Cutting Class (1989)
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Paula Carson (Jill Schoelen) has a week to herself right now. Her dad, an attorney, needs a few days off to go fishing so as to ease the stress in his life. That leaves dear old Paula all by herself - oh yeah, her and her boyfriend, Dwight, have the house to themselves. But this week in school will be Brian’s first week back. Brian has just been released from a mental hospital and at least his former caretakers felt he was cured. But one by one people start to die - the custodian, the principal and even Paula’s dad was shot with an arrow. Brian maintains that Paula’s boyfriend, Dwight, is the culprit - it was Dwight who was there with Brian years back when Brian’s father's car crashed, as a direct result of those 2 messing with it. But Dwight thinks it is Brian, due to his past history. Paula though can only care about her grades and she’ll do anything not to think of any murders. But as each day goes by, the truth gets closer and closer - the first one to miss class, dies!
Overall: One of the better horror films out there. As much satire as there is in this film (Jill Schoelen takes a jab at herself by always seeming to bend over for guys to peep at), the story is fairly decent. Not great but decent and the character actors aren’t too bad either: Roddy McDowell ("Planet of the Apes, "Fright Night"), Brad Pitt ("12 Monkeys"), and Martin Mull ("Roseanne). The death scenes are fairly creative and I think that itself also pokes fun at horror films - how many deaths have you seen involve trampolines? Enjoyable film and a first for everyone’s hunk (except G Paltrow‘s) - Brad Pitt. Jill is her usual graceful self - a shame she did just a handful of films since this one. Comparison: Halloween meets Milo |
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