A nerdy high school super whiz experiments with a chemical which will transform his guinea pig "Mr. Mumps" from a gentle pet into a ravenous monster. In a fit of rage against his tormentors at the high school, Vernon Potts goes on a killing spree, eliminating all of those who ever picked on him - the Gym Coach, the School Jock, The Creepy Janitor & his hated teacher, Ms. Grindstaff.
"There is something evil out there... Possessed by a force that doesn't belong to this world - and it's going to kill me!"
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Wuchak
9/22/2024
6 / 10
**_Teen Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at an American high school_**
A bullied science whiz at a high school in the Dallas area (Pat Cardi) develops a potion that darkly empowers him to get back at those who abuse him.
"Horror High" (1974) is also known as “Twisted Brain” and written by the writer of the later “Dark Night of the Scarecrow.” The basic premise with its stock werewolf-formula hails back to 1958’s “Monster on the Campus” just mixed with the bullied teen in high school angle, which inspired future flicks like “Carrie,” "Christine" and "The Unhealer" (2021). “Primal Rage” (1988) was no doubt influenced by it.
The viewer’s sympathies are with the commendable nerd. His relationships with a striking redhead (Rosie Holotik) and the lead detective (Austin Stoker) are well written/acted; the coach too, I suppose, although that ‘actor’ takes the hammy route.
It’s blessed by an excellent theme song called "Vernon's Theme,” which was written & performed by Jerry Coward. The eccentric score is early 70’s percussion-oriented rock by Don Hulette. Some wont’ like it, understandably, but it was avant-garde in 1973 (when produced).
The flick only cost $67,000, which would be equivalent to $475,000 today, and so the locations are dull, limited to the school and the kid’s home & neighborhood streets. It literally could’ve been shot in any school/suburb in the USA or Canada.
Interestingly, the background policemen were played by players of the Dallas Cowboys, specifically Craig Morton, DD Lewis, Bill Truax and Calvin Hill.
I should add that “Return to Horror High” from 14 years later is not a sequel.
It runs about 1 hour, 23 minutes, and was shot at a high school in Irving, Texas (just northwest of Dallas), that was being used as a finishing school for pregnant girls at the time, as well a neighborhood in northeast Dallas.
GRADE: B-/C+
