Podcasts
The Predatory Lesbian and Cultural Appropriation of ‘Night School’ [Horror Queers Podcast]
The old “head-in-the-fish-tank” routine…
After celebrating the holidays with a look at one of my favorite gateway horror films Jumanji (listen) and the underseen holiday thriller P2 (listen), we’re wrapping up 2025 with a look at Ken Hughes‘ (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) forgotten 1981 slasher Night School.
In Night School, a motorcycle helmet-clad serial killer is decapitating a bunch of women enrolled at Wendell College and leaving their severed heads in water. Assigned to the case is Lieutenant Judd Austin (Leonard Mann), who begins suspecting womanizing professor Vincent Millett (Drew Snyder) as the possible culprit. Meanwhile, Millett’s teaching assistant and secret paramour Eleanor (Rachel Ward) is newly pregnant and struggles to break the news to him.
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Episode 367: Night School (1981)
Pull that severed head out of the aquarium and grab a pomegranate to take with you into the shower (seriously) because we’re discussing Ken Hughes’ Boston-set slasher Night School (1981)!
Join us as we go all in on this forgotten film, from its original title of Terror Eyes (get it?) to its notorious status as a video nasty. And on top of everything, it’s got a predatory lesbian character to boot!
Plus: lauding that “is the head in the pot?” diner sequence, wondering why no one gets killed at the titular school, and debating whether or not the killer’s M.O. counts as cultural appropriation (spoiler alert: it does).
Cross out Night School!
Coming Up Next: We’re kicking off the new year with a look at Alex Garland’s directorial debut Ex Machina (2014)!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 446 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Return to Silent Hill, The Creep Tapes Season 2, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Primate and – to coincide with Johannes Roberts’ killer chimp movie – we’ve got a brand new audio commentary on the 1995 adaptation of Michael Crichton’s Congo.
The Halloweenies take a break from the cenobites and dig up the deadites again to review Evil Dead Burn. It’s a full house for this installment and the feelings are all over the place with some divisive takes amongst the five of them. Lucky for you, there’s a seat at the table… join them and enjoy your mashed potatoes.
If you recall, the gang tackled the entire franchise — including Ash Vs. Evil Dead and unofficial entries like Drag Me to Hell and even Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness— in anticipation of 2023’s Evil Dead Rise. Be sure to revisit the entire season, starting with their two-part episode on Sam Raimi’s original DIY classic.
Stream the episode below. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, Chucky, Alien, and the Universal Monsters.This year? Hellraiser!
You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Re-Animator, Darkman), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Manhunter, ), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.