Teenage kicks take a decidedly dark turn in director Douglas Grossman’s Hell High – a twisted tale of delinquency pushed to its horrifying extreme, where Class of 1984 meets I Spit on Your Grave! When high school football hero Jon-Jon (Breaking Bad’s Christopher Cousins) quits the team, he winds up falling in with a group of outcasts led by the sadistic Dickens (played to unhinged perfection by the late Christopher Stryker). With a willing new recruit in tow, the gang’s youthful hijinks soon spiral into a night of abject horror when they decide to play a cruel prank on the home of their teacher Miss Storm – who, unbeknownst to the youngsters, harbors a dark and tormented past. Hell High – which was released in some international territories as Raging Fury – is a singular entry in the late ’80s horror canon, melding elements of the revenge movie with the trappings of the slasher genre to delirious effect. School’s out… forever!
For thoughts on Hell High, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Hell High comes to Blu-Ray courtesy of Arrow Video in its original 1.85:1 sourced from an excellent 2K restoration of the original 35mm negative approved by cinematographer Steven Fierberg. This film has never been a high profile release, so it is really exciting to see this presentation looking so marvelous with domestic locations and suburban environments that sparkle in high definition with natural grain intact and nicely resolved. Black levels are mostly deep but a few shadowy scenes struggle with delineation and fine detail. The contrast is well defined, and there is virtually no print damage to be found outside a few stray moments.
There is a fantastic amount of detail present during the brightly lit shots with nice textures on the clothing and within the production design. The new transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail. There are only a handful of moments during the presentation that take a bit of downturn in quality in terms of clarity, most likely due to the state of the original film elements. Arrow Video has done a terrific job for a potentially forgotten film.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a LPCM 2.0 track in the original English (with optional English subtitles). The film is a fairly straightforward dialogue-driven affair with only intermittent scenes of violence where the track springs to life. The score comes through quite well in relation to the competing sounds. Dialogue sounds clear without unsettling sound effects or the music trouncing on important information. The film employs some creepy sound effects in the form of loud thumps and breaking glass that are given the appropriate weight within the mix. This presentation presents everything just as you would want with pleasing fidelity and without damage or other unwanted issues. Kudos to Arrow Video for this one.
Special Features
The first-pressing of the Arrow Video Blu-Ray of Hell High includes a booklet featuring the essay “Stuntman To The Slashers: An Interview with Stunt Coordinator/Actor Webster Whinery” by writer Michael Gingold. This piece provides a great insight into the production of the film and the career of a great creative figure. The booklet also contains the details of the restoration. The on-disc special features are as follows:
- Audio Commentary #1: Director/producer/co-writer Douglas Grossman and cinematographer Steven Fierberg provide a terrific new personal commentary track in which they discuss the ins and outs of the production of the film, the tricky tonal and genre balance which made the film hard to classify, getting creative when it came to padding the runtime, stunt doubles pulling double duty, the locations, the tweaks they made due to performer preferences, the quick production time, casting body doubles and more. This is a really fun reflection back on this experience which is buoyed by the perspective gained by time.
- Audio Commentary #2: Director/producer/co-writer Douglas Grossman provides an archival commentary track which likewise offers a great examination of the production of the film. There is quite a bit of overlapping information with the first track, but there is more than enough exclusive material to justify a listen including the cameo his mother makes, the casting of the child performers, running out of hot water during important scenes, and more.
- Audio Commentary #3: Film critic Joe Bob Briggs provides a very entertaining archival commentary track in which he brings a fan perspective and fun facts to the proceedings. His colorful take on the material is much appreciated, and fans of Briggs will eat this up.
- Introduction: A five-minute introduction with Joe Bob Briggs in which he highlights the underrated nature of this feature while preparing the audience for what they are about to see.
- School’s Out!: A new 43-minute interview with director/producer/co-writer Douglas Grossman in which he discusses his early love of film, developing a friendship with the president of Paramount, the hubris that made him believe he could make a movie, the different titles for the film, inspiring advice he received, the casting process, his love of camera movement, his desire to receive an R rating and more.
- A Beautiful Nightmare: A new 29-minute interview with cinematographer Steven Fierberg in which he discusses his entry into the movie business, getting involved with Hell High, his relationship with horror films, the split nature of the production, how he achieved certain aesthetics, the lack of extra footage and more.
- Jon-Jon’s Journey: A new 19-minute interview with actor Christopher Cousins in which he discusses the belief that the movie was never going to be released, how he got involved with the project, memories of shooting in upstate New York, being overrun by raccoons, getting arrested during production, losing Chris Stryker to AIDS, the mixed emotions he gets watching the film, what he learned from the experience and more. This is a really fun piece in which Cousins really speaks casually about his experiences in a way you do not always get to witness.
- The More The Better: A new 20-minute interview with actress Maureen Mooney in which she discusses her early experiences in the film industry, getting cast in Hell High, thoughts about her character, the transformation she had to make as an actor, the legacy of the film, memories of working with Doug Grossman, and more.
- Music Is Not Sound: A new 27-minute interview with composers Rich Macar and Christopher Hyams-Hart in which they discuss their early entry into scoring films, what they learned along their journey, what they wanted to accomplish with this score, specific machines they used to create their sounds, how their careers have evolved with technology and more.
- Back To Schools – The Locations Of Hell High: A 13-minute tour of the original shooting locations with author/filmmaker Michael Gingold.
- Archival Interviews
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- Interview with Director Douglas Grossman: A nearly 20-minute interview with Grossman in which he gives some background on the project, the sick satisfaction he got from shooting certain death scenes, running out of money halfway through the shoot, Maureen Mooney becoming pregnant during the downtime and more.
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- Interview with Co-Writer Leo Evans: A 12-minute interview with Evans in which he discusses his involvement with the film, the challenges of shooting at night, shopping around the film, and more.
- Deleted Scene: A two-minute scene presented without audio the gang roaming around in the swamp a bit more.
- Alternate Opening Titles: A two-minute alternate opening which used the title Hell High.
- Trailers & TV Spots: This disc provides the Raging Fury Trailer (1:36), Hell High Trailer (1:37) and Hell High TV Spots (0:30, 0:31)
Final Thoughts
Hell High is not exactly a slasher movie, but it has its origins firmly in the horror genre as it blends elements of psychological torture, revenge thrillers and home invasion tales with your homegrown American high school drama. The plot has elements of absurdity, but the execution is quite compelling with high key performances from Christopher Stryker and an unraveling Maureen Mooney. This film very easily could have been a mess, but there is a lot to like about it. Arrow Video has released a Blu-Ray featuring a wonderful A/V presentation and a stacked array of special features that makes this an even more appealing package. Horror fans of this era will not regret adding this to the collection. Recommended
Hell High is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Arrow Video has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.