Protraph Lack of good storyline.

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Leofwine_draca HORROR HIGH is a very cheap, cheesy, and inadequate horror feature from the team at Crown International Pictures. It's a film that doesn't have a great deal going for it, aside from the relatively unusual (for the time) high school setting, something that would of course become ubiquitous with the advent of the slasher genre and '80s horror in general.The annoying Pat Cardi plays a usual high school nerd type character who finds himself bullied and put upon by his peers and superiors. Inevitably he injects himself with a super-serum that turns him into a monster of kinds, and he then goes on a killing spree. Basically it's a Jekyll & Hyde story with an American high school setting.The quality of the print I watched on Talking Pictures TV was truly horrendous, which I suppose does add to the grindhouse experience. HORROR HIGH is quite substandard, with slapdash kill scenes and overacting throughout making it hard to watch at times. The make-up for the monster is truly pathetic. The only thing of interest is seeing Austin Stoker, the cop from ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, playing...you guessed it, a cop. A somewhat unconnected sequel, RETURN TO HORROR HIGH, followed in 1987.

AaronCapenBanner Poor Vernon Potts(played by Pat Cardi) is a tormented and bullied high school student and science whiz, who develops a new serum that needs testing, but unfortunately the evil Janitor forces him to drink it, thus starting a violent chain of events that turn meek Vernon into a murderous ape-like creature bent on seeking revenge against all his tormentors. Rosie Holotik as his sympathetic friend, and Austin Stoker as the investigating detective round out the cast.Too bad this film is shockingly amateurish in all other areas, with a heavy-handed emphasis on the "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" theme; however, this does have a distinct 1970's aura about it, though remains tacky.Overall, a sad film with an inevitable ending.

GroovyDoom Logic be damned, "Horror High" has a story to tell, and it's going to get there by any means necessary. It takes place in a high school where the resident outcast, Vernon, is a science geek who would probably even be picked on by Carrie White. His mother's dead, his father's completely absent, and every single person Vernon comes into contact with abuses him verbally and often physically. His teachers berate him, even though he is clearly gifted. The school janitor is a shambling, mumbling alcoholic constantly on the verge of a violent outburst--you know, just like in real life--and not only does he seem to actually LIVE in the high school, he keeps a pet cat in the school, too--you know, just like in that same real life.Vernon's determined to prove that people can be changed physically by drugs. No, really! Who ever thought that could happen? Anyway, he injects his guinea pig, Mr. Mumps, with a formula that causes it to turn into a feral monster with much darker fur than normal. It kills the janitor's bully of a cat, and the janitor freaks on Vernon, forcing him to drink the Jekyll/Hyde potion. Yeah. So suddenly Vernon convulses and transforms into killer-Vernon, hurling the janitor around and finally dunking his face in a giant barrel of sulfuric acid that just happens to be sitting in the lab as a means of disposal. And that's just the beginning.Rosie Holotik from "Don't Look In the Basement!" plays a classmate of Vernon's, the only person in the whole school that likes him. She's there to be alternately romanced and threatened by killer-Vernon. Austin Stoker, he of "Abby" and "Assault on Precinct 13", is a detective investigating the sudden "rash of killings" at Vernon's high school. I mean think about that for a second...a janitor is killed, then a teacher, and yet the school dismisses it as a "rash of killings" and remains open and functioning? This is the charm of "Horror High"; it is an outrageous adolescent fantasy, where a nerd is picked on and suddenly becomes a monster that can not only take revenge on his bullies, but KILL them. When reality attempts to disrupt the fantasy, it is immediately brushed aside and never given a second thought. WHY does the school stay open after a janitor's skull is found floating in a barrel of acid? For that matter, why is a giant barrel of acid sitting in a classroom? Why does the janitor not only seem to live on the premises of the school, but keeps a pet cat there? Why would a teacher threatened in her classroom run from her desk, be chased through the hallways, then return to her classroom, and her desk, trailing her fingers along the edge of a paper cutter as if tempting fate? The answer to all of these questions and more is: "It was in the script." Vicious cruelty to animals, a melted human face, football bullies, and mean teachers. These are the things that would give any young school kid nightmares, after which "Horror High" has accomplished what it clearly set out to do.** for even more fun, take into consideration an unrelated passage of the film that was awkwardly inserted into the television version entitled "Twisted Brain". The narrative suddenly shifts from Vernon's world to demonstrate the romantic relationship between his father and the woman he's currently living with as a traveling salesman. Then, when sufficient padding has been accomplished, the film goes back to Vernon's plight, never to mention the father or his girlfriend again.

MartinHafer Wow. I am amazed I went beyond the opening song with this film. After all, the song was just horrible in every possible way--whiny, bad and dreadful. Was this a portent of more awfulness to come or was this low-budget film actually worth seeing?The star of this film is a nerdy high school student (who, incidentally was 23 when the film was made). He's mistreated by his teachers, the janitor and his classmates. Like such to be Vernon Potts and you know that based on the title of this film that eventually all these people will have a major butt-kicking coming by the end of the film. But, in the meantime, we are treated to scene after scene of the most ridiculously nasty treatment of poor Vernon. Subtle this isn't.Later, a deranged (and horribly acted) janitor freaks out and forces poor Vernon to drink some formula he's been working on in the lab. And, not at all unexpectedly, Vernon is now a crazed killer beast. I love how incredibly stupid and cheesy the first act of retribution is--when he shoves the janitor's head in a conveniently placed bucket of sulfuric acid (I always have a few sitting around the house for just such emergencies). When Vernon has recovered, he's covered in blood and hides the evidence of his atrocity. Is this the last killing by good ol' Vern? Well, considering it's only the 25 minute mark, I doubt it.By the way, speaking of sulfuric acid in this murder scene, I noticed that the label on the drum was MISSPELLED!! Talk about sloppy!! Surely a chemical supply house can spell sulfuric!!The next day, the police come to the school to investigate the killing. This apparently was prompted when one of the kids in chemistry class opened the giant drum of 'sulphuric acid' and bits and pieces of the janitor and his cat were floating in it.There's more to it than this, but frankly it's all so dull and pointless I'll just wrap it up now. Overall, the acting, writing, special effects and direction totally suck. There really is nothing of interest or value in the film other than small parts played by Dallas Cowboys running back Calvin Hill and quarterback Craig Morton and linebacker D.D. Lewis, as well as Pittsburg Steelers defensive tackle Joe Greene and Chuck Beatty. It's interesting for anyone who watched football back in the 1970s--otherwise I have no idea why anyone would want to see this stinking film. Also, I hope I didn't miss any other players who were in the film--I'm trying my best considering that I was pretty young back then and my crazy old man memory isn't perfect!Worthless--a complete waste of time.