Customer Reviews

Massacre at Central High

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

David (Derrell Maury) is a new student at Central High, set near the mountainous California coast. A friend from his past, Mark (Andrew Stevens), welcomes him and makes a strong effort to recruit David into the tough foursome that dominates the school: outsiders don't have a comfortable life. Along the way, David strikes up a friendship with Mark's girlfriend, Theresa (Kimberly Beck). Observing the gang members bullying and raping their way through the student body, David chooses to side with and aid the victims and to spend time with Theresa. The gang turns on David, sending him to the hospital. Limping and aloof, David returns. Then one-by-one, most of the gang die accidentally. As the former victims realize what is happening, they rejoice and become overbearing themselves. Then the former victims begin to die, not so accidentally. Of the thirteen credited characters, a double-digit number die violently. How will it all end?

The blood and gore is at a realistic level. The film is technically not a slasher film since no one is stabbed or slashed and the killer is not some unknown in a mask. No gun is fired. There are explosions, collisions, electrocutions, and the like.

The skin shots are quite generous. All three credited female characters have topless scenes, as do most of the credited male characters. There are several rear-end shots and a scene of a couple romping nude at night in the surf.

The acting is fairly good. Most of the actors had extensive experience both before and after this film. I thought Andrew Stevens did especially well as the ambivalent gang member, Mark.

The students run the show. The film presents no teachers or parents. The school building is a stately palace with an Ionic columned portico in front, apparently set all by itself in the coastal California countryside. The actors are all early 20's; so, other than the gym and locker scenes, one could imagine this as a college film. The DVD image is clean. The film seems to have been influenced by the romance of student takeovers of the 1960's, by Lord of the Flies, and by High Noon. Carrie with Sissy Spacek came out the same year. The action is self-contained and reflects its period well.

Massacre at Central High raises interesting social issues while keeping the blood flowing. It deserves more active distribution. High 3.

great flick that transfered very well to dvd.a movie way ahead of its time as this is well before the halloween drove killer craze.a film that while a lower budget,it will grab u and not let go.

This is a curious and meaningful piece of work. The film is not a slasher as so many others have written or implied. I'm not even sure I could regard it as a typical "revenge film". It seems to fall in between some pre-selected categories and that makes many of us nervous, as it should.
In some respects it is prescient - Columbine crops up immediately - but it is as well out of time.

The acting isn't highly underlined and the musical score can be quite irritating but the camera work and the editing are extremely fluent. It doesn't depict adolescence in black and white for a change. My own adolescence wasn't painted in black and white either and for that alone I could recommend the film. It goes in several fascinating directions, all of them troubling.

Leaving out the question of "why" things happened, it's perhaps more useful looking into some broader issues. The punishments were much more brutal than the crimes. The central character never receives our sympathy. The other central characters don't involve us very much. There is no specific "message" to satisfy would-be film critics. And yet the film has achieved some "cult" status.

"Massacre" kept me on my feet throughout. I truly didn't have a clue what was about to happen but I was afraid NOT to look. I enjoyed looking at this film and recommend it to others who don't seek easy
solutions to complicated times.

Curtis Stotlar

Massacre at Central High (Rene Daalder, 1976)

I first saw Massacre at Central High over a quarter-century ago, probably on HBO, and have been searching for it again ever since. I finally managed to track down a copy thanks to a recent overseas DVD release (it's about time we got a domestic one, no?); while this is by no means deathless cinema-- Daalder started his career as a cameraman for Russ Meyer-- it is, if anything, even better than I remembered it being.

David (Derrell Maury) is the new kid at an exclusive high school. One of his old friends, Mark (Andrew Stevens), already goes there. He's fallen in with the school bullies, and plans to use his affiliation with them to protect David. David, unfortunately, has other plans, both in standing up to them himself and organizing the rest of the students against them. The bullies, of course, have other plans, and soon the conflict has escalated.

It's impossible to get to what really makes this movie so gripping without going into major spoilers; we'll just say that things reach a rather absurd conclusion (hinted at in the title)-- and then go two or three steps further in the movie's final act. This is a movie where the scenario does all the work; the acting, the direction, the cinematography, the soundtrack, all are average at best (and plumb some truly strange depths at worst; Rainbeaux Smith, topless, idly playing with a box of dynamite, may be a nadir in seventies exploitation cinema, where outright silliness is concerned. Not that you're likely to notice, given that, well, Rainbeaux Smith is topless). But the concept is so outlandish that it somehow works. If you missed this one on the cult cinema circuit, it's certainly worth looking up now. ***

This movie came out in 1976, but I didn't see it until 4 years later on one of the late night cable networks. The gore is really not there. This movie can't be classified as a slasher film, although I'm guessing it's because they lacked the budget, more than it being a conscious decision on the part of the movie makers to keep it out.

There is a fair bit of total nudity which is always a good thing. The young ladies frolicked in their birthday suits with their pre-silicone boobies and I liked that.

Others have given a synopsis of the movie so I'll refrain from adding my own, because they've done a very good job already.

My take after all these years is.....

During and after all these deaths occur, we never see the first cop or authority figure. Where's the news media? Where are the grief counselors? I know it's the 70's, but shouldn't there be an adult somewhere?

It's like these kids just show up at school everyday and walk around until it's time to leave. Come to think of it that's what I did too, but my school never had the hotties this school did. Of course these "high school students" were all in their 20's when this was made.

Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. This movie is best suited for those of us who were teenagers back in the 70's and are looking for a nostalgia fix, via the clothes, cars, hairstyles and language. It's also a good movie to watch to ensure we never go back to those clothes, cars, hairstyles and language we had back then.

Massacre at Central High is an unusual revenge/exploitation film with somewhat confusing sociopolitical overtones. Some (but not me) would designate it as a cult classic - but that is largely due to the fact that it's been rather hard to find for many years now. It is not a horror movie, so don't go in looking for an axe-wielding masked killer chopping high school students up left and right. Rather, it's sort of a combination between Revenge of the Nerds, Animal Farm, and any number of low-budget 70s exploitation movies. While there's nothing particularly impressive about any aspect of the film, the story had promise - up to a point; about halfway through, it goes over the brink and comes awfully close to winding up in laughable territory.

David (Derrel Maury) is the new kid at Central High. He has an old buddy there, though, who promises to make sure he fits in - it's really important that he fit in because not fitting in means nothing but trouble. Good ole Mark (Andrew Stevens) just happens to be one of the in crowd. He, Bruce (Ray Underwood), Craig (Steve Bond), and Paul (Damon Douglas) are a little junta of four who basically terrorize everyone else in the entire school. They're not just bullies, though - they're arrogant, preppy bullies. They quite literally run the school - as you watch the film, you can't help but notice there is not a single adult to be seen anywhere. No parents, no teachers, no cops. That's why the gang can do things like vandalize vehicles, trash the library, beat up anyone they choose, and even attempt to rape two girls with no consequences whatsoever. But now, the times they are a'changin', as David names himself Mr. Consequences and goes about seeking revenge for a friendly little accident that left him unable to vent his anger through those daily runs he loves so much.

The preppy bullies start going down hard and fast, and the deaths are really rather impressive (but not very gory). Since there are no adults to be found (not until the very end of the film, anyway), life just goes on - no funerals, no psychological counseling, no investigations - just nada, zilch. Those who start to worry about their own pathetic little lives just go to the beach to forget their troubles. Pretty soon, the whole atmosphere at the school changes. The formerly oppressed are living it up, enjoying their newfound freedom from bullying. That lasts about one day. That's when the oppressed start morphing into oppressors, the student body divides into several power-hungry cliques, and almost overnight a new batch of low-life bullies are bossing their way around the school. It's really rather depressing, but - unfortunately - it's also quite believable. Give someone his freedom, and the odds are about even that he'll just turn around and try to deny some other poor sap of his freedom. It doesn't say much for our society, does it?

What's a violent revolutionary to do but continue to attack the cancer growing amongst the body politic - even if it ultimately means killing the patient? In other words, the killings continue. What about David and Mark, though? Will their friendship keep them from killing each other? And what of Theresa (Kimberly Beck, who some might recognize from her role in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) - you just knew there had to be a lovers' triangle in here somewhere, didn't you?

Massacre at Central High is just a little bit this and that. Revenge stands atop the list, but you've got your standard nudie exploitation scenes, and let's not forget the ambiguous political overtones: fascism is bad - check; overthrowing the oppressors and standing up for the little guy is good - check; the socialist revolution is doomed to failure - yep, that's a big affirmative on that one. Basically, all we learn is that people just aren't any good - well, that and the fact that a town without any adult presence or authority (especially of the policing variety) is just not a good environment to grow up in.

NOTE: This DVD is in PAL format, meaning it won't play on US DVD players (which use NTSC format). So first and foremost, the criminal unavailability of this film should be noted.

Massacre at Central High is not a horror or slasher movie, despite the provocative title. Rather, it's a crazy little 70s flick, very close to exploitation fare. It often resembles a TV movie from back in the day, but there's a little more on the brain than the body count.

David is 'the new kid' at Central High, located on the California coast. His old friend Mark is part of the preppie power clique that basically runs the school. They literally seem to run this high school. It's quite intentional that no adults appear in this film until the end, so the social commentary is hammered home (somewhat literally). David isn't down with the way the preps get away with everything---terrorizing the student body, raping the student body, and generally being awful human beings, so he sides with the oppressed. When Mark is unable to convince him to join the crew, David is brutally injured, which prevents him from pursuing his beloved track and field. That's very bad news for the preppies.

One by one, the preppies all buy it in what seem like 'accidental' deaths. Of particular note is the doofus who dives into an empty swimming pool at night, though the old hang-glider-into-power-lines is a close second. Once the bully-clique is wiped out (with no reaction from the non-existent adult population), the formerly-oppressed nerds, geeks, and dweebs (or the 70s equivalents) begin their own reign of terror over the student body. And so David learns the depressing reality of human social interaction...and decides the new bullies must die, too.

The 1989 film Heathers looks to have taken quite a bit of inspiration from MaCH; the bullied become the next bullies, and the fundamental failure of societies must be met with plenty of explosives. MaCH looks pretty low-budget, though, and the writing and acting are pretty TV-movie. In fact, the drama is damn cheesy, but quite frankly, the themes (timeless), the deaths and the insanity make it pretty compelling on a slow night.

The trailer is great: "David lives by the Golden Rule: do unto others, and make it permanent". Big fan of the old bomb-in-the-locker bit, too.

I saw this movie back in the early 80's on Cable t.v. and its a simple revenge movie. Well i kepted checking periodcally waiting for someone to release this movie on regular Dvd, and Amazon finally came through. Now its a bit grainy in some area's some may like it? some won't, but since theres nothing else, well you can't complain. One of the most memerable scenes is at the beach of course, Where they go skinny dipping. All in all its a good saturday afternoon movie. i am expecting another movie which i have been checking periodcally and its being released on the 22nd of this month, Which is Godzilla vs Megalon. Thanks again to Amazon for some of my dvd collection. every night is Movie night.

Wally

this is a great revenge movie. i saw this at the drive-in when i was 13, and its still as intense as it was then.

I bought this on ebay expecting it would play for me as it was advertised on the back cover as an all region disc but it didn't as it was not an all region 0 all region disc! This movie is not available in ntsc format! It is available free to watch online though and it is not bad. I give it 3 maybe 3 1/2 stars as it is a decent movie ahead of its time but it isn't anything great. Neither as gruesome or as violent as I thought it would be but there is some gratuitous nudity and it is certainly a violent movie throughout just not as brutal as I had the impression (from the trailers, reviews and nc-17 rating) it would be.