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:

One brutal act began the terror!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the van murder scene Paul calls Mark "Mike" by accident.

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Goofs

When the van is parked atop the hill, above the beach, a huge boom mic is clearly visible above

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Quotes

[Theresa is talking to her boyfriend Mark about his best friend David]
Theresa: He's a good friend of yours, Mark. The best. There's a moment before the accident that we were on the beach, talking and feeling close. We went skinny-dipping. I wanted to make love and I think he did too. But he wouldn't, because of you.

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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

Spoofed in Heathers (1989)

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Soundtracks

Crossroads
Music by Tommy Leonetti
Lyrics by Jill Williams

User Reviews

Revenge of the self-styled Nerd

This movie was made six or eight years too soon. 1976 was the year that the micro-computer revolution was just getting into swing and it would be a few years before IBM would make Bill Gates a billionaire. So nobody paid much attention to this film. But, it had so much more to offer than the "light-hearted" Revenge of the Nerds films.

We open with a (they didn't have skin heads then) group of Nazi like blonde haired bullies terrorizing the lessor students into "politically correct" thinking ala the burgeoning "family values" <insert twisted cross here> movement. A new kid comes to school and although he has an "in" with the rulers of the hallways, their brutality offends him and he sides with the under dogs. Even using his own physical superiority at fighting to humiliate the gang--and worse steal their women. His friend in the gang is sympathetic, but tries to convince him to join up or get his comeuppance. Our hero gets his comeuppance in spades and now he really gets mad and turns to murder!

After the "Nazis" are eliminated one by one, a power vacuum ensues where there is a mad dash to fill it. We then realize that there is always going to be predator and prey and it just a matter of who is the strongest.

This film is the perfect allegory of High School Life--and Life in general. This is an unheralded masterpiece! It only suffered in production values, which were less than perfect.

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