Zombie High (1987)

A college freshman begins to notice that students at her new school are losing their individuality. She discovers that the faculty are operating on the students' brains to make them docile and productive, but she's having non of it.

Director:

Ron Link

Writers:

Tim Doyle, Aziz Ghazal

Stars:

Virginia Madsen, Richard Cox, Kay E. Kuter

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Virginia Madsen	...	Andrea
Richard Cox	...	Philo
Kay E. Kuter	...	Dean Eisner
James Wilder	...	Barry
Sherilyn Fenn	...	Suzi
Paul Feig	...	Emerson
Scott Coffey	...	Felner (as T. Scott Coffey)
Paul Williams	...	Ignatius
Henry Sutton	...	Bell
Christopher Peters	...	Phillip
Clare Carey	...	Mary Beth
Christopher Crews	...	Biff
John Sack	...	Senator Felner
Susan Barnes	...	Mom
Abigail Hanness	...	Nurse

Storyline

A woman goes to a previously all-male boarding school on a scholarship. She begins to separate herself from her boyfriend in order to devote more time to her new environment. Over time, she notices that more and more students have lost their individuality, and approach their activities in a lifeless and automatic manner. Eventually, a diabolical plot fostered by the faculty begins to emerge.

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Plot Keywords:

barefoot female | two word title | school | transfer | high school | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Virginia Madsen, the lead actress in this film, has co-starred with two alumi of Twin Peaks. One was Sherylin Fenn who co-stars with Madsen in this film and Mädchen Amick in the series "Witches of East End".

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Goofs

When Andrea crashes with the car, she can not be seen sitting in the driver's seat as the car comes to a stop after the collision. In the other car, the driver was visible before the crash. After the crash, nobody is behind the wheel.

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Connections

References Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

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Soundtracks

Call Of Love
Written by Kent Richards and Tymm Rocco
Performed by Kent Richards (as K. Richards), Tymm Rocco (as T. Rocco), Bobbie Gabriel (as B. Gabriele)
Published by LA Musicworks, ASCAP
Administered by Karyn Engel, LA Musicworks

User Reviews

Fun boarding school mystery/horror with a dash of comedy

A girl decides to go to a prep school on a scholarship (Virginia Madsen), which displeases her cool beau (James Wilder). He warns her with rumors of a diabolical covenant the faculty has, but she dismisses it until strange things help her to see otherwise. Sherilyn Fenn plays a student and Richard Cox a sympathetic teacher.

"Zombie High" (1987) is a mixture of two future movies: "Disturbing Behavior" (1998) and a little "Dead Poets Society" (1989) albeit with a wink of humor & camp. There's also a bit o' "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956/1978). The title is somewhat misleading since you won't see a school full of literal zombies, yet it's applicable in another way.

It's nice to see Virginia when she was so young (25 during shooting) and Fenn doesn't hurt.

The film runs 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was shot at School of Cinema-Television, USC, Los Angeles, California.

GRADE: B-

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Zombie High

Filming Locations:

School of Cinema-Television, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,165, 4 October 1987

Gross USA:

$21,905

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$21,905

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1