By Geno McGahee
Rocky (Bobby Baldassari) is a wannabe filmmaker that is not getting the respect that he feels he deserves. Professor Moriarty (Rich Colozzi) tells Rocky, AKA – “Rocky Horror,” that all has been done before and that there is nothing new to be added to the horror genre, which inspires Rocky to try something new.
The plan is to make a “real” horror movie. Everything will really occur and there will be plenty of death, but it will make Rocky famous and despite the fact that he will be locked up for the murders, most likely, he will go down in history as a great filmmaker. There is certainly some SCREAM influence in this movie, but it is not a clone.
Rocky meets up with Jack Terri (George Yeager), a southern boy that is looking to become an actor and falls into the crazy world of this filmmaker. He is abducted in a van by men in clown masks and then is brought to a bar where the story of the “Great Chino” is told, a Native American spirit that specializes in cannibalism. When the bar patrons begin getting killed outside of the bar, the spirit seems to be real and Rocky has the movie that he’s been waiting for.
I found this movie in a 50 pack called: Catacomb of Creepshows, released by Pendulum Pictures, and I have had the set for some time. I think that it cost me 20 bucks or so, which is great for 50 movies, even if they are micro budget. What you will find sometimes with micro budget flicks is a great deal of heart, and that’s what we have with SCHOOL OF HORROR. It’s slow moving at times, but this group set out to tell a story and they told it well.
Written and Directed by Daniel Cayarga, SCHOOL OF HORROR, is not a bad flick. The acting is mediocre, but not terrible for this level, and the story drags a little here and there, but unlike the majority of the films in this 50 pack, I found myself watching it through and enjoying it. The last twist at the end of the film was fun and I thought that despite the terrible fight scenes, the conflict between Rocky and Jack was compelling. The performance by Yeager was quite good over all, actually.
SCHOOL OF HORROR is a no budget success, bringing together motivated people with a story to tell and the intention of making a good movie. They did make a good movie…one of the better micro budget flicks that I have seen. If you cannot handle a movie without the “Hollywood look,” avoid it, but if you want to see people getting together to tell a story with heart and can look beyond the production value, then you may actually enjoy this film. I recommend it.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6.5/10.
