Night School (1981 film)

Last updated
Night School
Night School FilmPoster.jpeg
Original U.S. theatrical poster
Directed by Ken Hughes
Written byRuth Avergon
Produced by
  • Ruth Avergon
  • Larry Babb
Starring
Cinematography Mark Irwin
Edited byRobert Reitano
Music by Brad Fiedel
Production
companies
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • September 11, 1981 (1981-09-11)(U.S.) [1]
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.2 million [2]
Box office$1.6 million [3]

Night School (also known as Terror Eyes in the United Kingdom) [4] is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Rachel Ward, in her film debut, Leonard Mann, and Drew Snyder. The plot revolves around a series of brutal murders in Boston, Massachusetts. [5] Alfred Sole was the film's original director, but he passed on the project. Hughes was ultimately brought in to direct, and Night School was his final film. [6]

Contents

The music score was composed by Brad Fiedel.

The film premiered at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival in 1981.

Night School was released theatrically in the United States on September 11, 1981, and was panned by critics upon release. In England, it became a video nasty. [7] The film has developed a small cult following among slasher fans, and was given its first DVD release by Warner Archive with a remastered transfer in 2011.

Plot

Anne Barron is a teacher's aide at a daycare center in Boston. One evening, she is relaxing on the playground carousel when someone pulls up on a motorcycle, wearing a black motorcycle helmet. She is startled as the stranger pulls out a kukri and starts spinning the carousel. The terrified Anne goes around until the kukri hits her. Lt. Judd Austin is the policeman assigned to the case. As he gets to the scene, he sees the girl decapitated with her head in a nearby bucket. The distraught director of the center tells Judd that Anne worked there during the day and was attending night classes at Wendall College.

At the hospital, Judd and his partner Taj discuss a similar case from the previous week, in which another girl was found decapitated with her head in a pond. They wonder if there's any connection between the two murders. At Wendell, the administrator Helene Griffin tells Judd that Anne was close to a girl named Kim Morrison. When asked if Anne had a boyfriend, Kim tells Judd that Anne was indeed involved with someone, but she doesn't know who. Judd enters Professor Millett's anthropology class to speak with him about Anne. The professor doesn't provide much information, but he introduces Judd to an exchange student named Eleanor Adjai. Eleanor leaves the school and goes to the local diner. There, she is creeped out by Gary, the busboy who appears to have mental issues. The waitress Carol asks Eleanor if she's in Millett's class and implies that he sleeps around, irritating Eleanor and she leaves. Gary follows her home. When she realizes this, she runs the rest of the way and quickly locks her door. She gets into the shower but someone tries to break in. Frightened, she gets out of the shower, only to find that it's Professor Millett, her boyfriend who had been locked out by accident.

Kim works at the local aquarium. About to leave work, she takes off her diving suit and is decapitated by the figure in a motorcycle helmet. A woman who was previously looking at the turtles screams after she sees Kim's head fall into the tank. Judd pays a visit to Professor Millett and is surprised to see Eleanor, who explains that she is his research assistant. Judd then informs Millett that a second student of his has been killed and asks him if he has had any affairs with his pupils. Annoyed by the question, Millett tells Judd to leave. Eleanor and Millett get into an argument and she goes to the diner to be alone. The professor follows her, and she tells him that she is three months pregnant. He's sympathetic, although he still manages to flirt with Carol. After the diner has closed, Carol is left to clean up. When the power goes out, she heads to the basement to investigate. The killer appears and attacks her. Carol escapes, but is then caught in an alley and killed. The next day, Carol's head is found in a water-filled sink and her body in a dumpster. Judd and Taj go to Gary' house since he is now considered a prime suspect, but Judd doesn't believe he was involved.

When Judd goes to Professor Millett's home again, he finds a collection of skulls taken from tribal headhunters from around the world. Eleanor doesn't see anything wrong with this. At Wendell, Helene tells Millett to stop sleeping around with his students and counsels student Kathy, who confesses that she too has been intimate with the professor. Helene invites the girl to spend the night at her house, resulting in the two sleeping together. Helene is killed when she gets up to answer the phone, and Kathy is killed shortly after discovering Helene's head in the toilet.

Judd is on his way to speak to Helene when he sees the killer fleeing. He chases the killer to Professor Millett's apartment. Inside, the killer is revealed to be Eleanor. She confesses the killings to her boyfriend and justifies the crimes by comparing them to tribal rituals he teaches in his courses. As the police are approaching, Millett puts on the helmet and flees on his motorcycle to divert the suspicion from Eleanor. During a chase with Judd and Taj, Millett is struck by a car and killed. Eleanor attends his burial and the police believe the case has been solved, although it is implied that Judd suspects Eleanor was the killer and Millett sacrificed his life to protect her. However, the case is closed and Eleanor moves back to England. After the case is closed, Judd gets in his car and is suddenly attacked by the killer, only to reveal it was a prank by Taj.

Cast

Production

Night School was shot on location in Boston, Massachusetts, largely in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, in the spring of 1980 [8] on a budget of $1.2 million. [9] It was the second feature film to be near-exclusively shot in Boston, after The Brink's Job . [8] The final sequence however, tacked on after principal photography, was filmed in New York City. [9]

The film was going to be directed by Alfred Sole who made Tanya's Island with Vanity, who was going to star in Night School, but Sole and Vanity (who was using the stage name D.D. Winters at the time) dropped out of the film. Ken Hughes took over as director. Rachel Ward was cast after being spotted on the cover of a magazine. [2]

Producer Ruth Avergon recalled of working with director Ken Hughes: "Ken had enormous energy ... I just loved working with him. He was a joy to work with. He really knew what he was doing. There wasn't a lot of second guessing. He knew what shots had to be taken for our budget. The production value that he gave us, along with Mark Irwin [cinematographer], was wonderful. I thought they really captured a nice look for the film". [9]

Irwin said "Ken was a true genius with staging, blocking, timing, pacing and performance and had the classic British mix of sarcasm and self-deprecating humor. I learned a huge amount from him and would watch him formulate coverage as the actors read the scene". [2]

Release

Critical response

Vincent Canby of The New York Times dismissed the film as "a not very scary story" in a short review. [10] Variety called it "a low budget exercise in terror offering very little diversion or novelty for fans of the already gutted 'psychotic slasher' genre". [11] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post wrote that the film "aspires to something more, but ends up falling back on a half-dozen killings and the grizzly uncovering of the victims' heads. If the script is a little faulty and obvious, Mark Irwin's cinematography almost makes up for it. Irwin works with a subtle palette and his 1981 Boston is suffused with the vivid dampness and ember glow of Jack the Ripper's London (without the fog)". [12] Robert Brown of The Monthly Film Bulletin declared: "Basic shortcomings in writing, performances and direction, combined with the unnerving relish with which the film carves up its hapless female victims, allow little scope for either genuine horror or a parody of the same". [13] George Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the film "one of the tamest ... horror flicks to date". [14]

Retrospective assessment has noted the film's mixture of slasher films with Italian gialli films and police procedurals. [15] Film scholar Adam Rockoff deemed the film "grim" and one of the "slickest-looking slasher" films. [16]

Home media

Night School was released on VHS videocassette in October 1985 by CBS/Fox Video under its Key Video and on DVD-R through the Warner Archive Collection on November 2, 2011. [17] In October 2017, Warner Archive released the film for the first time on Blu-ray in a remastered transfer. [18]

Alternative titles

The film was initially released in Spain under the title Psicosis 2, in an attempt to mislead the public into assuming this was a sequel to Psycho two years before the actual sequel came out. This was part of a similar trend in Spain and Italy; other examples are films deceptively titled Alien 2 , Tiburón 3 (literally Jaws 3 ) or La Casa 3 , standing for a third sequel to The Evil Dead .

Related Research Articles

<i>Friday the 13th</i> (1980 film) Film by Sean S. Cunningham

Friday the 13th is a 1980 American independent slasher film produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, written by Victor Miller, and starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Laurie Bartram, Mark Nelson, Jeannine Taylor, Robbi Morgan, and Kevin Bacon. Its plot follows a group of teenage camp counselors who are murdered one by one by an unknown killer while they are attempting to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past.

<i>I Know What You Did Last Summer</i> 1997 film by Jim Gillespie

I Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Jim Gillespie, written by Kevin Williamson, and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. It is loosely based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Lois Duncan and is the first installment in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise. The film centers on four young friends who are stalked by a hook-wielding killer one year after covering up a car accident in which they supposedly killed a man. The film also draws inspiration from the urban legend known as "The Hook" and the 1980s slasher films Prom Night (1980) and The House on Sorority Row (1982).

<i>Silent Night, Deadly Night</i> 1984 American slasher film by Charles E. Sellier, Jr

Silent Night, Deadly Night is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr., and starring Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley, Britt Leach, and Leo Geter. The story concerns a young man named Billy, who suffers from post-traumatic stress over witnessing his parents' murder on Christmas Eve by a man disguised as Santa Claus and his subsequent upbringing in an abusive Catholic orphanage. In adulthood, the Christmas holiday leads him into a psychological breakdown, and he emerges as a spree killer donning a Santa suit.

<i>Prom Night</i> (1980 film) 1980 Canadian slasher film by Paul Lynch

Prom Night is a 1980 slasher film directed by Paul Lynch and written by William Gray. Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen star. The film's plot follows a group of high school seniors who are targeted at their prom by a masked killer, seeking vengeance for the accidental death of a young girl. The film features supporting performances from Casey Stevens, Eddie Benton, Mary Beth Rubens and Michael Tough.

<i>Terror Train</i> 1980 Canadian horror film by Roger Spottiswoode

Terror Train is a 1980 slasher film directed by Roger Spottiswoode in his directorial debut and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Johnson, and Hart Bochner. The film follows a group of pre-medical school students holding a New Year's Eve costume party on a moving train who are targeted by a killer who dons their costumes. It features supporting performances from Sandee Currie, Anthony Sherwood, and David Copperfield.

<i>My Bloody Valentine</i> (film) 1981 Canadian slasher film by George Mihalka

My Bloody Valentine is a 1981 Canadian slasher film directed by George Mihalka and written by John Beaird. It stars Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, and Neil Affleck. The plot tells about a group of young adults who decide to throw a Valentine's Day party, only to incur the vengeful wrath of a maniac in mining gear who begins a killing spree.

<i>Hell Night</i> 1981 American slasher film by Tom DeSimone

Hell Night is a 1981 American supernatural slasher film directed by Tom DeSimone, and starring Linda Blair, Vincent Van Patten, Kevin Brophy, and Peter Barton. The film depicts a night of fraternity hazing set in an old manor—the site of a familial mass murder—during which a deformed killer terrorizes and murders many of the college students. The plot blends elements of slasher films and Gothic haunted house films. Filmmaker Chuck Russell served as an executive producer, while his long-time collaborator Frank Darabont served as a production assistant.

<i>Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers</i> 1988 American black comedy slasher film by Michael A. Simpson

Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers is a 1988 American slasher film written by Fritz Gordon and directed by Michael A. Simpson. It is the second installment in the Sleepaway Camp film series, and stars Pamela Springsteen as Angela, and Renée Estevez. The film takes place five years after the events of the original, and features serial killer Angela, working as a counselor, murdering misbehaving teenagers at another summer camp.

<i>He Knows Youre Alone</i> 1980 film by Armand Mastroianni

He Knows You're Alone is a 1980 American psychological slasher film directed by Armand Mastroianni, written by Scott Parker and starring Caitlin O'Heaney, Don Scardino, Elizabeth Kemp, Tom Rolfing, and Tom Hanks in his film debut. The plot follows a woman who is stalked by a killer targeting soon-to-be brides the weekend before her wedding.

<i>The Prowler</i> (1981 film) 1981 American slasher film by Joseph Zito

The Prowler is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Joseph Zito, written by Neal Barbera and Glenn Leopold, and starring Vicky Dawson, Christopher Goutman, Lawrence Tierney, Cindy Weintraub, and Farley Granger. The film follows a group of college students in a coastal California town who are stalked and murdered during a graduation party by an apparent World War II veteran who killed his ex-girlfriend in 1945.

<i>Girls Nite Out</i> (1982 film) 1982 film directed by Robert Deubel

Girls Nite Out is a 1982 American slasher film written and produced by Anthony N. Gurvis, directed by Robert Deubel, and starring Julia Montgomery, Suzanne Barnes, Rutanya Alda, and Hal Holbrook. The film focuses on a group of female college students who are targeted by a killer in a bear mascot costume during an all-night scavenger hunt on their campus.

<i>Death Screams</i> 1982 American slasher film by David Nelson

Death Screams is a 1982 American slasher film directed by David Nelson.

<i>Home Sweet Home</i> (1981 film) 1981 American slasher film directed by Nettie Peña

Home Sweet Home is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Nettie Peña, and written by Thomas Bush. It stars Jake Steinfeld, Peter De Paula, and Vinessa Shaw in her film debut, and the plot focuses on a PCP-addicted killer who terrorizes a family in their remote home on Thanksgiving. Along with Blood Rage and the faux Thanksgiving trailer from Grindhouse which would later be fully adapted as Thanksgiving, it is one of the few slasher films centered on the Thanksgiving holiday, and one of the few to be directed by a woman.

<i>To All a Goodnight</i> 1980 horror film by David Hess

To All a Goodnight is a 1980 American slasher film directed by David Hess and starring Jennifer Runyon and Forrest Swanson. Its plot follows a group of female finishing school students and their boyfriends being murdered during a Christmas party by a psychopath dressed as Santa Claus.

<i>Bloody Moon</i> 1981 film

Bloody Moon is a 1981 English-language Spanish-German slasher film directed by Jesús Franco and starring Olivia Pascal.

<i>Slumber Party Massacre III</i> 1990 film

Slumber Party Massacre III is a 1990 American slasher film directed by Sally Mattison and written by Catherine Cyran. It is the third and final installment in the original Slumber Party Massacre trilogy, and stars Keely Christian, Brittain Frye, M.K. Harris, David Greenlee, Hope Marie Carlton and Maria Ford. The film follows a group of teenage girls in California, whose slumber party is crashed by a masked killer.

<i>Killer Party</i> 1986 Canadian film

Killer Party is a 1986 Canadian supernatural slasher film directed by William Fruet, and starring Martin Hewitt, Ralph Seymour, Elaine Wilkes, Joanna Johnson, Sherry Willis-Burch, and Paul Bartel. It follows a trio of female sorority pledges who unleash a demonic force after participating in an initiation ritual in an abandoned house on their university's campus.

Tom DeSimone is an American director, writer, producer and editor, perhaps best known for directing the cult films Chatterbox (1977), Hell Night (1981), and The Concrete Jungle (1982) and a number of pornographic films for Hand in Hand Films, a gay production studio established in the "golden age" of adult films in the early 1970s.

<i>The Deadly Camp</i> 1999 Hong Kong film

The Deadly Camp is a 1999 slasher film written and directed by Bowie Lau, and co-written by Kenneth Hau Wai Lai.

<i>Silent Night, Deadly Night</i> (film series) American Christmas horror film series

Silent Night, Deadly Night is an American Christmas horror film series, consisting of six films. The first film in the series, Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), originally titled Slay Ride, tells the story of Billy, a young man who experiences a psychotic break and goes on a murder spree dressed as Santa Claus. The film received theatrical distribution from TriStar Pictures, but was pulled from theaters in November 1984 after a series of protests against the film.

References

  1. ↑ "Night School". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Night School". Master Cylinder. 26 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Petridis, Sotiris (May 10, 2019). Anatomy of the Slasher Film A Theoretical Analysis. McFarland. ISBN   9781476635675 . Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Canby, Vincent (2016). "Terror Eyes". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  5. ↑ Sipos 2010, p. 20.
  6. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (14 November 2020). "Ken Hughes Forgotten Auteur". Filmink.
  7. ↑ IMDB - Night School - Alternate Versions
  8. 1 2 Blowen, Michael (April 24, 1980). "Filming on a low budget in Boston". The Boston Globe . p. 42 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  9. 1 2 3 Rockoff 2002, p. 125.
  10. ↑ Canby, Vincent (October 18, 1981). "Film: Mickey Rose's 'Student Bodies'". The New York Times : 67.
  11. ↑ "Night School". Variety : 16. October 21, 1981.
  12. ↑ Harrington, Richard (September 12, 1981). "Heads of the Class". The Washington Post . B7.
  13. ↑ Brown, Robert (July 1981). "Terror Eyes". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 48 (570): 144.
  14. ↑ Anderson, George (September 30, 1981). "'Breaker Morant' bursts fourth best movie of the month". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  15. ↑ Gambin, Lee (September 12, 2017). "Remembering 1981's Night School (Part One)". ComingSoon.net . Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  16. ↑ Rockoff 2002, pp. 125, 127.
  17. ↑ "Night School (DVD)". Amazon. 2 November 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Night School (Blu-ray)". Amazon. 24 October 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2018.

Works cited

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.