source: Night School

it was great! Lots of excitement...too bad the movie sucks. Someone is killing women in a school in Boston. That's basically it for the plot. It's slow, dull with no gore (except for one very unpleasant scene). The only reasons I'm giving this a "2" instead of a "1" are: Rachel Ward--she's very good (despite the material) and extremely beautiful and Boston itself. It looks great on the screen and the sequences in Beacon Hill perfectly capture the look and feel of the area. Ward herself was once asked about this movie. Her response? She said it was a terrible movie that she was dreadful in (I disagree with the last part of that statement). So, it's ALMOST worth seeing for Ward and Boston. Basically this is a boring, dull slasher movie. Avoid.

This really is somewhat of a hidden gem among slashers, which as you will know if you are a slasher aficionado, is a valuable find. I went into Night School not really expecting much for some reason. Well, I say 'for some reason', but let's face it- even if you are a hardcore slasher and/or horror fan, you can't deny the fact that most of these films can be unoriginal at best and downright trash more often than you'd like to admit. Especially 80's slashers, i'm sad to say. But every so often in our sojourns we find a pleasant surprise that makes the hours spent watching awful movies worthwhile. Night School is one of those movies. This film, while really not too original, is still head and shoulders above most of its peers. Beholden more to the Italian giallo of the decade before than its Halloween inspired contemporaries, Night School makes up for what it lacks in plot with atmosphere and campy situations and dialogue. I say campy, but I mean campy in the way that films such as Suspiria or even Friday the 13th were campy; the dialogue can be peculiar and silly but it contributes to an overall sense of dream logic. The London setting also adds to the overall atmosphere. In conclusion this film is a good (but not great) one by my standards, but don't go into expecting a typical 80's cheesy slasher. I enjoyed it once and I'd probably enjoy it again; I'd say it's definitely worth a re-watch. Oh and as a little side note all of that talk about anthropology and ancient cultures practicing beheading and cannibalism gave me an intense urge to watch Fulci's Zombi 2 again... seek it out and watch it if you can get your hands on it, that one is highly recommended if you like Italian cannibal exploitation films.

Anne Barron (Meb Boden) is a teacher's aide at the Jack-N-Jill Daycare Center in Boston. It's the early evening and the last child has been picked up by her mother. Anne is relaxing on the playground carousel when someone pulls up on a motorcycle, wearing a pink helmet. Anne is startled. Suddenly the stranger pulls out a machete and starts spinning the carousel. The machete is held up in the air and the terrified woman goes around and around - until she's struck with it. Judd Austin (Leonard Mann) is the cop assigned to the case. He is called to the scene and when he gets there, he sees a gruesome sight. The girl was decapitated and her head was put in a bucket of water nearby. The distraught director of the center tells the officer that Anne worked there during the day - and was attending night classes at Wendell College. At the hospital, Judd and his partner Taj (Joseph R. Sicari) discuss a similar case from the previous week. Another girl was found decapitated and her head was dumped in a pond. They wonder if there's any connection between the two murders. "Night School" is a typical run-of-the-mill early 80's whodunit slasher with a decapitation twist. This is the kind of movie where half of the money is trying to figure out where the detectives are going to find the missing heads. The twist ending is pretty predictable and the acting is a bit wooden (Rachel Ward, in her film debut, is all sorts of terrible here) but the film is never boring and has been directed with style. Boston looks positively wretched on film here and it gives the slasher a bit of a grungy "Departed" vibe. Overall, it's definitely worth checking out, just check your expectations-and your head--at the door.

A number of Boston college girls are being decapitated by a mysterious biker and it's up to the police to stop it. Not very original, nor is it even as fun as it sounds like it could be - Night School is another entry in the wave of slashers that would follow Halloween. In many ways this film tries to be smarter than most of its kind (having an urban setting, adult characters, little gore etc.) but that ultimately doesn't save it from its flaws. Night School (which has little to do with its title) suffers from occasional dullness and predictability. Let's just say it's not difficult to figure out who the killer is or what their motivation is. One thing that does help it out however is the cast. The lovely Rachel Ward makes her screen debut and comes off as the films highlight - unfortunately she can't save the lackluster story. While this movie isn't a total BOMB, it's certainly not one of the better killer thrillers of the '80s. * 1/2 out of ****

A killer in a motorcycle helmet is decapitating attractive babes attend a night school class taught by an anthropology professor.It all has to do with some head-hunting rituals from Papua New Guinea.Very enjoyable cop drama/slasher with some elements of giallo.There is a truly sensual shower scene with a a ravishingly beautiful Rachel Ward and three decapitated heads of victims are found in various strange places including an aquarium.The killings are mostly off-screen and there is a bit of sleaze.The melodically creepy piano based score by Brad Fiedel of "Just Before Dawn" is truly effective.If you enjoyed "What Have You Done to Your Daughters" give "Night School" a chance.It truly is one of the slashers that resembles the Italian giallo that inspired the genre in the first place.8 out of 10.

Night School is an excellent, stylish American giallo with terrific set pieces and great use of Boston locations. Several coeds are being murdered with their severed heads found in submerged in water and the detectives believe a sleazy professor is behind it. Add in a jealous lover, a predatory lesbian headmistress, and a whole lot of slashing and we have ourselves a grand ol' time. Night School might just be a perfect mix of sleaze and class. It's hard to believe the same man made Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Brad Fidel's spooky, somber score sets the mood perfectly and helps it stand out among the pack.

Like sadly too often the case with early 80's slasher-movies, this one honestly isn't as bad as the rating & reputation suggest and it obviously all depends on the viewers' prior expectations. If you're set to see a mindless and undemanding stalk 'n slash effort, you get just that, but with a tidbit of goodwill, you'll even notice and appreciate the creators' slightly more ambitious intentions. The vast majority of contemporary slasher flicks were blind copies of "Halloween", but "Night School" looks for role models that predate Carpenter's horror milestone by several years, more particularly Alfred Hitchcock (oh yes, yet another shower sequence) and various Italian Giallo movies! The killer's disguise and modus operandi, as well as the profile of the victims and several red herrings along the way, seem to come straight out of the script of the typical Giallo-effort. The stylish characteristics and outcome of the story may perhaps fall short (real Gialli have far more complicated denouements), but still this is one of the more likable non-Italian attempts at making a Giallo. "Night School" is also clearly sponsored by Boston's department of tourism, as the opening sequences depict multiple picturesque shots of the city by night. There's a killer on this loose in this beautiful city, completely dressed in black leather and wearing a pitch-dark motorcycle helmet, who brutally decapitates of young co-eds and dumps the chopped off heads in the nearest watery reservoir. Police inspector Austin quickly discovers a pattern, namely all victims attended night school classes and – more particularly – the anthropology lectures of professor / playboy Dr. Millett. All the evidence points either towards Millett himself or towards a simple-minded waiter/peeping tom, but that would just be too obvious, wouldn't it? The actual revelation of the killer's identity is ridiculously simple and easy to predict if you only just paid a little bit of attention to small clues. In spite of the gooey sounding head-hunter premise and its listing among the infamous Video Nasties, "Night School" is a rather tame and UN-shocking film. Most of the beheadings play off screen (at first, I even feared I was watching a censored version) and the rest of the bloodshed is kept to a minimum as well. The one sequence in the Sea Life Centre's locker room is quite mean-spirited, however, and probably single-handedly responsible for the notorious reputation. Director Ken Hughes (director of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", of all people) films a handful of effectively suspenseful scenes, the music is atmospheric and – even though I seem to be the only one who thinks so – the character of Taj (the assistant) was funny!

The girls that study in a night school are being killed and decapitated. A police lieutenant and his partner (comic relief?) start to investigate the murders. "Night School" takes place in Boston. The film begins with a brief view of the night skyline of Boston. We hear a melancholic and beautiful soundtrack that serves to enhance the poetry of city (and its people) and night. Soon after the camera becomes more intimate and we see old lamp posts, dark streets and small houses. The beautiful soundtrack goes on... and Boston looks quite pretty. "Night School" is in some ways almost a giallo. There are some connection points: 1) Leonard Mann, an Italo-American actor that worked mainly in Italian films, including gialli like "Death Steps in the Dark" and "The Monster of Florence". In "Night School" he's the police lieutenant that investigates the murders but he's different from those policemen that we usually find in many thrillers. He's not trigger-happy and he hasn't trembling fists dying to punch a bad guy's nose. He's intelligent, sensitive and ready to follow his intuition. 2) The killing scenes are stylish and imaginative. The killer dresses all in black, black helmet and black gloves. But "Night School" is very discreet in what concerns nudity. In one scene Rachel Ward takes a shower. Not much is shown, but many Italian gialli would not shy away from FFN. Anyway "Night School" is quite engaging, charming and different from the normal fare. 3) There are many pretty girls (and some of them will be ruthlessly killed by the decapitator). The highlights in "Night School" are Rachel Ward (her beauty illuminates the screen) and Leonard Mann. In short, I think that "Night School" is a very enjoyable film. Those that want a non-stop action film with lots of bullets and fists breaking bones (fast! fast! fast!), should look elsewhere.

Besides Alice, Sweet Alice, I can think of only one film that comes even close to capturing the lurid thrills of the Italian giallo movement - that is Night School. Directed by, of all people, Ken Hughes (of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Night School mixes class with vulgar sleaze to a delicious and fun effect. Rachel Ward makes her film debut as Eleanor, the troubled girlfriend of a horny college professor whose female students keep turning up decapitated with their severed heads submerged in water. Who's behind all this madness? Night School is short on actual gore, but the attacks themselves are shockingly violent, icky, and bloody. There's an intensity to these attacks that's still fairly alarming even in this day and age. They're pretty vicious. The film gets extra sleaze points for a hilariously campy subplot involving the predatory lesbian headmistress of the school who turns out to be just as big of a sexual harasser as the professor she scolds. If Night School had to be criticized for anything, it would be for the fairly dull police procedural element of the film. It does help give it that giallo-flair, but I almost wonder if it wouldn't have been more interesting to have had another female student play detective in an effort to save her classmates and figure out who's behind the leather jumpsuit. Flaws aside, Night School is still way better than most of the slashers of that era and deserves a second look.