Zombie High (1987)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

"Zombie High" has a too-mature Virginia Madsen attending a remote prep school to the chagrin of her bad-boy boyfriend; "So when did you become an expert on prep schools?" she asks over the opening credits. But once she goes to hit the books, it becomes all too apparent that something is off with the student body and the administration, who seem a bit too primped and erudite for their own good.I had never heard of this film until Scream Factory resurrected it and put it out on Blu-ray for the first time this past week, and I'm glad it got to see the light of day, as it appears to have slipped through the cracks into '80s video hell. It apparently was a student film put together by a group of USC enrollees at the university's film & television department, but the production values don't really show—in fact, it is a rather glossy picture that looks like any other late eighties teen movie. It appears to be knocked quite a bit for the cheese factor, which I also find odd given that most, if not all, films in this vein liven up the kitsch.The film is essentially an eighties teen retelling of "The Stepford Wives," and the title is a bit misleading when taken literally—there are no zombies here in the George Romero sense of the word, and while the crux of the entire film is cribbed from the wives of Stepford, it still manages to be a somewhat sharp and witty satire on the stuffy world of New England boarding schools. Sure, it's contrived, but what late eighties horror flick isn't? The script is quirky and the pacing is well done; the subplot between Madsen's character and the vampy, suave teacher comes off as a bit half-baked by the end of it, but he is essentially the through-line that ties the events of the picture together.The acting here is really good, especially given that it is mostly delivered from film students and newcomers. Virginia Madsen is always a pleasure to watch, and possesses an old Hollywood look and performance style that seems to elevate any projects she's involved in; her role here as a young woman oppressed by forces around her precedes her not so dissimilar performance in "Candyman" a few years later. Cult icon Sherilyn Fenn, who we all know and love as Audrey from "Twin Peaks" also has a small role in the film as Madsen's roommate and peer; Paul Feig and Scott Coffey also have memorable supporting parts.Overall, "Zombie High" is a quirky eighties horror flick with tinges of teen comedy steeped in rather straightforward yet witty-enough satire. On one hand, I can understand some of the gripes people have with the film, but on the other, this is the type of movie that demands to be taken on its own terms, and in the world of late eighties thrillers (ala "Heathers"), this modest, somewhat silly horror-satire hits its marks—as a student film, I'd give it an A+. 7/10.

This movie begins with a young 18-year old high school student named "Andrea" (Virginia Madsen) being dropped off at a prestigious prep school known as "Ettinger Academy" by her boyfriend "Barry" (James Wilder). And while Barry isn't too happy with the idea, Andrea is ecstatic at the opportunity that's been presented to her. Unfortunately, things aren't quite what they appear to be as there is definitely something odd with her fellow students. Now, although the movie title might cause some people to expect a film about brain dead sub-humans who feast upon human flesh, I should probably warn viewers that the "zombies" in this movie aren't the typical "Romero" type who have come into being due to a virus. Neither was there any black magic or voodoo involved in the creation of these "zombies". Such things weren't needed when there was something much more practical—medical science. At any rate, rather than disclose any more of the movie and risk spoiling the film for those who haven't seen it I will just say that I found it to be slightly disappointing for several reasons. First, although it had a decent cast I don't think any of the actors were given a script which worked to their advantage. Likewise, the comedy was flat and the horror was non-existent. Additionally, even though Sherilynn Fenn (as "Suzi") fit the part of a high school student I can't honestly say the same for Virginia Madsen. Put quite bluntly, she was a bit too mature for the role. That said, all things considered I rate the movie as slightly below average.

I love '80s movies. I love Horror Movies. So when I saw an old VHS copy of ZOMBIE HIGH starring Virginia Madsen I thought "Why haven't I ever seen THIS before?" I wasn't missing much. Although the title is ZOMBIE HIGH I don't think this is set at a high school. It looks like a college to me. Virginia Madesn plays Andrea who has been accepted in a fancy schmo yuppie school much to the chagrin of her local public school boyfriend. He pleads with her to switch back to the local Towny school, she refuses. When she meets the Rick Sprinfield-esque professor she's smitten with him. Surprise surprise, the Prof is smitten with her as well. But she's smart enough to know students shouldn't stoop their teachers. What she isn't aware of is that the teachers in this school are doing experiments on the brains of the students to make them obedient geniuses. (Think THE STEPFORD WIVES and DISTURBING BEHAVIOR). Andrea starts to get wise to this when the rebellious spiky haired leather jacket-wearing guy who hates the school and authority all of a sudden shows up at school in a suit spouting pure genius. As time goes by more and more friends who were fun loving seem to be listening to Classical music, dressing like they're going to church and being good little boys and girls and studying their toots off. This film had one funny scene: at a school dance the zombie-fide students are dancing robotic-ly together in box steps. A sassy funk black band playing the dance breaks into a wild song (much to the dismay of the all-white faculty) and the zombie students STILL do their slow manic box steps! Alas the film needs more jokey shots like that. It isn't funny enough to be fun and it isn't serious enough to be scary. The soundtrack...trying to sound like wanna-bes staples from the '80s like THE GO-GOS and JOURNEY is God awful. Particularly bad is the end song that is a blatant rip off of THE BEASTIE BOYS party anthem FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO PARTY. It starts off with the familiar "YEAH!....Kick It!" and launches into a song called, I kid you not, KISS MY BUTT(!) I actually went online to see which came first, this song or the BEASTIE BOYS one. Surprise surprise...The Beasties did there's first! I usually don't notice stuff like this but the editing was terrible. The movie wants to be quirky and fast paced so it has choppy MTV editing that takes you back and forth between scenes. Very annoying. If you must see a Horror Movie starring the lovely Virginia Madsen rent CANDYMAN instead.

This movie isn't bad for an 80's "school-based" horror film, but it's name is misleading. It has nothing to do with voodoo zombies, or undead zombies, and although it has a single scene which delivers something similar to those types of zombie flicks, it's just not enough for the hardcore undead enthusiast.The "High" part of the name is misleading too. It certainly seems more like a College to me. That's why it scores so low on the star meter.. Most folks that are buying it now, are expecting a high-school invaded by undead folks, even the movie description doesn't really dispell this notion.Why would folks choose such a misleading name? This should have been called "tranced college" or something, not "Zombie High"In any event, if you're looking for undead folks, this is NOT the movie for you. However, if you like cheesy 80's teenage school rebellion films (complete with references to preppies, but little, or no drugs/alcohol) mixed with horror, this one is DEFINATELY for you.