Escalante - Screenwriter, Bill Froehlich - Screenwriter, Mark Lisson - Screenwriter, Greg H. Sims - Screenwriter
Crippen was at the high school several years ago who committed a bloody murder and the perpetrator was never caught. Today a producer wants to make a film on location on what's happening. During the work the Slaughter disappear more and more people become victims of violent crimes. The police are helpless and can only gather together, nor the individual body parts. Two young actors making themselves out to solve the mystery and witness unimaginable horror.
