ZOMBIE HIGH (1987) Reviews and free to watch online in HD

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Zombie High is a 1987 American horror film about a coed who discovers a secret plot to achieve immortality with a serum made from students’ brains.

Directed by Ron Link from a screenplay co-written by Tim Doyle, co-producer Aziz Ghazal and Elizabeth Passarelli, the Cinema Group production stars Virginia Madsen (Dead Rising: Watchtower; The Haunting; Candyman; et al), Richard Cox, Kay E. Kuter, James Wilder, Sherilyn Fenn (Fatal Instinct; The Wraith), Paul Feig (director of Ghostbusters, 2016) and Scott Coffey.

Plot:

Andrea (Virginia Madsen) is a teenage girl that has won a scholarship to Ettinger, a formerly all-male boarding school. She leaves behind her boyfriend Barry (James Wilder) in the hopes of scholastic achievement but soon discovers that things are not as they seem at Ettinger.

Andrea discovers that her friends are slowly changing from regular teenagers into personality-less drones. Some investigation shows that the school’s faculty has been harvesting life-sustaining chemicals from the student body, which results in them becoming seemingly perfect students that are only focused on doing well in school and obeying rules…

Reviews:

“Though the film seems to want to tap into teenage fears of not fitting in, the themes are hardly developed and Andrea is never made to seem like an outsider. Even setting the movie at an elite prep school fails to evoke unease about class differences because questions of class are never addressed. Missed opportunities abound.” Daily Dead

Zombie High has one or two bright performances going for it… but that’s about it amid the lackluster thrills, little gore, lame Reagan-era satire, and lack of any nudity.” DVD Drive-In

” …unfortunately, everything about Zombie High suggests a student project gone awry: the grainy photography, variable lighting, wildly self-conscious acting, the shambles of a story drowned in semi-high concept, the dork jokes and lame formula suspense.” Los Angeles Times, October 6, 1987

“Madsen is decent in the role, she’s a capable actress but she cannot save the movie alone, the script is awful and there is zero atmosphere to be found, the movie might have gotten by on a weird sense of creepiness if it had any.  The precious few interesting aspects of the story are never fleshed out decently.” McBastard’s Mausoleum

“Mixing teen melodrama with horror tropes is nothing new in the genre, however, Zombie High is the kind of movie that sets expectations from the get-go, from its very title and – unfortunately – never lives up to these expectations, Not that there’s anything wrong with the film in the slightest, it is ultimately a great mystery horror/thriller with a satirical, sometimes comedic, edge… it’s just that goddamn misnomer.” Nerdly

“It’s also really tame.  In fact, only a couple of F-Bombs separate it from a PG-13 rating.  The horror elements are weak too.  It would’ve been better with the gut-munching variety of zombies instead of the boring mind-control zombies we’re stuck with.” The Video Vacuum

“The movie plays the concept more seriously than the title lets on, and, in fact, winds up dragging quite a bit.” Peter Dendle, The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia

” …nondescript, forgettable flick” Glenn Kay, Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide

Main cast and characters:

  • Virginia Madsen … Andrea
  • Richard Cox … Philo
  • Kay E. Kuter … Dean Eisner
  • James Wilder … Barry
  • Sherilyn Fenn … Suzi
  • Paul Feig … Emerson
  • Scott Coffey … Felner (as T. Scott Coffey)
  • Paul Williams … Ignatius
  • Henry Sutton … Bell
  • Christopher Peters … Phillip
  • Clare Carey … Mary Beth
  • Christopher Crews … Biff
  • John Sack … Senator Felner
  • Susan Barnes … Mom
  • Abigail Hanness … Nurse
  • Arvid Holmberg … Doctor
  • Walter Addison … Chief Hillis
  • Dan Garrity … Officer 1
  • John Cook … Officer 2
  • Tom Sheppard … Prep 1
  • Phil Weinstock … Prep 2
  • Kent Snyder Jr. … Prep 3 (as Kent Snyder)
  • Diana Lands … Mary Beth’s Roommate
  • Brett Gathrid … Cashier
  • Alan Milligan … Student 1
  • Diana Darby … Student 2

Technical details:

93 minutes
Audio: Dolby

Release:

Zombie High was released in the USA by Palisades Entertainment Group on October 2nd 1987.

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