Rachel Ward's nude scene is definitely the highlight of this pseudo-slasher flick. The story opens very strong. I mean, you rarely see a beheading by merry-go-round. The story itself is more of a who done it, with a couple of gigantic "red herrings", and some totally inadequate police work. Although the film does generate some tension in the beginning, things gradually unwind in the logic department. This is mainly due to some real "rubber band" stretches of credibility. Only Rachel Ward's presence keeps "Night School" out of forgettable land. The "surprise ending" definitely will not hold up to close scrutiny, and that is an almost fatal flaw. - MERK

Despite hailing from the golden age of American slashers, Night School (AKA Terror Eyes) shares more in common with the Italian giallo genre than your average early 80s U.S. kill-by-numbers flick: the plot revolves around a series of grisly murders that take place in and around a school; in typical giallo fashion, the majority of the action is centred around the investigation of the crimes rather than the actual murders themselves; the killer is clad head to toe in black motorcycle gear and carries a distinctive weapon (a Kukri knife); and like many an Italian murder/mystery, the motive for the slayings is just plain silly.Unfortunately, even though the ingredients seem right for a cool and classy Euro-style thriller, Night School ultimately fails to impress thanks to some dreadful casting, the sheer predictability of the plot (the identity of the killer is obvious from the outset), and director Ken Hughes' habit of 'pulling his punches' just as matters begin to get interesting. It's hard enough watching Rachel Ward struggle to act and Drew Snyder failing to convince as a lothario professor with the ability to charm his way into his students' knickers, without the added irritation of a potentially sleazy lesbian scene cut tragically short, the film's promising death scenes cutting away just as the killer delivers the fatal blow, and a lack of decent gore—all we see of the decapitated heads is the hair!As disappointing as it is, though, Night School will always remain of interest to horror fans for being one of the DPP's official video nasties (probably thanks to the admittedly vicious moment where the killer repeatedly slashes a terrified woman with his knife, her blood smearing all over the walls as she desperately tries to escape).

With a barrage of Slashers from the early 1980's, how could any casual horror fan keep all of them straight? Unless you're a fanatic, or have an extremely good memory – or both, then it's easy to get lost with so many titles to consider. This trend of repeating similarly-based movies isn't a foreign concept to cinema and yet the Slashers of the '80's stand out in most people's minds as an overbearing exercise. Night School, although existing on the rare side of the heap, is featured next on our operating table.Night School recounts the tale of a young teacher's aid found slain in a back alley. This vicious act featured her decapitation at the hands of an individual donning a black outfit and a darkened motorcycle helmet. Lt. Judd Austin, a scholarly and effective crime scene investigator, is called out to examine the details. He concludes that the victim was employed by a local all-girls night school. Judd broadens his investigation by interviewing several acquaintances of the deceased woman. The murders that follow thereafter all showcase the preferred method of execution – beheadings! These are tied closely together by an additional similarity; each severed head is submerged in water. The premise of this film spells out a traditional who-dun-it. Director Ken Hughes, the creator of this project, made his debut in the early '50's and Night School would be his last piece of work in the directorial field. He is also responsible for 1968's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Ken died at the age of 79 in 2001 and was not a major player in the horror industry by any stretch of the imagination. Night School was also the debut of Rachel Ward who led a successful career as an actress after her involvement with this movie.Right off the bat I noticed a glaring mistake in the editing. This can be the result of various practices – whether poor editing all around or a scene removal process to make the grade are viable occurrences to blame. Night School also went by the name of Terror Eyes in the UK and was denounced as a "Video Nasty" by the British Board of Film Censors in the 1980's. Like other films found on that list, the ban has since been lifted. Warner Bros currently owns the rights to Night School and fans have yet to see a DVD release as of November of 2010.The thing about Night School is that it's more of a cop story than your average teenage entourage ushered into slaughter. In this respect it's a breath of fresh air but with moments of cop humor thrown in for good measure it's hard to fully classify the film alongside it's kin. I certainly wouldn't be able to write an in-depth essay on the articulation of the actors and actresses found within but their mannerisms and emotional output are believable enough. As far as the characters go, the masked killer is highly reminiscent of that dopey buffoon that I had the displeasure of viewing in 1985's The Nailgun Massacre (well it's a stretch I guess).Night School's soundtrack was composed by Brad Fiedal – a young and ambitious composer at the time who would later be responsible for working on all 4 installments of the Terminator series. Fiedal can also be credited with the likes of Just Before Dawn from 1981, Fright Night 1 & 2, and the Serpent and the Rainbow. Fiedal currently works on writing and arranging original musicals and holds no interest in returning to cinema. It never ceases to amaze me how so many professionals get their start doing horror films in one way or another…almost as if it's the proving grounds for talent.I think all-in-all, Ken Hughes had fun making this movie. I believe the players did too. Night School is, to some extent, considered a rare Slasher in comparison to some of the other greats established in '81 (and not-so-greats, too). When we discuss a film's rarity in the horror genre one can rest assuredly that a cult following is close at hand. So where does that leave me? A film's notoriety isn't a selling point for me to own it – there has to be something more; an air of panache, a chilling soundtrack, or great set of characters. This particular title just didn't hold my interest for long. In order for someone to swallow the very large pill that Night School is, they'd have to be a die-hard Slasher film collector or a completist such as myself. Is it a rare film? It is, and if it has even stricken your fancy to embark on a Slasher tour perhaps it's within your interest to give this a once-over. Like Eyes of a Stranger, which I've covered previously, Night School plays it too safely and by the numbers. Don't expect anything shocking or dangerous.

I had to wipe the dust from my twenty year old VHS print to pencil the review for this early eighties addition to the slasher cycle, because as of yet there hasn't even been a murmur of an outing on DVD format.It's hard to understand exactly why the digital revolution has ignored this intriguing category addition, because it's certainly no worse than the legions of Halloween clones that have been packaged and then re-packaged once again on special edition discs. Not only is Night School one of the seventy four 'collectable' video nasties that were unfortunate enough to be banned in the United Kingdom and added to the notorious DPP list, but on top of that, its production boasts some interesting trivia.Director Kenneth Hughes was not just an ambitious non-experienced wet-behind-the-ears beginner like so many of his genre counterparts from the period, but instead he was a film-maker with a long and varied résumé, which included a few high-profile efforts. Perhaps even more bewildering is the fact that his most recognised cinematic achievement prior to this violent splatter flick had been kiddies favourite and Oscar-nominee, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The feature also handed a début role to Rachel Ward, who would go on to become a well-respected actress in later years.The city of Boston is being terrorised by a head hunting psychopath. Dressed in motorcycle leathers and masked by a tinted crash helmet, the killer is decapitating his victims and then submerging their heads in water, which leads the Police to believe that he is a ritualistic maniac. Detectives are mystified as to the motives of the deranged assassin and as the bodies pile up they realise that they must move quickly to prevent the terror from striking again.Even though Night School has enough of the necessary trademarks to allow it to be identified as a slasher movie, it plays more like an ultra-violent cop-thriller. It's a movie that switches consistently between two starkly opposing tones and each causes a lack of consistency in the other.The film is hilariously scripted and at times the dramatics feel excessively cheesy. During the kill scenes however, things get nail-bitingly dark and the violence is at times astoundingly brutal. The killer slashes his victims with a curved machete ruthlessly, spraying blood over the walls as he goes. Aided by a menacing score from Brad Fiedel, the scenes are intimidating and rampant enough to stick in your memory.Kenneth Hughes deserves credit for at times building a harsh and gruesome atmosphere, without any real gore. Sure, there's blood by the bucket-load, but none of the decapitations are shown on screen and there's no striking special make-up effects. Female writer Ruth Avergon pencilled the script, which is surprising considering the level of misogyny. It's also extremely erratic and includes everything from intelligent historical references to nonsensical and bewildering dialogue, which hinders the actors in their attempts to play it straight.Horror is different from every other cinematic genre and offers a much tougher challenge for directors. Hughes, however, does OK here and builds some impressive suspense scenarios. There's one stand out and incredibly tense scene in a café kitchen, which is particularly memorable because it doesn't involve the film's bogeyman and the key players of the scenario are unaware of any impending horror. He also received one of the biggest compliments possible for his work here, because Dario Argento was almost certainly inspired by Night School for his popular eighties Giallo, Tenebrae. Watching the two films one after the other shows the undeniable similarities and evidence.The main problems come with the awful script, which mocks the intelligence of the audience and therefore gives too many clues and ruins the pay-off far too early. The cast are given very little in terms of concrete scripting to work with, but in fairness their performances are undeserving of any better. The fact that Rachel Ward built a career in dramatics after this embarrassingly wooden début just proves that you don't need talent to be a success in Hollywood; all that's required is an attractive face. Also, what's with the casting of Drew Snyder as a womaniser? He may be a lot of things, but handsome and charming are not two of them.Night School is an at times stylish and in the same breath daft thriller, which suffers mainly from a huge dose of poor cinematic balancing. It is certainly no classic, but the violent and at times harrowing death scenes make it worthy of at least an outing on DVD.