Hell High (1989) Review

Miss Brooke Storm (Maureen Mooney) is a high school biology teacher whose ambitions to inform an educate are constantly thwarted by her feckless, rebellious students. Chief amongst this group of delinquents is Dickens (Christopher Stryker) who believes there’s nothing to be gained from studying and is more interested in recruiting football team dropout Jon Jon (Christopher Cousins) to his team of diffident pranksters which also includes Queenie (Mille Prezioso) and existential crisis magnet Smiler (Jason Brill).

A flashpoint in class leads to Miss Storm giving Dickens a slap and, rather than reflecting on the frankly awful behaviour that led to him being fetched one around the chops, Dickens takes it upon himself to make his teacher’s life a misery. After all, as he says, “She’s just another victim”. However, what Dickens doesn’t know – because he didn’t see the opening sequence – is that Miss Storm has a dark past. Can anyone see where this is going?

I remember this one from those hazy, crazy days of video rental. Its British release, under the alternate title of Raging Fury, boasted cover art as lurid as the post-Video Nasty would allow, featuring Miss Storm in the grip of said titular, furious rage. As with many horror releases of the time, it was two things: 1) It was an 18 certificate and 2) It was cut. There was a limit to the amount of terrorisation and violence we were allowed to watch in the comfort of our own homes.

Inevitably, the unexpurgated version served up nowadays for your delectation turns out to be far less ferocious and likely to deprave than its previous censored status would have you believe. The menacing of Miss Storm does take a slightly unpleasant turn as matters escalate way out of control but it’s unlikely to have anyone leading the “Ban this sick filth!” cry. Also, the events leading up to that flashpoint are fairly ridiculous, mostly consisting of jumping up and down on the rooftop of her house, banging on a few windows and throwing green swamp goo at her.

Despite the fact that most of the limited bloodshed is saved for the final twenty minutes, there’s still enjoyment to be had from your time spent at this dubious educational establishment. Shot in 1986 but not released until 1989, Hell High would have been limping along at the tail end of the slasher movie craze if it had hit cinemas as soon as it was completed. When it finally saw the light of a projector, horror had moved on and most folks felt they’d had their fill of teens under attack from knife-wielding maniacs., thank you very much.

As understandable as its commercial failure was, those late 80s audiences missed at least of couple of minor innovations served up by Hell High. The opening sequence, featuring the young Brooke, is a doozy, hitting a gory height which the rest of the movie fails to match in terms of carnage. The sharp focus on the bad guys is unusual, giving them personalities and interactions which go beyond the usual cyphers. Side-lining Miss Storm for some of the runtime is a canny move, too, keeping her in the shadows until it’s time for her to rage, furiously.

The performances are above average for the stalk and slash genre, specifically Christopher Stryker who makes Dickens an interesting character while assigning him no redeeming features whatsoever. Millie Prezioso’s Queenie proves to be a strong, no-nonsense female character who at least elicits a modicum of sympathy without destroying her bad girl cred. Even the gratuitous chest flash early on in the proceedings, if I’m being exceedingly generous, is on her terms, kind of – it’s still gratuitous though, there’s no denying that.

However, that brief snippet of nudity is nothing compared to the leering, lingering shower scene that’s crowbarred in as Dickens and Jon Jon indulge in a spot of after-school spying on Maureen Mooney’s impressively sculpted body double. The T&A tick box is well and truly checked here, furthering the story not one iota but undoubtedly scoring points with fans of softcore, soapy action.

Surprisingly short on slaughter, Hell High still passes the test because of its uncommon approach to the material, a screenplay that’s actually half decent and the solid acting chops of its main players. It also boasts a scattering of thoroughly 80s songs on the soundtrack, tunes which prove to be a fine accompaniment to our dodgy gang’s nefarious schemes. In an era in which slashers were ten a penny, it’s good to see a film that brings something a little different to the blood-soaked table, even if it’s only sporadically successful.

HELL HIGH is available on Special Edition Blu-ray and Limited Edition O-card Edition Blu-ray 18 July from Arrow Video: https://www.arrowfilms.com/blu-ray/hell-high/13808822.html

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