NIGHT SCHOOL (1981)
Label: Warner Archive
Rating: R
Region Code: region-FREE
Duration: 89 Minutes
Audio: English DTS HD-Master Audio Mono 2.0 with Optional English SDH Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Ken Hughes
Cast: Leonard Mann, Rachel Ward, Drew Snyder, Joseph R. Sicari, Nicholas Cairis
Synopsis: They work by day, take a full schedule of classes all night and somehow find time for study and an occasional date. Women in the evening curriculum at Boston’s distinguished Wendell College do a lot to get ahead in life. But there’s someone who will go to even greater lengths. Someone who will do anything to get a head.
A killer whose m.o. is the ritualistic decapitation of victims makes terror a required course at Night School, directed by Kenneth Hughes (Casino Royale) and starring Rachel Ward (The Thorn Birds; After Dark, My Sweet) in her screen debut. Leonard Mann plays the homicide lieutenant assigned to the puzzling case. He has hunches, not clues. Suspects, not evidence. And a rising body count. Finals are coming early this year at Wendell. And for those who don’t make the grade, heads will roll.
Early 80's slasher/video nasty Night School (1981) opens with a teacher's aide Anne Barron (Meb Boden) playing on a carousel on the school playground after dark when a biker arrives on the scene, the stranger is wearing a leather riding jacket and wearing a biker helmet with a dark visor - a similiar looking killer appears in the sleazy Strip Nude For Your Killer (1975) - he approaches the girl and spins the merry-go-round in a threatening manner, brandishing a khukuri knife and slicing off her head, disposing of it in a bucket of water.
On the case are Detective Judd Austin (Leonard Mann, Cut and Run) and his wisecracking partner Taj (Joseph Sicari), who learn the victim was a student at Wendell College for women in Boston, it's the second killing wherein the victim was decapitated in as many days. The detective heads to Wendell and interviews Anne's best friend Kim (Elizabeth Barnitz), who informs him that the victim was seeing someone but she is not aware of who, he also speaks to her anthropology professor, Vincent Millet (Drew Synder, Death Wish II), who is not much help. Turns out that Millet is dating a student named Eleanor Adjai (Rachel Ward, The Final Terror), and apparently the professor has a history of dating his student, much to the growing ire of school administrator Helene Griffin (Annette Miller) - who has her own lustful predatory routine happening.
As the heads keep rolling the professor becomes a suspect in the headhunting murders because of the ritualistic aspect which goes back to his own research, as does a creepy dishwasher at a local diner, especially when one of the waitresses from the diner winds up headless. Her kill is one of my favorites, left alone to close-up the diner the killer stalks her and takes her head, in the aftermath there's a great set-up that leaves you wondering for a few moments if her head ended up in the soup of the day stock pot!
The kills all have a decapitation/water theme happening, while they are not overly grisly they are each set-up rather well minus the gore-strewn conclusion, there's plenty of blood but not much in the way of real gore and that's fine with me, I found them all to be quite effective, including a fun shower scene and prolonged cat and mouse game at the local aquarium which ends with a sea turtle taking a nip out of a severed head fun stuff. The killer's look is also effective, the leather jacket/motorcycle helmet both obscures the identity of the killer and is badass - though I think it become clear who the killer is early on. The cops on the case are fun, Mann is the more serious of the pair, obsessed with the case, becoming more irate as the heads continue to roll, while his partner is more lighthearted, making jokes and grabbing snacks while at the murder scenes and all points in between. They're not bumbling keystone cops but they're not the world's greatest detective team either.
The movie is well-directed by Ken Hughes (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), who creates a tense and atmospheric slasher that gets the job done without being overly sleazy, though we do get some shower nudity from the very likable Rachel Ward. The movie is accompanied by a dread filled synth score from composer Brad Fiedel (Fright Night, Just Before Dawn, The Terminator) which kicks in and amps up the tension from time to time.
Audio/Video: Night School (1981) arrives on Blu-ray from Warner Archive with a new 2017 HD Master, the source looks solid, there's some minor print damage and heavy grain during darker scenes, plus some white speckling but overall it looks true to the source without any compression issues. The cinematography is a bit soft focused at times but the HD manages the hazy visuals well. The English DTS-HD MA Mono 2.0 track likewise is solid, everything is well-balanced with no distortion, and the Brad Fiedel score comes through strong, optional English subtitles are provided. The only extra on the release is a full frame trailer for the film.
Special Feature:
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min) HD
Night School (1981) is not a blood-soaked slasher of the Tom Savini (The Prowler) variety, there are no open neck wounds and propulsive bloodletting, but it is a solid slasher/thriller entry, relying on the effective build-up of terror and dread, the stalking pre-kill scenarios play well, with good atmosphere and tension, enhanced by the burbling synth score and some solid cinematography from Mark Irwin (The Blob, The Brood).
