According to the Los Angeles Film School, Horror – as a genre of filmmaking – consists of ten unique sub-types: Demonic, Paranormal, Monster, Slasher, Zombie, Gore, Witchcraft, Vampire, Psychological, and Comedic.
Now … who am I – your lowly, lowly web-based critic – to argue with an institution as august as the Los Angeles Film School? While I may not quite agree with precisely how they’ve splintered up Horror into these sub-headings, I do agree that – for the most part – there’s a good degree of crossover from one group to another, meaning that rarely if ever do, say, Demonic or Paranormal flicks ignore incorporating a good deal of Gore and/or Psychological elements in crafting their particular yarns. Plus, Comedy entries rarely stand entirely on their own, relying on any number of related influences with which to exploit such subject matter for the desired level of insanity. So even if they and I may disagree on giving Vampire projects their own classification separate from other Monsters (same thing could be said of Zombies, too), I’m still willing to agree that these filters likely establish a solid foundation around which any number of fans, critics, and/or academics can debate the good, the bad, and the ugly of enterprises that exist almost entirely on ‘going bump in the night.’
Where I do tend to segregate myself off from the wider population of cineastes is that I see Slasher films generally as the laziest and least interesting stories to deliver. Yes, it goes without saying that some of made much better than others are; and still I’ve seen far too many of them rather quickly start to resemble far more conventional features with the added buckets of blood meant to distract viewers from noticing that there really isn’t anything special to their characters, places, and events. When rather tame killing is all a film offers, then what’s the big deal? Any picture can do that; so if you aren’t willing to pony up anything further – signature kills, stylistic cinematography, unanticipated plot twists, etc. – then what’s to keep the audience from going elsewhere? If you can’t, at least, make it a special occasion, then what more can you offer me for the investment?
Therein lies my central issue with Cutting Class (1989), a recent home video release that was part of the MVD Rewind Collection, those releases from the bygone era that might’ve been either overlooked or created a stir all of their own back in those days. While the setting of a high school killing ground definitely taps into one of Horror’s most popular Slasher tropes, there’s just very little else to this rather mundane attempt with the exception that it looks to be one of Hollywood heavyweight Brad Pitt’s first starring roles. That fact alone might interest either the ladies or (cough cough) the gentlemen of a certain persuasion; but when that’s all you’ve got then this might end up being a 90-minute slog for the rest of us.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
Now … who am I – your lowly, lowly web-based critic – to argue with an institution as august as the Los Angeles Film School? While I may not quite agree with precisely how they’ve splintered up Horror into these sub-headings, I do agree that – for the most part – there’s a good degree of crossover from one group to another, meaning that rarely if ever do, say, Demonic or Paranormal flicks ignore incorporating a good deal of Gore and/or Psychological elements in crafting their particular yarns. Plus, Comedy entries rarely stand entirely on their own, relying on any number of related influences with which to exploit such subject matter for the desired level of insanity. So even if they and I may disagree on giving Vampire projects their own classification separate from other Monsters (same thing could be said of Zombies, too), I’m still willing to agree that these filters likely establish a solid foundation around which any number of fans, critics, and/or academics can debate the good, the bad, and the ugly of enterprises that exist almost entirely on ‘going bump in the night.’
Where I do tend to segregate myself off from the wider population of cineastes is that I see Slasher films generally as the laziest and least interesting stories to deliver. Yes, it goes without saying that some of made much better than others are; and still I’ve seen far too many of them rather quickly start to resemble far more conventional features with the added buckets of blood meant to distract viewers from noticing that there really isn’t anything special to their characters, places, and events. When rather tame killing is all a film offers, then what’s the big deal? Any picture can do that; so if you aren’t willing to pony up anything further – signature kills, stylistic cinematography, unanticipated plot twists, etc. – then what’s to keep the audience from going elsewhere? If you can’t, at least, make it a special occasion, then what more can you offer me for the investment?
Therein lies my central issue with Cutting Class (1989), a recent home video release that was part of the MVD Rewind Collection, those releases from the bygone era that might’ve been either overlooked or created a stir all of their own back in those days. While the setting of a high school killing ground definitely taps into one of Horror’s most popular Slasher tropes, there’s just very little else to this rather mundane attempt with the exception that it looks to be one of Hollywood heavyweight Brad Pitt’s first starring roles. That fact alone might interest either the ladies or (cough cough) the gentlemen of a certain persuasion; but when that’s all you’ve got then this might end up being a 90-minute slog for the rest of us.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“High school student Paula Carson’s affections are being sought after by two of her classmates: Dwight, the ‘bad guy,’ and Brian, a disturbed young man who has just been released from a mental hospital where he was committed following the suspicious death of his father. Soon after being released, more murders start happening. Is Brian back to his old tricks, or is Dwight just trying to eliminate the competition?”
Regular readers to SciFiHistory.Net understand I’m typically no fan of the formulaic Slasher picture. My entertainment diet is meaty enough that I take one in occasionally – mostly because, hey, it’s kinda/sorta my job to sound-off on any number of new releases that come my way via distributors – but these projects are still what I’d call ‘hard sells.’ Frankly, if they offer nothing new by way of their look, feel, and cast, then I find them rather tedious … and Cutting Class – 1989’s weak attempt to curiously blend Comedy with Slasherdom – is exactly what I mean. It’s too ‘plain Jane’ for it’s own good, and it delivers little by way of inspiration with its relatively low body count and its much-too-safe performances.
Fresh-faced Paula Carson (played by Jill Schoelen) finds herself home alone for the week when dear ol’ dad and local District Attorney William Carson III (Martin Mull) heads off into the great outdoors for his regular hunting excursion. Despite assuring her father that there will be no boys at the house, Paula can’t quite resist the temptation to monopolize on some modest cuddle time with her latest boytoy Dwight Ingalls (Brad Pitt), a paramour she’s been able to keep on a leash with the promise of sex only once he gets his grades up. But – lo and behold – their old friend Brian Woods (Donovan Leitch) is back in school, not all that long after being ‘incarcerated’ in a mental institution for what authorities believed was a descent into madness that resulted in the boy’s father’s death. Well, wouldn’t you know it that Brian’s return to school brings with it the disappearance and/or demise of classmates along with a teacher or two, so it’s only natural that suspicions fall smack on the shoulders of the former patient.
Now … those tidbits alone demonstrate that the script from Steve Slavkin wasn’t really breaking new ground. As a writer, Slavkin was really just getting started (IMDB.com indicates that this was only his second professional gig); and his career didn’t exactly break ceilings or burn barns after this affair. He’d follow this up with work in the realms of Extreme Ghostbusters and two different Power Rangers series, so we’re not talking about narrative trailblazing by any stretch of the imagination. As of 2004, it would appear that he’s all but disappeared from the entertainment business, but let’s agree to never-say-never when it comes to any talent making a career comeback.
Compounding that particular level of malaise, director Rospo Pallenberg was apparently also new to the career choice. Again, IMDB.com indicates that he may’ve earned some uncredited directing experience with the poorly received Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), but he’s also mentioned as adapting the story of Excalibur (1981) for John Boorman. Given his naiveté behind-the-camera, however, I can’t help but wonder how much doom was saddled around this project’s ankles right off the bat. Clearly, far too much of Cutting Class meanders around its premise – resembling much the visual arc of Mull’s character who is shot in the early scenes but spends the bulk of the film simply wandering (albeit severely) wounded back in the direction of civilization. That’s definitely a metaphor for my time spent with this Class.
Sadly, it didn’t have to be this way.
“High school student Paula Carson’s affections are being sought after by two of her classmates: Dwight, the ‘bad guy,’ and Brian, a disturbed young man who has just been released from a mental hospital where he was committed following the suspicious death of his father. Soon after being released, more murders start happening. Is Brian back to his old tricks, or is Dwight just trying to eliminate the competition?”
Regular readers to SciFiHistory.Net understand I’m typically no fan of the formulaic Slasher picture. My entertainment diet is meaty enough that I take one in occasionally – mostly because, hey, it’s kinda/sorta my job to sound-off on any number of new releases that come my way via distributors – but these projects are still what I’d call ‘hard sells.’ Frankly, if they offer nothing new by way of their look, feel, and cast, then I find them rather tedious … and Cutting Class – 1989’s weak attempt to curiously blend Comedy with Slasherdom – is exactly what I mean. It’s too ‘plain Jane’ for it’s own good, and it delivers little by way of inspiration with its relatively low body count and its much-too-safe performances.
Fresh-faced Paula Carson (played by Jill Schoelen) finds herself home alone for the week when dear ol’ dad and local District Attorney William Carson III (Martin Mull) heads off into the great outdoors for his regular hunting excursion. Despite assuring her father that there will be no boys at the house, Paula can’t quite resist the temptation to monopolize on some modest cuddle time with her latest boytoy Dwight Ingalls (Brad Pitt), a paramour she’s been able to keep on a leash with the promise of sex only once he gets his grades up. But – lo and behold – their old friend Brian Woods (Donovan Leitch) is back in school, not all that long after being ‘incarcerated’ in a mental institution for what authorities believed was a descent into madness that resulted in the boy’s father’s death. Well, wouldn’t you know it that Brian’s return to school brings with it the disappearance and/or demise of classmates along with a teacher or two, so it’s only natural that suspicions fall smack on the shoulders of the former patient.
Now … those tidbits alone demonstrate that the script from Steve Slavkin wasn’t really breaking new ground. As a writer, Slavkin was really just getting started (IMDB.com indicates that this was only his second professional gig); and his career didn’t exactly break ceilings or burn barns after this affair. He’d follow this up with work in the realms of Extreme Ghostbusters and two different Power Rangers series, so we’re not talking about narrative trailblazing by any stretch of the imagination. As of 2004, it would appear that he’s all but disappeared from the entertainment business, but let’s agree to never-say-never when it comes to any talent making a career comeback.
Compounding that particular level of malaise, director Rospo Pallenberg was apparently also new to the career choice. Again, IMDB.com indicates that he may’ve earned some uncredited directing experience with the poorly received Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), but he’s also mentioned as adapting the story of Excalibur (1981) for John Boorman. Given his naiveté behind-the-camera, however, I can’t help but wonder how much doom was saddled around this project’s ankles right off the bat. Clearly, far too much of Cutting Class meanders around its premise – resembling much the visual arc of Mull’s character who is shot in the early scenes but spends the bulk of the film simply wandering (albeit severely) wounded back in the direction of civilization. That’s definitely a metaphor for my time spent with this Class.
Sadly, it didn’t have to be this way.
Schoelen may not have been well established at the time (the 1980’s had a great number of like-minded talents that delivered an equally great number of sleeper hits), but her time as Class’s scream queen indicates gifts strong enough to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Screen legend Roddy McDowall also turns in a curiously creepy performance as the sexually repressed high school principal with a panty fetish, and his work hints that perhaps director Pallenberg wants this entire adventure to be a bit zanier than it feels. Pitt and Leitch make for respectable teen adversaries; the two of them were given ample opportunity in here to suggest the true identity of the central slasher might not be who you think it is at first blush. But, sadly, none of it ever really builds the necessary steam to make this one more than a little engine that sputtered in a few characteristic places.
And that truly is Class’s reason for failing to make the grade: it sputters more than it makes sense.
Slavkin’s script never smartly builds a strong enough case for viewers to truly accept there could be more to Leitch’s damaged goods. Is he patently evil – as is hinted at visually and textually – or is that just creative misdirection? When it’s this clear early on who the baddie is, the audiences isn’t much encouraged to either consider or suspect something else could be working behind-the-scenes in a way that would authenticate any plot twist. The degree of casualness invoked in every moment cheapens even what few potboiler moments the ensemble musters, so much so that I suspect few will stay in their seats to see the last reel except by using that fast-forward button to get there much more quickly.
Cutting Class (1989) was produced by April Productions and Gower Street Pictures. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at MVD Visual. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I thought the sights-and-sounds to this 4K restoration (from the 35mm original camera negative) to be quite good from start-to-finish. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Well, there are a handful of interviews along with a few extras for your investment, but honestly I didn’t find them anything particularly special. I guess it’s a solid collection for fans with lowered expectations, and that’s all I really have to say about that.
Alas … only mildly recommended.
As I’ve tried to be clear, I’m not the biggest fan of Slasher films to begin with but Cutting Class (1989) never quite makes a good cut. Its narrative vacillates lazily between Horror and Comedy so frequently that I had trouble figuring out if I were supposed to be aghast or just tickled; and that’s never a good place to find oneself critically. Fans of Pitt might find this one interesting – his performance is good, though I think a stronger script could’ve even given him more to sink his teeth into at this age – but it’s an otherwise easily forgettable affair … the kind of project that, ultimately, caused this sub-genre to lose the prominence it once had in the world of home video.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at MVD Visual provided me with a complimentary 4K Blu-ray copy of Cutting Class (as part of their 4K LaserVision Collection) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
And that truly is Class’s reason for failing to make the grade: it sputters more than it makes sense.
Slavkin’s script never smartly builds a strong enough case for viewers to truly accept there could be more to Leitch’s damaged goods. Is he patently evil – as is hinted at visually and textually – or is that just creative misdirection? When it’s this clear early on who the baddie is, the audiences isn’t much encouraged to either consider or suspect something else could be working behind-the-scenes in a way that would authenticate any plot twist. The degree of casualness invoked in every moment cheapens even what few potboiler moments the ensemble musters, so much so that I suspect few will stay in their seats to see the last reel except by using that fast-forward button to get there much more quickly.
Cutting Class (1989) was produced by April Productions and Gower Street Pictures. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at MVD Visual. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I thought the sights-and-sounds to this 4K restoration (from the 35mm original camera negative) to be quite good from start-to-finish. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Well, there are a handful of interviews along with a few extras for your investment, but honestly I didn’t find them anything particularly special. I guess it’s a solid collection for fans with lowered expectations, and that’s all I really have to say about that.
Alas … only mildly recommended.
As I’ve tried to be clear, I’m not the biggest fan of Slasher films to begin with but Cutting Class (1989) never quite makes a good cut. Its narrative vacillates lazily between Horror and Comedy so frequently that I had trouble figuring out if I were supposed to be aghast or just tickled; and that’s never a good place to find oneself critically. Fans of Pitt might find this one interesting – his performance is good, though I think a stronger script could’ve even given him more to sink his teeth into at this age – but it’s an otherwise easily forgettable affair … the kind of project that, ultimately, caused this sub-genre to lose the prominence it once had in the world of home video.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at MVD Visual provided me with a complimentary 4K Blu-ray copy of Cutting Class (as part of their 4K LaserVision Collection) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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