Synopsis
A lesson in terror.
A Boston police detective investigates a series of gruesome decapitations of various college coeds, committed by a helmeted, black-leather clad serial killer.
Directed by Ken Hughes
A Boston police detective investigates a series of gruesome decapitations of various college coeds, committed by a helmeted, black-leather clad serial killer.
Terror Eyes, Escuela Nocturna, Les yeux de la terreur, Il killer della notte, Psicosis II, Ojos de terror, テラー・アイズ/恐るべき瞳, Escuela nocturna, Terror Eyes - Der Frauenköpfer, Les Yeux de la Terreur, 지성의 한계, Fejvadászat Bostonban, Escola Noturna, 夜校惊魂, Вечерняя школа, คืนสับสาวภาคค่ำ
This is a super fun giallo-sequels slasher from the early 80’s that I can’t believe I’m just now seeing for the first time. I mean look at that poster. Look. At. It. It’s beautiful especially with the ridiculous tag line that’s unfortunately not on this particular version of the poster shown: “A is for Apple, B is for Bed, C is for Coed, D is for Dead, F is for FAILING to keep your head!” lol wut i love it.
It’s not terribly gory, but it’s got some great scenes. There’s one involving a decapitated head that you know is going to pop up at some point, but damn if it isn’t a great tense time getting there. The killer looks…
Some absolutely gorgeous images of decapitated women's heads in this. Wish there was a less threatening way to phrase that.
American giallo from Ken ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ Hughes with a decapitation twist features a leather clad, helmet wearing biker picking off women left and run with a kukri Blade. Heads will roll.
Lecherous professors, carousel decapitations, grime crime Boston, severed heads galore, and dead coeds, Night School is a moody piece with a great sleazy early 80’s Boston setting, nice editing, and quality direction. It isn’t perfect (pacing gets a little wonky in the middle) but it delivers the goods, there’s a lot to like here.
Finally got around to checking out the Warner Archives blu and although it’s light on features it looks way better than my old dvd—worth picking up.
#SlasherSaturday
Very solid giallo/slasher. I loved the opening merry-go-round kill. After the opening, I was really hoping we would be getting a variety of playground kills. Monkey bar massacres, and see-saw slashings. That was not the case, but plenty of heads roll (float) as a result of the knife weilding, motorcycle helmet weilding killer. I was close to 3.5 stars, but the killer was incredibly predictable. Has excellent giallo vibes though.
Great pick, @BrashBelle.
Degrees of Kevin Bacon: 2
1. Rachel Ward and Rose Byrne in Peter Rabbit
2. Rose Byrne and Kevin Bacon in X-Men: First Class
Night School reminds me of a ‘70s Italian giallo. A slasher, made before the rules of the slasher game were published in the slasher manual. It features a synth-esque musical score, a few red herrings and a killer who never takes off their motorcycle helmet. Also, an ending that’s literally, laugh-out-loud hilarious.
My favorite character is the sidekick cop with a perm. Night School isn’t too gory, but it still manages to bring some chills and thrills. My issues have to do with the slowish beginning and the sad fact I correctly guessed the identity of the killer without using any of my lifelines. Still, Night School is a serviceable entry into the slasher canon of films.
Heads up!!
At Wendell College Night School, we’re committed to seeing our students get ahead. Lopped off.
In 1981, film critic Tony Mastroianni of the Cleveland Press panned Night School, calling it "gory but idiotic”. Which I read as “perfect for me”. By the way, Cleveland Press went out of business a year later. Coincidence?
Night School was one of those initial 72 films dubbed a “video nasty”, but it was dropped from the list as BBFC cut over a minute for the UK-18 rated VHS release. The cut content consists of bits of the murder scenes in the locker room and the restaurant. It’s extremely tame by today’s standards and seems like an overreaction even for 1981.
This is the one with…
An eighties slasher probably best remembered for its inclusion on the Video Nasty list. Night School sees a killer clad in a motorcycle helmet and leathers decapitating female students at a Boston college. Could it be something to do with that weird anthropology professor who also happens to ride a motorbike? The film splits its focus between the killings and a rather ineffective police investigation, which is not exactly fascinating. There's never any real mystery to it, with only one huge red herring and another minor one that clearly isn't the killer. The most notable thing about it is the death scenes. They're not exactly graphic, but the severed head motif leads to some stylish scenes - the best of…
A sleazy American Giallo being the final film from the man who directed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang sounds Like some made-up fact but here we are with NIGHT SCHOOL! A leather-clad killer on a motorbike armed with a Kukri slicing, dicing, and in most cases decapitating a bunch of Coeds in the Boston area. The killer would later be ripped off in NIGHTMARE BEACH at least in this case boston is a bit more of a realistic setting to be going around butchering people in leather than on a damn beach but I digress.
I really dug the opening sequence on the merry-go-round it made the opening decapitation a creative fun kill from the get-go unfortunately the rest of the…
Tries to be more a mystery than a typical slasher movie, but illformed characters and pacing weigh it down. Judd going to Harvard was pretty pointless, I guess the movie wanted us to think he was smart. The victims run when they should scream and scream when they should run. Did like how this looked and the Boston setting. The only one good at their job in this movie was the poor waitress.
So, this was a DVR recording made from a recent Turner Classic Movies showing! I recall them also showing it late at night long ago; this latest screening was during a late night of horror, after The Haunting and the blaxploitation film Sugar Hill-both seen by me & reviewed years ago. Night School I’d heard of but never partaken in until last night. Of interest to me was not just it being the film debut of Rachel Ward, a lovely lady… the film is also a giallo-style slasher set & filmed in Boston complete w/ killer adorned in black (including motorcycle helmet) who rides a dirt bike.
The killings happen via a kukri blade; for those that haven’t seen something like Forged…
“The old head-in-the-fish tank routine”
‘Twas a fine giallo-esque (autocorrected esque to Edwige and I laughed out loud, Edwige Fenech💘) slasher based in Boston (while no one has that strong Boston/Bawstin accent, which was truly missed) there’s a killer wearing a full-blown biker outfit, helmet and leather gloves, carrying a large curved knife, ya know the one to decapitate womens heads and leave them in... wet places...for people to find...
Immediately sold.
Thought the pacing was pretty good, with.. kill, story, kill, story, slow motion kill, story...so it was pretty entertaining from start to finish.
The only thing truly missing is the excessive gore (and previously mentioned Boston accent) but not too bothered by it, easily forgiven with that intense…