MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH (1976)
Label: Synapse Films
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Audio: English DTS HD-MA 2.0 Original Mono Soundtrack with Optional English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Renee Daalder
Cast: Derrel Maury, Andrew Stevens, Robert Carradine, Kimberly Beck, Cheryl “Rainbeaux” Smith
Dutch writer/director Renee Daalder’s Massacre at Central High (1976) is a sly political allegory about fascism wrapped up inside of a violent dead-teen high-school exploitation flick, wherein the new kid at school David (Derrel Maury) arrives at Central High where rich-kids bullies Bruce (Ray Underwood), Craig (Steve Bond, The Prey), and Paul (Damon Douglas, Bad Company)rule the hallway with intimidation tactics and violence with absolute impunity. Mark (Andrew Stevens, The Fury), who David attended a previous school with, is part of the elite snob-squad and encourages David to join the cool kids clique, but David chooses to go against the grain, standing up for their bullied, which Bruce and his pals aren't too pleased with, so they cripple his leg in retaliation.
After that David sets in motion a murderous revenge plan to eliminate the bullies reign of terror, his plan involves sending the teen thugs on a permanent vacation via fatal "accidents". The kills involve a high-wire hang gliding accident, a deadly ride in a shag carpeted van down a dead man's curve, and a neck snapping high dive into an bone-dry swimming pool. The murders are intended to rid the school of the popped-collar teen fascist and turn Central High into some sort of teen utopia, but his murderous actions have the unintended consequence of seeding a new crop of power-hungry teen cretins, the formerly oppressed, who prove to be only too ready to fill the void of the newly created power vacuum and become the ruling oppressors. So what's David to do? He's no quitter, realizing her made an error in judgement he simply sets about culling the teen crop at Central High once more, in even more explosive and inventive ways!
Massacre at Central High is a cut above the usual 70's teen bloodbath, it has surreal not-quite-reality vibe that sets it apart, coming off like a fucked-up After School Special - but laced with sex, violence and some pretty heady political subtext. This high-school revenger will certainly raise eyebrows with it's body count at a highschool - it's just a sad fact that school shootings and violence in our schools are at an all-time high, in that way the film is quite depressingly prescient.
It's one of those teen pictures that all but erases any sort of adult supervision, there are no teachers protecting the bullied kids, when David is building bombs out out in his barn no parents are checking up on the guy, the teens are left to their own devices. It's all very Lord of the Flies highschool edition, and it would be hard to imagine the screenwriters of Heathers didn't have a fondness for this one. The young cast features memorable turns from Robert Carradine (Revenge of the Nerds), Kimberly Beck (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter), Lani O'Grady (TV's Eight Is Enough) and Cheryl “Rainbeaux” Smith (Caged Heat). Love seeing all these actors looking so young and fresh-faced and in such a sublimely fucked-up teen flick! Now the acting is not the best, some of which might have had something to do with the at times awkward, unnatural dialogue, but even that adds a weirdness to it that I adore.
Audio/Video: Previously released as a 2-disc Limited Edition Steelbook Blu-ray + DVD version from Synapse Films, the teen bloodbath Massacre At Central High now arrives in a single-disc standard edition Blu-ray made for the masses who didn't want, or couldn't afford, to grab the collectible premium edition. The good news is that except for the collectible Steelbook packaging, the accompanying standard-definition DVD, and the booklet with writing by Michael Gingold, this single-disc edition has the exact same A/V and disc extras as the premium edition. I was lucky enough to snag the Steelbook edition which contained a booklet that detailed the issues Synapse faced with this restoration, beginning with the fact that they were given a HD master from late director Renee Daalder that was not up their standards, it had some inherent restoration flaws that were baked into t he master so to speak. Without access to the original elements Synapse spent quite a bit of time (several years!) to "re-restore" the HD master, and when they were done they even admitted that it is not flawless, and that it is framed incorrectly at 1.78:1 (because that HD master was all they had to work with) as where it was originally projected in 1.85:1. With all that said, Don May at Synapse is an absolute perfectionist when it comes to film restoration, and while he might not have been ultimately as pleased with it as he would have liked what we get is still pretty damn fantastic! The image showcases pleasing amounts of grain with some nice depth, overall detail and clarity are quite nice as well, the close-ups of clothing and faces have plenty of finite detail in them. There are some minor nitpicks if you're looking, but I am thrilled with the final product. Be sure to checkout out the over 80 screenshots at the bottom of the review!
Audio restoration was another issue for Synapse to overcome, what they were provided was almost useless, but somehow they managed with the emergence of incomplete 35mm optical negative reels and made up the difference by using audio from a VHS tape, which obviously is not optional, but it does the trick. There are some minor fluctuations in the acoustic quality and sound levels, and a bit of sibilance that you will have to contend with, but none of it was ruinous to the viewing experience.
Synapse do it up right with the extras, starting things off with a series of Audio Interviews by Mike White from the The Projection Booth Podcast with stars Robert Carradine, Andrew Stevens, Rex Sikes, and Derrel Maury, these were recorded via telephone and the audio quality is not perfection but it's just fine. If you're not already a fan of The Projection Booth Podcast I highly recommend you add it to your Podcast feed, White and his revolving door of guests always knock it out of the park. Next up is a 25-minute Audio Interview with Director Renee Daalder, conducted by writer/horror historian Michael Gingold. Sadly Daalder passed in 2019 so it's cool to have him on tape discussing the film from an interview back in 2011 offering his thoughts on the genre and this film. Up next is Hell in the Hallways: The Making of Massacre at Central High, an 87-minute “making of” documentary produced by Michael Felsher's Red Shirt Pictures. This is loaded with interviews from cast of the film by way of actors Derrel Maury, Tom Logan, Rex Sikes, Robert Carradine, Andrew Stevens, and Jeffrey Winner, as well director of photography Bertram van Munster and first assistant director Eugene Mazzola. It's fascinating watch as the interviewees speak about their experiences making this unique film, from cast and shooting on through to the film's reception, the bizarre opening theme song, the xxx version, and how it's become a bit of a cult item over the years. Disc extras are buttoned-up with the 3-min Original Theatrical Trailer, a 33-sec TV Spot, and a 27-sec Radio Spot, plus a 3-min Still Gallery with stills and movie posters and home video releases from various territories. .
The single-disc release arrives in a black keepcase with a one-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the same key art as the LE 2-disc slipcover, which I believe is a theatrical poster artwork. Notably, the Blu-ray artwork features a different scene from the film as the LE disc, but has the same menus and contents.
Special Features:
- High-definition 1080p remaster scanned, transferred and supervised by director Renee Daalder.
- Secondary audio track with an episode of Mike White’s ‘The Projection Booth’ Podcast, featuring interviews with cast members Andrew Stevens, Robert Carradine, Derrel Maury and Rex Steven Sikes. (87 min)
- Audio interview with director Renee Daalder, conducted by writer/horror historian Michael Gingold. (25 min)
- Hell In The Hallways: The Making of “Massacre at Central High” – New “making of” documentary produced by Red Shirt Pictures. (42 min)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (3 min)
- TV Spot (33 sec)
- Radio Spot (27 sec)
- Still Gallery (3 min)
- Newly translated removable English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
It took Synapse Films quite a while to get Massacre At Central High to the masses after announcing it all the way back in 2015, but it was worth it! They did a terrific job and it looks and sounds the best that it possibly can given what they had to work with, of that I am certain. It might take Don and the team at Synapse a few years to get thing to where they want them to be, but in the end you know you're getting a superior product, not just some fly-by-night restoration that won't hold up to scrutiny.
Screenshots from the Synapse Films Blu-ray:
