Night School (1981)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

An excellent slasher/whodunnit you might not have heard about.Brutal killings,attractive women.attractive men,big knife,Freudian Symbolism,shower scene and red herrings.Even a surprise ending,although one that is a bit out of place especially compared to the rest of the movie.It's all there.So how come Night School isn't a more popular title? Your guess is as good as mine. But it could be that it has to do with the relatively late release on DVD. The pacing is a little uneven at times which does hurt the tension slightly. And the ending could be considered unsatisfying.It's one you will see coming and at the same time not at all. Very inventive I have to say although like I said earlier a bit out of tune with the movie overall. Honestly,I had fun watching since it does most things right.And to see Rachel Ward's bottom in all it's glory can't be that bad,now is it?

Rachel Ward's nude scene is definitely the highlight of this pseudo-slasher flick. The story opens very strong. I mean, you rarely see a beheading by merry-go-round. The story itself is more of a who done it, with a couple of gigantic "red herrings", and some totally inadequate police work. Although the film does generate some tension in the beginning, things gradually unwind in the logic department. This is mainly due to some real "rubber band" stretches of credibility. Only Rachel Ward's presence keeps "Night School" out of forgettable land. The "surprise ending" definitely will not hold up to close scrutiny, and that is an almost fatal flaw. - MERK

Despite hailing from the golden age of American slashers, Night School (AKA Terror Eyes) shares more in common with the Italian giallo genre than your average early 80s U.S. kill-by-numbers flick: the plot revolves around a series of grisly murders that take place in and around a school; in typical giallo fashion, the majority of the action is centred around the investigation of the crimes rather than the actual murders themselves; the killer is clad head to toe in black motorcycle gear and carries a distinctive weapon (a Kukri knife); and like many an Italian murder/mystery, the motive for the slayings is just plain silly.Unfortunately, even though the ingredients seem right for a cool and classy Euro-style thriller, Night School ultimately fails to impress thanks to some dreadful casting, the sheer predictability of the plot (the identity of the killer is obvious from the outset), and director Ken Hughes' habit of 'pulling his punches' just as matters begin to get interesting. It's hard enough watching Rachel Ward struggle to act and Drew Snyder failing to convince as a lothario professor with the ability to charm his way into his students' knickers, without the added irritation of a potentially sleazy lesbian scene cut tragically short, the film's promising death scenes cutting away just as the killer delivers the fatal blow, and a lack of decent gore—all we see of the decapitated heads is the hair!As disappointing as it is, though, Night School will always remain of interest to horror fans for being one of the DPP's official video nasties (probably thanks to the admittedly vicious moment where the killer repeatedly slashes a terrified woman with his knife, her blood smearing all over the walls as she desperately tries to escape).

Like sadly too often the case with early 80's slasher-movies, this one honestly isn't as bad as the rating & reputation suggest and it obviously all depends on the viewers' prior expectations. If you're set to see a mindless and undemanding stalk 'n slash effort, you get just that, but with a tidbit of goodwill, you'll even notice and appreciate the creators' slightly more ambitious intentions. The vast majority of contemporary slasher flicks were blind copies of "Halloween", but "Night School" looks for role models that predate Carpenter's horror milestone by several years, more particularly Alfred Hitchcock (oh yes, yet another shower sequence) and various Italian Giallo movies! The killer's disguise and modus operandi, as well as the profile of the victims and several red herrings along the way, seem to come straight out of the script of the typical Giallo-effort. The stylish characteristics and outcome of the story may perhaps fall short (real Gialli have far more complicated denouements), but still this is one of the more likable non-Italian attempts at making a Giallo. "Night School" is also clearly sponsored by Boston's department of tourism, as the opening sequences depict multiple picturesque shots of the city by night. There's a killer on this loose in this beautiful city, completely dressed in black leather and wearing a pitch-dark motorcycle helmet, who brutally decapitates of young co-eds and dumps the chopped off heads in the nearest watery reservoir. Police inspector Austin quickly discovers a pattern, namely all victims attended night school classes and – more particularly – the anthropology lectures of professor / playboy Dr. Millett. All the evidence points either towards Millett himself or towards a simple-minded waiter/peeping tom, but that would just be too obvious, wouldn't it? The actual revelation of the killer's identity is ridiculously simple and easy to predict if you only just paid a little bit of attention to small clues. In spite of the gooey sounding head-hunter premise and its listing among the infamous Video Nasties, "Night School" is a rather tame and UN-shocking film. Most of the beheadings play off screen (at first, I even feared I was watching a censored version) and the rest of the bloodshed is kept to a minimum as well. The one sequence in the Sea Life Centre's locker room is quite mean-spirited, however, and probably single-handedly responsible for the notorious reputation. Director Ken Hughes (director of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", of all people) films a handful of effectively suspenseful scenes, the music is atmospheric and – even though I seem to be the only one who thinks so – the character of Taj (the assistant) was funny!