Given this is a SyFy Channel movie, the movie already have odds stacked against it. But every now and then these original SyFy Channel movies do surprise. However, I will say that "Haunted High" wasn't a surprise. Not even with a nice ensemble of actors and actresses as the movie has.The story in "Haunted High" is about an evil headmaster who returns from beyond the grave to wreck havoc, torment and kill students at the high school. And it is up to the janitor and the students to put an end to the vile spirit and his entourage of ghostly followers.It was so difficult to buy into the whole concept of the movie, because the storyline was so badly constructed and even worse brought to life on the screen. The ghosts were a little bit too real - too manifested in the flesh - to appear believable as ghosts or supernatural entities. And the death scenes were, most of the time, laughable.There weren't a single scare or thrilling moment throughout the entire movie. Unless you consider seeing Danny Trejo for the first time in the movie as a thrill.But for fans of the lower budget horror movies, then there is a good handful of familiar faces to be seen here. At least thumbs up for this ensemble of actors and actresses.If you enjoy ghosts/haunting movies, then "Haunted High" is not recommendable. I rate this movie a mere 2 out of 10 stars. It was a real drag to sit through this movie, because it took forever to get nowhere. And most of the scenes that were supposed to be scary or menacing, just came off as spoofy scenes.
... View MoreAfter becoming stranded in a high school, a group of students find the cause to be a reawakened spirit of a demonic headmaster and his minions, forcing them to battle the deadly spirits to get away alive.This here turned out to be one of the more impressive and enjoyable Sci- Fi Channel original films. One of the more impressive elements here is the rather nice suspense displayed, which comes from the exceptional use of the creepy-looking school location throughout here with its endless corridors and hallways littered with lockers and others that showcase the locations of the school after dark which comes off incredibly well. Those are furthered by the film's best aspect as the early actions of them trapped inside as these are strongly built-up using the concept of the earthquakes, strange remarks of the ghosts on the PA system as well as the gradual realization of them being stuck here in rather nefarious set-ups which make the burgeoning mystery a lot more chilling than expected. As those are combined with their tormenting the students and faculty throughout with all manners of tactics including reanimation of dead bodies, hallucinations of every kind from the twisting of reality to keeping them at odds with reality and mind tricks comes together for a strong series of scenes here featuring the attack by the demon in the locker-room shower, the great sequence in the science lab of the frogs running amuck or the general teases here of turning the floors of the hallways into glue, disappearing and vanishing again during an attack or just generally teasing and toying with them for the sheer fun of it all which is where this one comes off as fun as it does. These scenes do have a rather cheesy and goofy tone and feel throughout here for the majority of it's scenes by keeping the action going along nicely, and when combined with the nice gore from the high body-count make for a great time overall. There's only a few small problems here, most of which come from the ending's fantasy-derived solution, as it's just way too overblown and goofy against the more intense sections elsewhere in here with the ghosts displaying energy weapons, supernatural powers and much more, turning it into an overall goofy tone that goes against the rest of the film quite obviously. as well, the atrocious CGI and rather lame story that never makes any sense do drive this down somewhat, as a whole this was quite a bit of fun.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Language and Brief Nudity
... View MoreThe demonic ghost of a long-dead school headmaster, along with his equally dead, but considerably more attractive, wife haunt a high school after a teacher dares to steal a gold coin owned by the ghost's grandson. Starring Danny Trejo as the janitor seeking his dead love,Justified's MC Gainey as the pun-afflicted demon, and the prolific Shawn C. Phillips as the token fat kid.As to offer a counterpoint to the other reviews, I didn't find this to be a bad SyFy film, much less 'the worst' and actually found it no be a nice change of pace to the recent crop of 'nature run amok' offerings that they've been airing as of late. The acting is all right for a film of its ilk and the film was a bit of fun, although granted, the groan worthy puns by the ghost are pretty bad.
... View MoreSYFY has been somewhat famous (or infamous) for producing low-budget horror films, which some see as late-night fodder. However, if you are like me and love these campy tales of ghosts and mayhem. Filled with an insane amount of gore and ultra low-budget special effects. Then you can't go wrong with a movie like, HAUNTED HIGH. I think what impressed me most about the film, was the cast. A really young and talented group of kids. Hold their own against genre veterans Danny Trejo and M.C. Gainey. The film serves its purpose and does it fairly well. I really enjoyed this one! Definitely give it a look. If and when it airs again, on SYFY.
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