Movies
[Sitges Review] The Kids Are Not Alright In Dreadful ‘School’s Out’
After making a splash with his stylish thriller about female obsession, Faultless, writer-director Sébastien Marnier now looks towards a bleaker and more provocative existential thriller that’s part Dead Poets Society, part Village of the Damned, sprinkled with a dose of Take Shelter and served with a side of Children of the Corn.
Adapted from the novel of the same name by Christophe Dufosse, we begin as most tales do, with a teacher who throws himself out of a window in the middle of class. For the rest of the film, we follow Pierre (Laurent Lafitte, who also played the creepy neighbour in Elle) as he is brought by a prestigious French institute to serve as a substitute teacher. His students? Top of the line rich kids in an intellectually advanced class. The kind that has never wanted for anything in their lives, have huge entitlement issues, and are emotionally cold as ice, which makes the rest of the school despise them. Pierre quickly finds that he even has to keep changing his teaching plan, as the kids are years ahead of the other classes.
The class is lead by a group of six kids who get the best grades. Soon, Pierre starts noticing little things, like the kid who keeps being beaten up while no one cares, and how secretive and protective the core group is. Once he starts following, things get more sinister and School’s Out gets tense, as Pierre starts to suspect the kids are monitoring him, and maybe his predecessor’s suicide attempt wasn’t so random. Their constant after-school meetings at a quarry, the kids beating each other up in total silence, the sinister manifesto-like DVDs with shocking footage of animal slaughter, terrorism, and environmental catastrophes don’t help convince us that these are just innocent, ordinary kids.
The performances in School’s Out are plain fantastic. Laffite plays the hell out of Pierre’s increasing paranoia, as he not only gets more disturbing clues to the kids’ plans for graduation night, but starts getting calls in the middle of the night, and cockroaches start invading his apartment – that he is also writing a dissertation on Franz Kafka may be too obvious to be a coincidence. It is the kids to are the stars of the film, however, particularly the leaders of the group, Apolline and Dimitri. Luàna Bajrami plays Apolline as if she was a character straight from Village of the Damned, only way more intelligent and manipulative, and Victor Bonnel’s Dimitri looks like a grown-up male version of The Shining twins, with a delicate build that hides a sinister gaze.
Sébastien Marnier keeps the tension going by making the audience question Pierre’s sanity and whether he’s actually seeing these things. It’s a perfect example in building tension without really showing anything, mostly through atmosphere, visuals and sound. Key to this is an electronic score by Zombie Zombie that evokes 80’s horror films, mostly Carpenter’s, with great success. Unfortunately, this backfires towards the third act, as the vagueness of the mystery makes the payoff too confusing to appreciate.
School’s Out also deals with existential dread and the question of how children have become desensitized yet traumatized by the state of the world they are supposed to inherit, with a final scene that will spark plenty of conversations.
New month, new horror recommendations from Deep Cuts Rising. This installment features one random pick as well as four selections reflecting the month of May 2024.
Regardless of how they came to be here, or what they’re about, these past movies can generally be considered overlooked, forgotten or unknown.
This month’s offerings include a self-loathing serial killer, a violinist’s murderous ghost, and a postmodern vamp flick.
Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973)
Pictured: Ted Bessell and Sian Barbara Allen in Scream, Pretty Peggy.
Directed by Gordon Hessler.
The TV-movie Scream, Pretty Peggy first aired as part of ABC Movie of the Week. Bette Davis plays the mother of a reclusive sculptor (Ted Bessell), and after the previous housekeeper goes missing, a local college student (Sian Barbara Allen) fills the position. Little does she know, though, the young employee’s predecessor was murdered — and the killer is still on the loose.
Admittedly, Scream, Pretty Peggy isn’t difficult to figure out; its inspiration is obvious. However, Bette Davis’ overstated performance and the son character’s macabre artwork are enough to stay tuned and learn who’s behind the killings.
Scream, Pretty Peggy is now available on physical media from Kino Lorber. Perhaps watch the movie with your own mother this Mother’s Day (May 12).
Paganini Horror (1989)
Pictured: The ghostly killer in Paganini Horror.
Directed by Luigi Cozzi.
For National Buy a Musical Instrument Day (May 22), check out this absurd Italian entry in the subgenre of cursed music horror. A rock band unleashes hell when they unknowingly use a satanic piece of music composed by Niccolò Paganini, the violinist who was rumored to have made a Faustian deal.
Even though Paganini Horror is hardly deemed a standout of Italian Horror, and the movie indeed drags itself toward the finish line, there are some bright spots worth focusing on. For instance: Donald Pleasence. If that’s not enough, the very ’80s aesthetic helps gloss over the flaws in Daria Nicolodi‘s uneven script.
Paganini Horror is now on physical media from Severin Films and is also streaming on SCREAMBOX.
Nadja (1994)
Pictured: Suzy Amis Cameron and Karl Geary in Nadja.
Directed by Michael Almereyda.
These vampires may or may not cast a reflection, but they sure do love to reflect. David Lynch executive-produced as well as briefly appeared in the film, which Roger Ebert succinctly described as “Deadpan Noir” in his review. This tale of revenge and philosophical pondering begins with the vampiric namesake (Suzy Amis Cameron) seducing the daughter (Galaxy Craze) of Van Helsing after he killed Nadja’s father, Dracula. From there a war erupts between the two sides, all while taking place in modern NYC.
Nadja is quite slow but also just strange, stylish and creative enough to keep your attention. In addition, the trip hop soundtrack is easy on the ears, and Peter Fonda plays a memorable Van Helsing. Overall, this is a unique and artsy approach to vampire horror.
Nadja is now streaming on Freevee.
The Bone Snatcher (2003)
Pictured: Scott Bairstow, Warrick Grier and Rachel Shelley in ‘The Bone Snatcher’.
Directed by Jason Wulfsohn.
For National Sunscreen Day (May 27), dig up the monster movie The Bone Snatcher. It will take more than a high SPF to protect the sunburned characters here; they are stuck in a South African desert with a bizarre monster called the Esikhulu.
The best things about The Bone Snatcher are its setting and the creature. This beast, which is brought to life on screen using a combination of practical and digital effects, sports a ghastly design to go with its unnerving ability to animate skeletons. Something else this movie has going for it is a refusal to show the monster too often; that way there is less chance of becoming desensitized to the Esikhulu. Ultimately, this has nothing on John Carpenter’s The Thing, however, those more forgiving fans of Syfy-ish creature-features should be satisfied.
The Bone Snatcher is currently streaming on Tubi.
#1 Serial Killer (2013)
Pictured: Jason Tobin in #1 Serial Killer.
Directed by Stanley Yung.
May is AAPIM, and the subversive #1 Serial Killer (originally titled Chink) is relevant when discussing the “Invisible Asian” notion. Acknowledging the irony, Stanley Yung’s movie has gone widely unnoticed despite its potent take on race and identity.
Jason Tobin (Warrior) delivers a compelling performance as the vile protagonist here. The self-hating, Ted Bundy-admiring character discriminates against other Asians after years of mistreatment and disregard, and that growing rage finally manifests as cathartic violence.
#1 Serial Killer is currently available at digital retailers like Apple.
No genre is as prolific as horror, so it’s understandable that movies fall through the cracks all the time. That is where this recurring column, Deep Cuts Rising, comes in. Each installment of this series will spotlight several unsung or obscure movies from the past — some from way back when, and others from not so long ago — that could use more attention.
‘Infested’ Review – One of the Best Spiders Attack Horror Movies in Years
‘The King Tide’: An Island Town Rots with Moral Decay in Canadian Folk Horror Fable [Review]
Rated “R” ‘The Little Mermaid’ Horror Movie Coming Soon; Watch the Trailer
Limited Edition Morticia & Wednesday Addams ‘Monster High’ Dolls Releasing Next Week!
TWO New ‘Evil Dead’ Movies Now in the Works; Sébastien Vaniček & Francis Galluppi Directing
You must be logged in to post a comment.