In 1981, Student Bodies proved that there wasn't much mileage in spoofing a genre that was already turning to self-parody in order to survive, but that didn't stop studios from churning out one weak parody after another. Wacko (1982), Pandemonium (1982), Slaughter High (1986), Cutting Class (1989), and following the second wave of slashers in the 90s, Scary Movie (2000), Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth (2000) and Club Dread (2004): just a few prime examples of unimaginative, low-brow humour at its worst.
Return to Horror High (1987) tries to be a little different, with a plot that uses a movie-within-a-movie scenario, flashbacks and nightmares to add a touch of interest, but when all is said and done, it's just another lame, relatively laugh-free spoof. The cast ham it up terribly (given the script, do they really have any other option?), the gore is disappointing (lots of blood, but nothing really gruesome), and the twist ending totally absurd; genuinely amusing moments can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Watch if you really want to see Marcia from the Brady Bunch rubbing blood over her chest or a pre-fame George Clooney sporting a Hasselhoff hairdo, but don't say you haven't been warned.
2.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 3 for the gratuitous female locker room scene.
Return to Horror High (1987) tries to be a little different, with a plot that uses a movie-within-a-movie scenario, flashbacks and nightmares to add a touch of interest, but when all is said and done, it's just another lame, relatively laugh-free spoof. The cast ham it up terribly (given the script, do they really have any other option?), the gore is disappointing (lots of blood, but nothing really gruesome), and the twist ending totally absurd; genuinely amusing moments can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Watch if you really want to see Marcia from the Brady Bunch rubbing blood over her chest or a pre-fame George Clooney sporting a Hasselhoff hairdo, but don't say you haven't been warned.
2.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 3 for the gratuitous female locker room scene.