BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

lost-in-limbo Don't you just love poster artwork… as I was expecting something along the lines of "Class of 1984" with strikingly vile and vicious punks, but the considerably low-budgeted school-based revenge thriller "Massacre at Central High" was a little more thoughtful and dissident in its groundwork than playing it as straight-forward, brutal trash. These are not punks, but snobby preppies. Well it starts off very routine, but about midway through it puts a spin on its revenge angle / actions in what is a refreshing twist. It centres on control and hierarchy. Quite violent, but where it makes up for its lack of blood is the creativity of its deaths. Sure it might be rough around the edges and the scratchy script can feel quite forced, but it's unsparingly conniving and really does weigh up the consequences in changing behaviours in what is a well-devised and curiously sincere story. Rene Daalder's direction is brisk, if clumpy in its varied visions/methods as it contains a certain cold pitch, where some tension is squeezed out. While the makeshift music score is rather wonky with its arrangement, where at times doesn't seem to fit. The acting falls on the raw side with some familiar faces cropping up in the likes of Andrew Stevens, Robert Carradine and Kimberly Beck. Derrel Maury gives a suitably deranged, but in a quietly brooding sense performance as the kid who finally decides to rid the school of its power-hungry (and hateful) bullies… but in the end it does come at a cost where maybe he isn't much different to those he despise in his plans to change things for the better. Entertaining 70s exploitation with a biting message.

cstotlar-1 This is a one-of-a-kinder - a so-called "slasher" with some rather frightening implications. Actually, it's not a slasher at all. Four or five people die some gory deaths and there are threats everywhere but it isn't truly violent in fact. It is a film that deals with adolescence, being one of the gang and mob rule and turns these concepts inside out.Although Daalder didn't care for the music score, it underlines the irony and sappiness of the period perfectly. In fact, it provides a certain claustrophobia which works quite brilliantly. This film is a sleeper.Curtis Stotlar

midnitetosixsteve1 I've been waiting to see this for a number of years and finally found a video copy of it.It was awesome but a little strange.First of all not once are we introduced to any authority figures that a school(which is where all of it takes place) would have.No teachers,no principles,not even a school nurse!What the hell?Robert Caradine plays the hippie(who gets criticized for drawing swastikas,we are supposed to be on his side?).There is a fake James spader guy among the preppies who are in charge of the school.The dude from the Fury and 10 to midnight is old pals with the guy who resembles the killer in 10 to midnight(but it is not him). I was happy to see Rainbeau Smith from "Revenge of the cheerleaders" and thought it was strange when both her and her gruff voiced friend get raped and when she goes outside after being rescued she totally forgets to button her shirt back up!Later on they are both crushed by a boulder(along wit Carradine). Once the hero/psycho of the film gets his leg broken he goes insane and gets even with the sweater helmet haircutted preps of the high school(who would all later end up on Happy Days or Eight is Enough).He is also driven to kill by his good friend's(the Fury guy) girlfriend who he hates but likes at the same time(I was throughly confused by this).Another thing that is a concept only in this film when jocks go away nerds go into attack mode and try to destroy each other! In many senseless ways the locker bombing(1) the car blows up(a couple of times) and the weirdest the librarians hearing aid kills him and blood pours out of his ears.If you want to see hilarious murders and senseless violence done in a 70's schmaltzy way then check out this one.

The_Void Massacre at Central High is one of the earlier exploitation/slasher films to feature a school full of thirty-something's getting bumped off, but that's not to say it's a cut above the rest of the genre. The film stands apart from others like it because it features a social commentary to go along with the bloodshed, but it's largely ill-conceived, and doesn't work the way it was obviously intended to. That's not to say that the social commentary isn't a good idea; these sorts of themes have worked well in many more professionally made films, but the inane dialogues and poor production values of this film make it too difficult to really take seriously, which doesn't do the social commentary any favours. The plot focuses on David; a new student at a high school in America. David was once friends with Mark, who is in a clique with the school bullies. They rule the school with an iron fist, but they get more than they bargained for when they decide to cowardly injure David under a car. Now crippled, he decides to take his revenge on the gang that did it.Aside from the none too successful social commentary, this film also suffers because it's never all that interesting. The seventies style is there, but other than that, the film can be a bit dry. The murder scenes are more inventive than your common slasher fare, but they're not very gory and are mostly extremely unlikely. None of the performers succeed at convincing the audience that they're young enough to even go to school, and it's all rather wooden as well. This isn't always a problem with trashy low budget cinema, but there's little distraction with this film. The fact that the film was shot on a low budget is evident throughout, as the locations are often very bare, the cinematography is bland; and as mentioned, they couldn't afford any capable actors. One thing that writer-director Rene Daalder does succeed at, however, is putting the focus squarely on the society at the centre of the film at all times, and this is done by only showing the school "kids", and no adults. Overall, this might appeal more to the kind of people that enjoy slashers and the like; but I found this film very lacklustre.