Massacre at Central High (1976)

A high school transfer student, pushed to the edge by a trio of brutal bullies, resorts to murder to reclaim the school from oppression, and later turns against the students wanting to fill the vacuum of their oppressors.

Director:

Rene Daalder (as Renee Daalder)

Writer:

Rene Daalder (as Renee Daalder)

Stars:

Derrel Maury, Andrew Stevens, Robert Carradine

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Derrel Maury	...	David
Andrew Stevens	...	Mark
Robert Carradine	...	Spoony
Kimberly Beck	...	Theresa
Ray Underwood	...	Bruce
Steve Bond	...	Craig
Rex Steven Sikes	...	Rodney (as Steve Sikes)
Lani O'Grady	...	Jane
Damon Douglas	...	Paul
Dennis Kort	...	Arthur
Cheryl Smith	...	Mary (as Rainbeaux Smith)
Jeffrey Winner	...	Oscar
Tom Logan	...	Harvey (as Thomas Logan)

Storyline

David is the new kid at Central High. The only person he knows is Mark, who runs with the local toughs led by Bruce. Mark and David share a bond from years before when David came to Mark's aid when Mark was being beaten by school bullies. David keeps his distance, preferring not to join the "club." He tries to convince the other students not to be pushed around, and intervenes once too often on their behalf. When he directly becomes a victim of Bruce's gang, David orchestrates a plan that causes an attrition problem among the members of the clique. Mark worries for his safety, even though he and David were once friends.

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Plot Keywords:

threesome | murder of a nude woman | female frontal nudity | skinny dipping | female nudity | 

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Taglines:

Thank God you've graduated!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where "Teresa" comes to "David"s garage and wakes him up, Derrel Maury had trouble keeping his leg straight and had to duct tape a piece of wood to the back of his leg to keep it from bending.

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Goofs

Sand on Mark's chest is visible in long shots but vanishes in medium shots while he is on the beach talking to Teresa, right after he has argued with Paul.

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Quotes

David: I think obviously somebody in this school is insane.

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Alternate Versions

Realvision released the Italian version on video in the 80s under the title Sexy Jeans. Hardcore footage has been inserted into the film whenever a sex scene takes place. These include: The school classroom rape. The beach scene between Theresa and Mark The naked canyon sequence with Spoony, Jane and Mary

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Connections

Featured in Trailer Trauma Part 4: Television Trauma (2017)

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Soundtracks

Crossroads
Music by Tommy Leonetti
Lyrics by Jill Williams

User Reviews

One of the greatest of all cult films

I always believed "Massacre at Central high" has always been categorized incorrectly. Despite the title, it's not a "horror" film (it's not scary and doesn't fit the mold) and it isn't a true "slasher" film. I always felt that this film was just a great drama, one where the actual killings are secondary to the messages the film has to offer for examination. I really don't like "message" or "deep" films that much, but this one is a rare exception as far as "deep" films go. The great thing about this film is, it doesn't have to be "deep" unless you deliberately look further into it.

This is really quite an intelligent film. It examines social class and status, power and authority, the rebellion and the aftermath of such rebellion. The story is very interesting - David comes to Central High, only to find his old best friend Mark is now a part of a group of four guys that pick on everyone and rule the school. David has a choice, join up or become one of the picked on. David starts showing his disdain for the group, and it's only a matter of time before the group gets fed up with giving David chance after chance, as pleaded by Mark.

David is the leader of the rebellion against the bullies, and when the problem is solved, new ones crop up because there is a void that needs to be filled - the oppressed become the new bullies and it's the start of the same cycle over again.

The examination of such nature, especially seeing the "new bullies" and how they take over the role is fascinating. One of them even buys a car from the parents of the leader of the bullies, the car belonging to their son who David has killed, to even more completely fill the role.

You never see any adults in Central High - this is intentional as the world we are seeing revolves totally around the students. Actually the only time you do see any adults is in the final sequence at the school dance, where they are very zombie-ish and lifeless, Central High being their own futureless living graveyard.

This is definitely an underrated amazing little film. A DVD release would be very much appreciated!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 November 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Massacre at Central High

Filming Locations:

Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Evan

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1