Horror High (1974)
Beginning my journey through Code Red DVD's back catalogue I stumbled upon this flick on ebay and couldn't pass it up. I'd seen a trailer for it awhile ago and it looked like cheesey fun. With a title like Horror High, the expectations were firmly in check for it being a sub par offering from the mid-70's. It was a much simpler time. Movies didn't need good effects or even a plot that made sense. To be a minor hit a film needed only a catchy poster and an alluring trailer.
Horror High starts out a bit differently than many horror/creature films made on the cheap. It opens following Vernon while he rides a bike with strange background music. It isn't just any music, but the lyrics are as follows:
To live in a dream, a victim of madness to be torn
Mindless of your fate
A shaman of magic, hopelessly yearning to be loved
But time wouldn't wait
All the living fools who don't care
Hate and greed and sorrow, unaware
They've taken everything you are
And then they turned your dreams into a nightmare
And now that you've left them, there's only a fragment of your life
Which time can't erase
But someone will follow, and find a place
So go on
Vernon go on
This isn't the typical type of music found at the beginning of these types of films. For some reason that song really stuck with me. A preview of sorts for the rest of the film.
But moving on, eventually Vernon's experiments on the school guinea pig Mr. Mumps turn the little critter from adorable rodent into blood-thirsty, slightly less adorable rodent. Around this same time the creepy janitor accuses Vernon of messing with his cat, after Vernon scares it. The janitor beats Mr. Mumps to death in front of Vernon. When he tries to stop the maniacal Janitor, the Janitor then decides to make Vernon drink the concoction he's been working on in the laboratory.
After that Vernon begins to lose control of his urges and he begins to knock off those that have tormented him at school. After the first murder a police Lieutenant (Austin Stoker) shows up and begins to investigate. More murders occur and Vernon eventually takes the school jock's girlfriend out on a date, with disastrous consequences.
Horror High is short and forgettable. The acting is your typical bad 70s fair and all of the characters are badly developed, even Vernon. People just pick on him and the janitor basically assaults him and the audience is supposed to feel bad for him because his life just plain sucks. The song from the beginning of the film (lyrics above) give more back story to Vernon's character than the film ever does. There is minimal gore throughout the film and what little there is looks cheap. In fact the entire film looks like it was made extremely cheap, most likely because it was. The film was shot on 16mm and blown up to 35mm for release.
In fact even after just having watched this film I can't remember much about it because nothing really happens. Vernon kills a few people and a hamster dies. That's about it. I wish I could recommend this film to fans of obscure cinema, but it isn't even worth seeking out. There is little entertainment value to be gleamed from this film, for gore hounds, horror fans, or anyone else for that matter.
If you feel the need to pick up this title I'd recommend the Code Red DVD release. The transfer is as good as it's ever going to get and the audio is decent. Again, the film was shot on 16mm so there isn't much anyone can do for the print quality. There is also an interview with Austin Stoker as an extra on the DVD that is interesting to watch.
