STUDENT BODIES (1981)
Wow…okay here is another nutty flick from the 80’s and it actually claims it’s the first horror comedy ever. I have no idea if that’s true. I don’t know everything, I’m just trying to make this review interesting as per freakin usual. It starts out a lot like SCREAM in that it’s a girl in a house who keeps getting a call from the movies antagonist. In this one it’s “The Breather”. It’s pretty clear very early in the movie that this whole thing is just going to be “all nonsense, all the time”. Writer and director Mickey Rose does a pretty good job of keeping the laughs coming throughout with brain-dead dialog, and having “The Breather” crack jokes almost the entire time he’s off screen. You read that right. Much like the original FRIDAY THE 13TH, we never see the killer till the very end of the movie.
The actors in this movie all do a pretty good job of keeping a straight face but the best performance all around comes from Kristen Riter who plays Toby. I am not sure what happened to Kristen, but this is the only movie she is listed as being in that I can find. This movie is not without its bizarre oddities, and twists, ensuring that some of the characters are so un-likable you don’t care that they were even on screen. STUDENT BODIES failed huge at the box office, but was able to gain popularity in certain circles because of the fact that there is almost no shown sex, or cussing in the entire movie. That made it nearly TV ready. There is a sequence that was added in the middle of the movie with a dude saying the “F” word, just to get it an “R” rating. So just cutting that part out meant this movie was on cable when I was a kid about 1 million times.
Overall this movie has its moments, but being the first doesn’t always make things the best. As far as horror comedies go, this one is probably middle of the road and could have done without some of the characters like I mentioned. It also would have benefited from either trying to be even more over the top than it was or taking certain elements out all-together. Even with that said, it is better than SCARY MOVIE if you are looking for a reference point. It is also very possible other films have borrowed it’s ideas. The movie also opens with a warning…
"This motion picture is based on an actual incident. Last year 26 horror films were released... None of them lost money."
All that, tells the viewers up front, that they are not swinging for the fences here. If this had been the first time I’d seen it, I might have given it a higher rating just because I would have been in “what the heck” zone. Instead having seen it maybe 10 times, this one’s getting a 4 out of 7. That’s the best I can offer.
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