Massacre at Central High
A lot of people like to take any film involving high school violence and draw Columbine comparisons, mining the depths of cinema to find more possible influences for the perpetrators of school shootings.
One movie that draws such attention is the 1976 flick Massacre at Central High. A schlocky exploitation flick, this Rene Daalder piece is one of the original retaliation classics.
Massacre at Central High is often applauded for its resolute portrayal of high school violence and its clever look at the philosophies that build our social hierarchies. But make no mistake about it: this is B-movie exploitation stuff.
Central High is somewhat of a strange place, to say the least. It is a school, sure, but there doesn’t appear to be any teachers or authorities. There is mention of a principal in passing, but no “adults” appear on screen until the final sequence. Central High is essentially run by a group of bullies and the social pecking order is determined by the anarchy these young men promote.
When David (Derrel Maury) shows up at Central he becomes reacquainted with Mark (Andrew Stevens), one of the bullies running the school. He also lays his eyes on Mark’s girlfriend, Theresa (Kimberley Beck) and is instantly love-struck. While Mark and his bully friends run the school, David diffidently exists in the background and refuses to get involved. Eventually, however, events begin to spiral out of control and David intervenes to show the bullies a fatal lesson and to help the “nerds” fight back. As David’s vicious actions undo the social order of Central High, chaos erupts and David becomes a madman in an attempt to restore “order.”
Massacre at Central High is the epitome of ’70s exploitation filmmaking. The violence is gory, but Daalder’s erratic camera work cuts most of the red intensity. An intrinsic lack of character reaction helps, too, as most people at Central High simply go about their business as usual after the various explosions and “accidents.” The police are never involved, there is no sign of any authority, and the Chaos Rule of the school appears in full function. The lack of authority offers an appealing take on the violence, as there really are no repercussions for David’s deeds.
Another interesting point made by Daalder’s movie lies in his interpretation of the social order. In such a hectic system of existence, there is a certain pecking order. When that pecking order is upset, a flood of latent replacement “leaders” enters the fray. When David kills off the bullies, those in the “lower classes” at Central High wind up fighting it out to determine a new pecking order. Every student wants to have his or her chance at “running the school,” which leads to some exciting social dynamics and directly alters the conduct of many of the teens.
Despite this interesting dynamic, Daalder never really gets beyond the sphere of the exploitation picture. This is not a bad thing, of course, as most exploitation films contain heavily reflective messages. Massacre at Central High is no different, but it often seems as though it wants to break free into an art house piece. Daalder’s direction is fascinating, as some scenes are surprisingly gorgeous while others are just out-and-out feeble.
Daalder’s script is also about as clichéd as it gets, although there are undoubtedly some unique moments. His writing seems to push for something more at times, such as when Mark describes David as “aloof” in a strange turn of phrase that doesn’t really fit the tone of the exchange. Many of the interactions between characters take similar paths, with odd bits of philosophy sneaking into standard conversations.
Massacre at Central High is surely worth a look for fans of the teen slasher/revenge genre. It is hailed by many as the film that started it all and certainly does contain more than its fair share of convincing moments. It’s not a particularly good film, by most standards, but Daalder does broaden the material as much as he can in order to explore the issues he finds most serious.
There are plenty of explosions, inventive death scenes, and sexual situations to keep the viewer occupied, making Massacre at Central High a pretty solid (groovy?) choice for a movie matinee.
Trailer:
