Horror High: Difference between revisions

*Pat CaridCardi

| released = 20 September{{Film date|1973|09|20|df=yes}}

'''''Horror High''''' (also known as '''''Twisted Brain''''' and '''''Kiss the Teacher...Goodbye!''''')<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sipos |first=Thomas M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vzq805jZSAoC&dq=horror+high+1973&pg=PA274 |title=Horror Film Aesthetics: Creating the Visual Language of Fear |date=2014-01-10 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5834-9 |language=en}}</ref> is a 1973 American [[horror film|horror movie]] directed by Larry N. Stouffer, written by J.D. Feigelson, and starringfeaturing Pat Cardi, [[Austin Stoker]], Rosie Holotik, [[John Niland (American football)|John Niland]], Joye Hash, Jeff Alexander and Mike McHenry. The plot follows the story ofconcerns a shy, yet exceptionally smart [[biology]] student who uses a new physically body-altering drug he has invented to wreak havoc on those at his school who have wronged him.

Vernon Potts is a shy, yet clever and friendly high school student who frequently experiences bullying and other cruel behaviour at the hands of the bullies and teachers at his school. Despite this, he develops a friendship with his classmate Robin Jones, much to the disapproval of her boyfriend, anda high school jock,football player named Roger Davis.

Late one night after school, Vernon sneaks into the science classroom to feed the class [[guinea pig]] Mr. Mumps, whom he has also used as a test subject for a new drug he has created as part of his biology project. However, he discovers that the drug has turned Mr. Mumps into a small, snarling beast, which has killed a cat owned by the school's creepy old janitor, Mr. Griggs. Vernon tries to dispose of the cat's body, but Griggs catches him in the act, and, thinking Vernon responsible, beats him down in a fit of rage, before beating Mr. Mumps to death with a [[Mortar and pestle|pestle]]. After eyeing a batch of the drug used on Mr. Mumps, Griggs threatens Vernon into drinking it. Upon doing so, Vernon starts rapidly convulsingconvulses, before becoming rabid andbecomes violent, following which heand kills Mr. Griggs by dunking him into a barrel of [[Sulfuric acid|sulphuric acid]].

Despite Vernon's best efforts to dispose of the evidence, Griggs's dissolved remains are found during science class the next day. A detective, Lieutenant Bozeman, is brought in to investigate, and briefly talks with Vernon to see if he knows anything, but Vernon keeps himselfstays silent about the murder, and so, due to a lack of evidence, Bozeman leaves.

FollowingAfter an English test, Vernon is called over by his wicked English teacher, Mrs. Grindstaff, who tells him that due to his struggling performance in English in comparison to his biology efforts, he will have to attend every literature club meeting for the rest of the semester in order for him to earn a credit high enough for him to be able to graduate. Despite Vernon's protests, since the club meetings coincide with his weekly library visits, Grindstaff ultimately gets him to do so above his wishes. Since the literature club is already happening that night, Vernon goes, but instead spends the meeting's duration in the science classroom, as he brews up another batch of the drug he used on Mr. Mumps and drinks it as the meeting comes to aan closeend. Once everyone else has left, Vernon transforms, and after chasing and terrorizing Grindstaff, ultimately kills her by cutting off her fingers and then decapitating her with a [[Paper cutter|paper guillotine]].

Grindstaff's body is discovered the next morning, and Lieutenant Bozeman is once again brought in. Vernon, slowly losing his grip on sanity, admits to Robin that Mr. Mumps is dead, and tells her that he is giving up onabandoning the biology experiment. InShe exchange, Robinthen offers Vernon an opportunity to work on her biology project instead, which Vernon agrees to.

During a meeting with Coach McCall in the locker room, McCall reprimands Vernon for skipping P.E. and valuing chemistry and biology overmore P.E.than andthe all his other subjectsgymn. However, he offers him an opportunity for him to be able to skip out on P.E. for the rest of year; since a student football player of his is struggling inwith chemistry and needs to pass all his subjects in order to be eligible forto aplay football career, McCall offers Vernon the opportunity to help them out. Vernon goes along with it at firstagrees, but is dismayed to learn that the student is none other than his bully Roger, and that he will have to let Roger cheat the exam since it is tomorrowthe next day. In response, McCall tells Vernon to give him a telephone call at 10:00pm that night at the school after he has time to makeconsider considerationsit, but specificallyand tells him to keep their plan a secret.

That night, whilst waiting in the school for Vernon's response, McCall suddenly encounters Bozeman and his police squad, who quickly start to suspect him of the murders, but McCall is able to talk himself out of getting arrested. Soon after Bozeman leaves, McCall encounters Vernon, who has already consumed another batch of the drug. Vernon kills McCall by lacerating his chest with [[track spikes]], and his screams attract the attention of Bozeman's police squad, who quickly find the body, and arrest Roger afterwhen they find him wandering around outside the building.

The next morning, Robin expresses distress over Roger's arrest, but Vernon calms her down, and arranges a date with her at the park for 7:30 that night. That night, however, Vernon receives a telephone call from Roger, who tells him that the police have released him due to a lack of evidence. Roger then tells Vernon that he saw Vernon sneaking into the chemistry lab the night of his arrest, and threatens to framereport him unless he meets up with him at the school in an hour. Vernon reluctantly agrees.

Upon arriving at the school, Vernon brews yet another batch of the drug, and drinks it, only to be scared off by the sound of someone at the classroom window. Believing it to be Roger, Vernon flees, only to run into Robin, who warns him about Roger since she thinks he plans to kill Vernon. However, Vernon then reveals that he was the murderer, and apologises to Robin, only to once again transform and chase her throughout the school. He eventually catches up to her, but rather than killing her, breaks down into tears. However, Bozeman and his police squad then show uparrive and start firing at Vernon, who flees and jumps out the window. Outside, he encounters Roger, whom he starts beating to the ground, only for the police squad to showfind upthem and shoot Vernon to death. The movie ends with Robin mourning over Vernon's body.

The police officers seen during the filmmovie's climax are also played by members of the [[Dallas Cowboys]] football team, including [[Billy Truax]], [[D. D. Lewis (linebacker, born 1945)|D.D. Lewis]], [[Craig Morton]] and [[Calvin Hill]], all of whom were brought in by Niland.

Screenwriter J.D. Feigelson says he got the idea for the movie after wondering what it would be like if the [[Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]] were set in a high school.<ref>{{Citation |title=Horror High / Stanley Blu-ray (Slipcover in Original Pressing) |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Horror-High-and-Stanley-Blu-ray/317535/ |access-date=2022-10-21}}</ref> The filmmovie was shotfilmed overduring the course of two weeks in [[Irving, Texas]].

The filmmovie was first released on 20 September 1973 in Irving, Texas, and was later given a wider release in the United States in March 1974.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} The filmmovie was originally rated X by the [[Motion Picture Association|MPAA]], and so, after it was sold to [[Crown International Pictures]], the filmmovie's kill sequences were cut downreduced to get a PG rating of PG. Crown International's then-president Mark Tenser also had approximately 8 minutes of additional footage be shotfilmed to pad outincrease the runtime and make upcompensate for the lost duration. This new footage had Tenser himself playing the role of Vernon's absent father, and featureshas little, ifassociation any, connection towith the rest of the film. The PG-cut version of the filmmovie (retitled "Twisted Brain") was airedbroadcast frequently onfor [[WPIX]]'s "[[Chiller Theatre (1961 TV series)|Chiller Theatre]]" series.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Horror High |url=https://www.dvddrive-in.com/reviews/e-h/horrorhigh74.htm |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=www.dvddrive-in.com}}</ref>

The filmmovie had its first [[DVD]] release in 2004 when [[Rhino Entertainment]] released it as part of the boxset ''Horrible Horrors Collection Vol 1,'' alongside ''[[The Hearse]], [[Prime Evil (film)|Prime Evil]], [[Terror (1978 film)|Terror]], [[Lurkers (1988 film)|Lurkers]], [[Fleshburn]], [[Satan's Slave (1976 film)|Satan's Slave]],'' and ''[[Point of Terror]].'' However, this release was sourced from a low-quality VHS transfer of the ''Twisted Brain'' TVtelevision cutversion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rewind @ www.dvdcompare.net - Horror High AKA Twisted Brain AKA Kiss the Teacher... Goodbye! (1973) |url=https://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=14153#2 |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=www.dvdcompare.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Horrible Horrors Collection Volume 1 |url=https://dvddrive-in.com/reviews/e-h/horriblehorrors1.htm |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=dvddrive-in.com}}</ref> The R-rated cutversion of the movie was restored and released for the first time on DVD by [[Code Red DVD|Code Red]] on August 10, 2010.<ref>{{Citation |title=Horror High DVD |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/dvd/Horror-High-DVD/67772/ |access-date=2022-10-21}}</ref> The filmmovie was also released as part of Mill Creek Entertainment's 200 Film Set Drive-In Cult Classics Collection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Drive-In Cult Cinema 200 Classics Collection |url=https://www.millcreekent.com/products/drive-in-cult-cinema |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=Mill Creek Entertainment |language=en}}</ref> On July 26, 2022, independent home video distributor [[Vinegar Syndrome]] released the filmmovie in its original and uncut form on [[Blu-ray]] for the first time in a combo-pack with the 1972 filmmovie ''[[Stanley (1972 film)|Stanley]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Horror High / Stanley |url=https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/horror-high-stanley |access-date=2022-10-21 |website=Vinegar Syndrome |language=en}}</ref> This release, sourced from "the only known and fully-uncut 16mm lab print", features exclusive interviews fromwith screenwriter Fiegelson and actors Cardi, Niland and Falerne, as well as a [[Audio commentary|commentary track]] featuringby Cardi.

* ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE3v9EVNI9E Alternative openingbeginning tofor the filmmovie, underwith its "Twisted Brain" title]''