Horror High (also known as Kiss the Teacher… Goodbye! and Twisted Brain) is a 1973 (released 1974) American horror film directed by Larry N. Stouffer (assistant director on Keep My Grave Open) from a screenplay by J.D. Feigelson as ‘Jack Fowler’ (Dark Night of the Scarecrow, Cry for the Strangers, Chiller). It stars Pat Cardi, Austin Stoker (Abby, Assault on Precinct 13, Uninvited), Rosie Holotik (Encounter with the Unknown, Don’t Look in the Basement), John Niland, and Jeff Alexander (Zontar: The Thing from Venus, Curse of the Swamp Creature and The House of Seven Corpses). The odd score by Don Hulette is distinctive. Filmed in Texas, it was distributed by Crown International Pictures. Return to Horror High (1987) has no connection and is not a sequel.
‘An obvious take off of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (in fact, Vernon’s English class is watching a film version of the novel), Horror High feels like a 50s monster B-movie that’s been transplanted right to the 70s. Besides the obvious 70s stylings, the movie also shows the influence of the more graphically violent films that preceded it, particularly the works of Herschell Gordon Lewis. Though it’s kind of a monster movie, it really ought to be considered more of a proto-slasher due to the way Vernon dispatches of his victims. Not only is it fairly graphic for the era, but it’s also quite creative in its use of various implements of death, such as paper cutter blades and sulphuric acid (which is housed in a huge barrel right in the middle of a classroom!).’ Oh, the Horror!
‘ …foreshadows Harry Kaufman’s The Toxic Avenger (1984) in many important ways such as: featuring a bullied nerd gets who super powers (like hairy forearms) and then runs murderously amok plus, just like many Troma features, this movie was made on a shoe-string budget but was able to engineer some gory and realistic practical effects such as face melting.’ Sleaze Blender
‘Make no mistake, Horror High is total 70s doom. The music score is an eerie prog-rock sounding thing; it’s more Alice Cooper than Goblin, and it’s not nearly as prevalent as it should have been in the finished product. There’s even a spooky, folky ballad theme song, a hallmark of the 70s Doom genre! And woooo….it even has Vernon’s name in it. I can’t recommend “Horror High” enough to fans of the weird. If you haven’t seen it yet, you absolutely NEED to, or…I dunno, the world will implode or something.’ Groovy Doom
‘The gore is passable if rudimentary, but plentiful and in some instances, brutal and shocking. Fingers and heads are sliced off, faces are melted with acid and chest is crushed into pulp are among the bloody bits. In addition, the film frequently features odd camera angles and unusual lighting for added spooky effect.’ Cool Ass Cinema
‘With more than a splash of crudeness in the production values, a storyline not only inspired by “Jekyll and Hyde” (the lit students are seen watching a film of Stevenson’s horror novel) but by the Herman Cohen teenage monster flicks of the 1950s, and an odd mix of intended camp and borderline disturbing displays, Horror High is practically mesmerising and essential 1970s drive-in horror. The overall acting is pretty bad (it’s fun to watch non-actor Niland as the bullish coach and decipher whether he’s plain awful or naturally brilliant) except for former child-star Cardi (who holds the film up quite well and ads pathos to the character) and the always great Stoker, who was such a recognisable fixture in 1970s cult movies, his presence here pretty much gives this cheapie creepy a sense of authenticity.’ George R. Reis, DVD Drive-In
Buy Horror High on Code Red 35th Anniversary DVD from Amazon.com
‘If not a lost masterpiece, Horror High delivers enough sleaze, violence and sensitive science geek meanderings to make for an enjoyable watch. It probably helps if you’re predisposed to like low budget seventies cheapies, but even looking at it objectively with that factor removed from the equation, it’s hard to imagine anyone not at least appreciating the entertainment factor this quirky dime store production provides in spades.’ DVD Talk
‘The Code Red release of Horror High is way better than the Twisted Brain version that was put out on dvd by Rhino Home Video a few years back. The new version looks sharper and sounds better. Most important though is the fact that this is the uncut PG release. Contrary to the rumors ( including what’s written on the back of the box ) there is no R rated version of this movie. When the movie was originally released in 1974 and even during it’s re-release in the early 80′s, it was the same version that is presented here. And it was rated PG. Yes it’s violent enough to have an R rating, but it was given a PG when it was originally released. In fact I couldn’t find a rating code for this movie, so it’s quite possible that the PG rating on the poster was made up, and Crown International just went ahead and booked the film into theaters without a true rating from the MPAA. I love this movie…’ Lightning Boy, Amazon.com
Buy Regional Horror Films, 1958 – 1990 from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
Also released as Cérebro Diabólico (Brazil), L’ange merrier (France), Horror gimi (Hungary), Die Teufelsbestie (Germany).
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