Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Best movie of this year hands down!

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

HORROR HIGH is not a good movie but what it lacks in an engaging plot, three- dimensional characters, and technical skill it makes up for in low-budget charm and bloody messes. It's the formulaic paint-by-numbers story of a weakling being pushed around until he finally pushes back. The weakling in this case is high school nerd Vernon Potts (Pat Cardi). Vernon has two passions: science and guinea pigs. In fact, he's dedicated most of the past year putting together an in-depth biology report on his pet, Mr. Mumps. Vernon is, obviously, a laughingstock and everyone in his school hates him. His English teacher has no problem sabotaging his biology report to teach him a lesson. His coach is openly disgusted with our science nerd's lack of athleticism. And the school janitor holds a violent grudge against him for scaring his cat out of the science lab. The one person who doesn't hate Vernon is Robin (Rosie Holotik), seemingly the only rational human being in the entire school. There might even be some chemistry between the two of them but it's snuffed out by Robin's boyfriend, the popular jock Roger (Mike McHenry). When a late night study session leads to a conflict with the janitor in the science lab, Vernon is forced to drink the product of his guinea pig experiments: some sort of serum or chemical. The movie doesn't care to explain. What we do know is the formula turns Vernon in a killer beast and his tormentors better hide now.Subtlety is not a concern in HORROR HIGH. Everything that happens is telegraphed long before it happens and you see every plot point coming from a mile away. The first act spends all its time just lining up the victims like dominoes. The English teacher cuts up Vernon's biology report with her beloved paper cutter because he mistakenly turned it in instead of his book report (guaranteeing an F in both classes and ruining his grades out of spite). The janitor has a spazz attack when Vernon chases off his cat because it had been hanging around Mr. Mumps cage waiting for a snack. The coach just utilizes generic anti-nerd hatred, and Roger terrorizes Vernon in the locker room, going so far as to tear up his guinea pig notes. There we go, all our little victims lined up in a row. Then we move to the second act when the janitor literally forces Vernon, a teenager and student, to drink an unknown chemical concoction as punishment or, more accurately, bullying. Then the rest of the movie is a series of fun murders perpetrated by what I believe to be a were-guinea pig. In case you weren't sure what direction the movie was headed from the start, it opens with Vernon in English class watching a "Jekyll & Hyde" film. I'm not kidding; this is so tactless it feels like a student film. "It's so deep you, guys. There's, like, these themes running throughout it." And there's a were-guinea pig.It's stupid but it's charming. All of your characters are stock stereotypes without an ounce of characterization because the fun is in watching all the mean people getting their comeuppance. What little effort went into this movie seems to have gone to the horror effects. Good. If you're going to skimp on everything else, leave the money where it counts. The science lab leaves a big drum of pure sulfuric acid right there in the middle of the classroom, unsealed and everything. And you know what? It gets put to good use. The English teacher loves her paper cutter? Cool, because you know that'll pay off. I wish some more effort had been put into the makeup effects. The were-guinea pig is wisely kept to the shadows for most of the movie but it kills the illusion a little when you find out it's nothing more than a shaggy wig and some brown face paint. Again, the cheapness is semi-charming and I really think this movie would've developed a bigger cult following with a few changes. First, tighten it up. There is way too many lingering shots of nothing in this movie. Trim it down and keep the pace moving. Second, find a way to end the movie after the coach's murder. Everything after that is pointless and anticlimactic. I was actually enjoying the simple stupidity of HORROR HIGH for that first hour but that last 30 minutes lost me. A fan edit might be in order because some remastering and pacing touch-ups could do this movie a world of good and score this little movie that couldn't some attention.

Late one summer night in Cleveland, Ohio, circa 1978... Our parents have gone to bed & my 2 younger Brothers & I are sitting on the floor in front of the television impatiently waiting for the Saturday night Creature Feature to begin. In our dimly lit living room I remember watching almost angrily as a local TV-news team wrapped up the evening news in what appeared to be slow motion, it really seemed as if they were taking forever but then we had been waiting all week to see this movie. We had seen it advertised following the one they had shown the previous week & it looked really interesting, scary & hopefully gory. So as I turned off all the lights in the living room the news FINALLY ended & then after several very boring & very time consuming commercials the Saturday night Creature Feature finally began... Now on Cleveland's Channel 5 the film was shown as Twisted Brain but never mind the title, my Brothers & I were not disappointed, in fact about half way through my youngest Brother wanted to turn on at least one light in the living room, well he was just 5 at the time. Anyway, the lights stayed off until the movie ended.

This appears to be another one of those obscure early 70's cult favorites that a lot of people vividly remember as one of many nostalgic late Saturday night flicks that turned them into horror fans for life. Although I'm from a different generation, I'm fascinated by tracking down these movies based solely on the enthusiast reviews of first-hour fans. Sometimes you stumble upon hidden gems like way (for example "Where have all the People Gone") and sometimes you find movies of which you don't understand the fuzz about. "Horror High" is a bit in between; not an undiscovered masterpiece but definitely not a waste of time, neither. It's a fun and light-headed little monster movie with a handful of cool gore effects and even a couple of suspenseful moments. The film is basically a high-school variation on "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" – the opening sequences even openly refer to Robert Louis Stevenson's legendary horror story – with a nerdy chemistry whiz kid transforming into an aggressive monster, through drinking a self made potion, and executing bloody revenge against all those who wronged him. Vernon Potts is a typical high school loner who's continuously experimenting in the chemistry room, but further neglects all the other classes. He's the prime target of mockery in school; for the football jocks but also for the sadistic teachers and nasty janitor. When the latter forces Vernon to drink the potion that drove his Guinea Pig Mr. Mumps crazy with aggression, he becomes his vengeful alter ego. Soon the malignant English teacher Mrs. Grindstaff and the corrupt coach McCall will experience Vernon's wrath. "Horror High" is a hugely predictable and sometimes even downright boring, but it undeniably remains a charming and adorably shlocky 70's effort. The trashy low-budget make up effects are tremendously entertaining to watch (imagine yourself faces being pushed into barrels full of acid, fingers being cut off under a paper-guillotine and bodies being spiked through gym shoes) and the unknown lead player Pat Cardi does a fantastic job as the tormented nerd. Halfway through the film, there's a completely irrelevant and pointless interlude in which the film follows around Vernon's estranged father as he's arguing with his new girlfriend and making a business phone call. If anyone can explain the significance of these 10 totally unnecessary padding minutes, please email me!

Twisted Brain (1974) ** (out of 4) Vernon Potts (Pat Cardi) is your typical brain in high school who gets picked on by everyone from his classmates to even the teachers. Vernon's only friend is his pet guinea pig who belongs in biology class where the two are working on a secret formula, which would make the guinea pig more human. An accident eventually happens and Vernon ends up drinking the potion, which turns him into a half-man/half-monster and then he sets out to seek revenge against all those who picked on it.Had this film been made in the 1950's then I'm sure the title would have been I Was a Teenage Dr. Jekyll. Anything you can imagine that fits with the word bad would belong in this amateurish film. The acting is bad, the directing is bad, the gore effects are bad and even worse is the cinematography, which is quite possibly the worst I've ever seen. However, all these badness still leads the way for a somewhat fun monster romp, which benefits from the loser we just wanna see get revenge.The death scenes are quite mean-spirited for a PG-rated film and these includes a coach being ran over with spiked shoes to a mean old teacher who meets her fate on a cutting board. The characters are all stereotypes especially the jocks and the mean janitor but this too adds a bit of charm to the film. While reading the IMDb I was somewhat shocked to see how many people claimed this movie scared them as a child and it appears the film has earned quite a minor cult over the years, which it probably deserves.