Historically significant slasher about a high school reunion from hell
This was shot in the summer of 1977, ten months before the hallowed “Halloween” started filming. I point this out because some people mistakenly believe that the slasher started with “Halloween.” Actually there are numerous slashers that predate that iconic film, such as “Psycho" "Dementia 13,” "A Bay of Blood,” "Silent Night, Bloody Night,” "Home for the Holidays,” "Torso,” "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” "Black Christmas,” "Schizo,” "Savage Weekend" and "The Toolbox Murders,” amongst others.
It's also known as “Class Reunion Massacre” and so, to be expected, deals with several high school graduates reuniting after ten years and being stalked by a mad slayer, a plot borrowed by “Slaughter High” seven years later (going by shooting date as opposed to release date).
Yet this movie itself borrowed from “The Devil’s Nightmare” from some seven years prior. I’m talking about the interesting seven deadly sins angle, but this isn’t emphasized as much and IMHO this flick isn’t nearly as good. However, it is artistic despite its low-budget indie status. Unfortunately, the writer/director didn’t have a clue on how to effectively photograph women.
Beware of the lousy print available on streaming for free that was ostensibly scanned from a dubious VHS.
It runs 1 hour, 23 minutes, and was shot in Staunton in north-central Virginia at the former Staunton Military Academy, as well as the local defunct quarry.
GRADE: B-/C+
