Why so much hype?

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The acting in this movie is really good.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

A gang of obnoxious teenagers led by vicious sociopath Dickens (a marvelously odious portrayal by Christopher Stryker) decide to play a cruel prank on uptight biology teacher Miss Brooke Storm (a fine and credible performance by Maureen Mooney). However, when said prank goes awry, Storm exacts a harsh revenge on the kids for messing with her. Director Douglas Grossman, who also co-wrote the clever and blithely nasty script with Leo Evans, relates the mean-spirited premise at a steady pace, maintains a rough gritty tone throughout, generates a good deal of suspense, and delivers a nice smattering of tasty gratuitous female nudity as well as several jolting outbursts of savage violence (the pencil in the head gag rates as the definite gruesome highlight). Moreover, the characters are believably drawn and the plot has a few neat unexpected twists that tweak the standard slasher formula in a crafty and surprising way. The solid acting by the game no-name cast helps a lot: Christopher Cousins as meek jock Jon-Jon, Millie Prezioso as wicked, yet enticing slut Queenie, Jason Brill as gross fat jerk Smiler, Kathryn Rossetter as the sympathetic Coach Sandy Hand, and J.R. Horne as the ramrod Coach Heaton. Steven Fierberg's fairly polished cinematography offers a few pleasingly atmospheric shots. Both the roaring trashy rock soundtrack and the funky-throbbing score by Rich Macary and Chris Hyams hit the right-on pulsating spot. Good warped fun.

Hell High starts with a young girl named Brooke Storm (Amy Beth Erenrich) playing down the local swamp (!) when two lovers (Webster Whinery & Karen Russell) unexpectedly turn up on a motorbike, the guy wants sex with the girl but she says no & in his frustration he rips Brooke's doll apart as she looks on... Jump forward '18 Years Later' & Brooke (Maureen Money) is now a biology teacher who is having a hard time with a student named Dickens (Christopher Stryker) & his gang, Queenie (Millie Prezioso), Smiler (Jason Brill) & the gangs newest recruit ex-football star Jon-Jon (Christopher Cousins). Dickens decides to play a prank on Brooke & after finding out where she lives the gang fill plastic bags with mud from the swamp & splatter Brooke's house & pour it over her head as they jump on her roof. Brooke is understandably upset & after Dickens tries to rape her she decides to take revenge on her tormentors...Co-written, co-produced & directed by Douglas Grossman & also known as Raging Fury I thought Hell High wasn't anything special. The script by Grossman & Leo Evans is your basic tale of revenge although it takes a while to get to it, you can practically fast forward the entire first 45 minutes as virtually nothing happens, after that point they play the prank on Brooke & things all of a sudden become a lot more interesting as the exploitation elements kick in. Unfortunately I found the whole thing a bit on the tame side, sure someone throwing a bag of swamp mud over you would be upsetting but would it really turn you into a cold blooded killer? Don't forget that Dickens never actually rapes her either so that cannot be used as any reason. It's certainly nowhere near as exploitative or sleazy as some other revenge films such as the terrible I Spit on Your Grave (1979) or the utterly brilliant Angel of Vengeance (1981) which is how a film like this should be done, I mean the viewer needs to feel for the female victim & understand the motivations for what she's doing for the revenge part to have any real impact. The character's are OK but you never really care for anyone which is a problem, the dialogue is functional & nothing else. It's one of those films which is OK to watch to pass the time but if your looking for something outstanding than you won't find it here. I'd imagine I'd have totally forgotten it by the middle of next week.Director Grossman does an OK job on what must have been a low budget, while it isn't going to win any awards for technical achievement it looks OK & occasionally has a nice sleazy atmosphere, it just doesn't sustain it for long enough. There are a few scenes of nudity but nothing that memorable & there's not much in the way of blood or gore either, two people are impaled on spikes, someone has their head bashed in with a rock, someone has a pencil stick in their head, someone is impaled on a poker & someone has a knife cut their throat & none of it is that graphic or shocking.Hell High (a title which makes no logical sense) is quite well made considering it's low budget roots although the music was quite good. The acting was OK but nothing special & Mooney is dull & forgettable as Brooke while lead villain Stryker died of AID's almost two years before the film was eventually released as it was shot in 1986 but not released until 1989.Hell High isn't a particularly good film but at the same time I don't think it's a particularly bad one, it's just all very average & uninspiring. There are much better revenge films out there, watch only if you've got nothing better to do.

As a kid, Brooke, inadvertently causes the death of two college kids when she throws mud on them (I don't know either). 18 years later she is the high school teacher with unruly students. After bitch slapping one, the kid and his three friends (They include the token slut, fat geek, and 'rebbelious' outcast) attack her in her home. The teacher goes crazy (crazier). The optional commentary by Joe Bob makes this slightly more bearable. Whereas seeing this on it's own is almost a complete travesty. Who knows maybe I was too sober for this flick. But I highly doubt it.DVD Extra: Intro by Joe Bob Briggs; Joe Bob Briggs commentary; second commentary with director Douglas Grossman; Interview with Grossman; Writer Leo Evans interview; red band theatrical trailer; 2 TV spots; Trailers for "Blood Shack", "Flesh Eaters", "Faceless", and "The Hollywood Strangler meets the Skidrow Slasher" Eye Candy: Karen Russell goes topless (the only real ones in the flick); Mauren Mooney shows ass, the breasts are a body Double (BOOOO!!!!); and another body double for Millie Prezioso (double BOOOO!!!) My Grade: D

A little blonde girl accidentally kills a couple on a motorcycle for breaking her doll. "18 years later" she's a reclusive high school biology teacher (Maureen Mooney) with a pack of obnoxious students who hate her. After she slaps a punk named Dickens in the face for tossing test papers on the ground, he informs his gang friends "I'm gonna stick it to that bitch!," so one day after a football game they show up at her secluded home wearing masks, watch her take a shower, throw swamp sludge on her and try to rape her. She snaps and tries to kill herself by jumping out of a window, then recoops and gets revenge. Bloody and in her lingerie, she sticks a pencil in a guy's head, attacks with a butcher knife, plots a dissection and beats a girls face to a bloody mess with a rock. End of movie.This is sort-of like a teen version of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE--a boring, no-thrills revenge movie with some T&A, a little gore, annoying characters and a relentlessly boring opening hour where nothing happens.Score: 2 out of 10