Massacre at Central High

1976 "VIOLENCE-DRENCHED VARIETY"
6.1| 1h27m| R| en| More Info
Released: 01 September 1976 Released
Producted By: Evan
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Maimed by bullies at a California high school, a new student engineers acts of revenge.

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Director

René Daalder

Production Companies

Evan

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Massacre at Central High Audience Reviews

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film
Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
Mr_Ectoplasma "Massacre at Central High" is perhaps misleading in its title, which evokes a gore-filled splatterfest, which this film is not. The premise surrounds David, a teenager who transfers to a new high school where the students run wild, and a group of male bullies torment their peers without consequence. The unhinged David begins to murder each of the bullies, but his plan to cleanse the school backfires when those on the bottom of the social ladder take on the same traits as their former dead oppressors.A weird but memorable entry in the horror genre, "Massacre at Central" high feels like it occurs in a dreamscape or an alternate world. This is largely due to the fact that the film features no "adult" figures to speak of; the bullies torment the students to extreme lengths, and even attempted gang rapes are left unreported and largely up to the students themselves to sort out. "Lord of the Flies" comes to mind, as well as some elements of "Carrie," minus the supernatural edge. This off-kilter universe in which the film orbits lends it a unique and memorable feel.It's not what I'd classify as a conventionally "scary" film by any stretch of the imagination. It is a horror film, but only in the sense that there are savage murders occurring throughout and that the subject matter is generally dark. The film itself is aesthetically quite bright, boasting a distinctive Los Angeles atmosphere that is laid on thick. Malibu's beaches set the stage for several scenes, and the film feels every bit a "California" production.Performances from Robert Carradine and Kimberly Beck (who would later become a genre favorite for her role in "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter") are some notable highlights, while Derrel Maury plays the outsider/deranged avenger with an appropriate distance. None of the performances are particularly provoking and are by and large rather bland, but serviceable given the material.All in all, "Massacre at Central High" is a unique and thoroughly strange film that toes the line between exploitation slasher and thoughtful allegory. It is not a great film and at times feels extremely choppy, but it's a certain oddity and a respectable example of a filmmaker attempting something different. The fact that it predates the slasher by a significant amount of time also makes it an intriguing film on the historical timeline that is worth examining. 7/10.
WolfgangR5150 As a fan these kind of films I sat down to give it view. The premise reminded of the 80's movie Heathers. 4 popular kids, popular only by name who set the tone of the school but for the most part are not well liked. Well this is 4 guys, Heathers is 4 girls. New kid shows up and is befriended into this click, Winnona Ryder has the same thing happen. Both movies, they new kid in school isn't real fond of the so called popular kids are how they treat people. Anyways, Heathers splits the killer up into two characters where Massacre roles them into one. Some of the acting kinda lame and some really average writing. I did like this movie but Heathers should be smacked for ripping this movie off almost to the every end. The killer dies blowing himself up outside the high school. Massacre at Central High should come out on DVD I would buy it. Enjoyed the movie but at the same time it now has me looking at Heathers in a less than original light.
jonathan-577 Between working for Mr. Russ Meyer and directing Mr. Sid Vicious's "My Way" video, Mr. Rene Daalder contrived one of the classic drive-in films of the 70s. In gorgeous technicolor, masterfully cast from the familiar faces (and boobs!) to the utter unknowns, smothered in Marxist/nihilist commentary too vulgar to describe as 'subtext', this would have been the birth of punk rock if not for all those flutes. The new kid in town takes on the high school power elite, first with words then with highly inventive murder, only to see the underclass - peasant farmer, intellectual librarian, nerds, dyke-esques, fat kid, the gamut - form their own snooty hierarchy. What else can you do at that point but blow up the school? Very Sid Vicious, even if commerce prevented them from following things to their logical conclusion. WOW is it ever fun - the perfect mix of head and cheese.
disdressed12 this is not a good movie.i don't recall seeing worse acting for a long time.basically,a new student becomes bullied to the point where he is pushed over the edge.he exacts revenge by killing those who wronged him, making their deaths look accidental.sounds okay so far,right.but,this killer decides to kill other students who had nothing to do with bullying him.now there are no real "legitimate" reasons given to murder everybody.now,we get to the acting.each time a fellow student has a fatal accident,the other students show very little emotion and continue as if nothing has happened.i have to chalk this up to the limited acting ability of all the actors.in most so called horror movies, acting is not expected to be Oscar calibre,but this is worse than almost any movie in the horror genre.and things are worse because this movie has no scary sequences,so it would be nice if the actors could pick up some of the slack.the characters are like robots in their reactions,so it's really hard to like any of them.there are at least two scenes of nudity which are pointless.there is never any suspense generated,so there is never any feeling of anyone being in jeopardy.one last thing.this movie tries to take itself way too seriously,as if it is an Oscar contender.if it had been played for laughs,it may have been a better,or at least watchable movie. 1/10