School Killer (2001)

As Good As It Gets

Admirable film.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

If you want to make a worthwhile slasher film, there has to be certain elements present. If any are missing then this will just be an adventure for Paul Naschy completists, which is not a bad thing.There is plenty of gore and violence after the movie gets going for a while. It is not overly gory, but enough to make it a good slasher. The gore does look realistic, which is good, as did the decapitation. There was plenty of screaming, too.The best endowed girl in the film does give us a show with her boyfriend. When the slasher puts her away for later, her stupendous breasts are covered in blood. We get to see those breasts over and over.Paul Naschy made a really good killer. He had a sinister smile and was very funny as he collected his victims.It was a very suspenseful film. I won't say scary, but very tense. It kept you captivated through the entire time. The ending is, unfortunately, unclear.

An annoying group of ex-students from 'Monte Alto International High School' decide to spend a night in the now abandoned institution where a 'mystery' killer called the watchman played by horror legend Paul Naschy murders them off one by one."School Killer" features some references to such teen slasher staples like "Scream" or "Friday the 13th".The climatic twist ending looks like lilted from "The Sixth Sense".The uncertainty about whether the homicidal watchman is alive or dead provide some mild interest,but the characters are one-dimensional and the endless scenes of walking through dark school corridors really got on my nerves.The presence of charismatic Paul Naschy almost saves this clichéd slasher flick.There is also some decent gore on display including a splendidly bloody beheading.It's nice to see Manuela Velasco of "Rec" fame in a small role.4 out of 10.

A group of teens decide to take their slumber party to an abandoned school where, 27 years prior, a horrible massacre took place. Unfortunately for them, the person responsible for the slaughter still lurks the halls of the derelict school and he is not happy with their presence.This film is not like most modern teen slashers we've seen. It's much darker, much more suspenseful, no wise-cracking murderer, etc., and I liked it for those reasons. From a film-making point-of-view, it's not great. The acting is below average. The writing was pretty bad and quite full of clichés, containing randomly tossed-in references to American horror films, some that didn't even make sense (like. . . "Have you seen Scream 3?", a girl asks. Yes, I have, and it had nothing to do with walking through the doors of an old school so it in no way relates to this film). But, hey, it's a slasher flick, those are part of the fun. Also, the underutilization of characters was heavily exhibited in this film. There were six main characters (not including The Security Guard) and, to be honest, only three or four were really used. Two characters (the token black guy and some other girl that wasn't important enough to get a label) barely spoke: Between them, I'd estimate about five or six lines total. Also, the girls (other than one) weren't formed well enough to differentiate them from one another. They could've replaced each of the girls with one another repeatedly throughout the film and I wouldn't have noticed the difference. The pacing, however, works well as the horror begins right from the start and rarely ceases. The atmosphere is utilized well and the direction reveals some truly chilling moments. . . although, the overall appearance is a bit cheap-looking due to, what I assume is, low-grade camera equipment (and operation). The ending, though I liked the idea they were going for, was fairly poorly done. It felt rushed and without explanation enough to make it effective. With the amount of time they spent running around looking for nothing, they could've spent a little bit more time on the conclusion to make sure it didn't feel like some random event thrown in for no good reason (which is a flaw many modern horror films are afflicted with). However, ignoring a few irksome issues and trying to focus on the first 98% of the film rather than the ending, this is actually a rather good modern slasher that should be checked out, especially if you're a fan of Spanish and/or atmospheric horror.Obligatory Slasher Elements:Violence/Gore: There's a good bit of blood and gore, realistically done, but not buckets. The violence is extremely well done, not to excess, but pretty brutal at points.Sex/Nudity: Little bit, and with the hottest girl in the film.Cool Killer: Well, security guards are hardly considered 'cool,' but this guy is pretty wicked. His creepy smile was chilling.Scares/Suspense: The suspense is top-notch. . . very tense, very well done. There are also some extremely creepy moments that fused jump scares and the spooky atmosphere.Mystery: None at all, really.Awkward Dance Scene: Of course: between a couple of guys and a half-unwilling female in the flashback.Classic Quote of the Film: 'One more trophy.' Final verdict: 7/10. This may be stretching it, but fans of Session 9 might want to check it out simply for the similar tone and atmosphere.-AP3-

I doubt that people from 3 years ago will look at this but they seemed to be having a hard time figuring out the story. In 1973 3 men and 3 women went to the school to party. Let me say I was in my 20s in 73 and we didn't have a boom box. The security guard (Naschy) kills 5 of them but the last man alive gets Naschy in the head with an ax and throws him down a well. 27 years later the son of the man who "killed" Naschy comes to the abandoned school with his father's diary and the ghosts of the 6 people murdered are seen by the 6 who are there now. The father is trying to tell them Naschy is alive but by the time they figure it out they are all killed and become ghosts too. Paul Naschy gives this movie both class and makes the ghost story which is somewhat old fashioned really work. A lot better than the Blair Witch or the slasher side of the film do. The only thing I didn't like was the foreign "rock" soundtrack. If you have to use "rock" do like Argento and use Iron Maiden or Motorhead. Maybe these guys are big in Spain I don't know. For great Naschy look for Frankenstein's Bloody Terror or Night of the Werewolf (The Craving) or at least Horror Rises From the Tomb.