Student Bodies

Student Bodies (1981)

Runtime: 86 minutes

Directed by: Mickey Rose… and Michael Ritchie

Starring: Kristen Riter, Matthew Goldsby, Jerry Belson, Joe Flood, Joe Talarowski

From: Paramount

Horror comedies are always welcome during Spooky Season, even if they are only rarely viewed. A spoof of slashers while the Golden Age of those were still ongoing: fascinating alone. I’ve never heard much discussion surrounding Student Bodies but after viewing the first minute or two, I was sold on viewing the picture wholesale.

Immediately, there’s a note on screen stating this proclamation: "This motion picture is based on an actual incident. Last year 26 horror films were released... None of them lost money." While hyperbole, their profitability was why major studios like Paramount made their contributions. Amusing that they released this soon after putting out Friday the 13th. The plot sounds stock-standard: a killer known as The Breather starts stalking the students at Lamab High School; the awkward name is because they filmed at Lamar High School in Houston, Texas but for reasons I can probably surmise, that was changed at the last minute rather than using the real name.

To my pleasant surprise, the movie was funnier than expected. Of course not all the gags landed but there’s some absurdist moments for those that get hot & bothered over such humor. Furthermore, the satiric barbs over the cliches already present in slashers were usually on-point; in fact, virginity is a key plot point. A key point in general in terms of managing expectations: those expecting plenty of vulgarity and gory kills, this ain’t here; go w/ Tucker & Dale vs. Evil instead. There’s minimal language (the spectacular way the one F-bomb is achieved won’t be spoiled) or violence yet that was irrelevant to me in this case. Note that there are still some off-color moments and the movie is NOT chaste.

I was entertained by many of the running gags (a kill count on screen, the tropes literally spelled out) and didn’t mind the occasional spotty acting; just like in a typical slasher, most of the actors had a small resume, at times only appearing in one film. Even the odd ending didn’t bother me too much; more of a complaint was how it seemed to start sputtering & slowing down in the final act. The score was synth goodness; it sounded like the Halloween 2 soundtrack, which was odd as that came out a few months after this. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to have seen Alan Howarth’s name in the end credits for his electronic music contributions, but… 

My tastes are different from the norm-especially when it comes to comedy-yet some may have been as pleasantly surprised by this ahead of its time picture as I was.