Massacre at Central High Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Massacre at Central High Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson January 18, 2021

Synapse Films has released Rene Daalder's MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH (1976) as a Blu-ray/DVD combo. The limited edition SteelBook includes recent interviews with the director and cast members as well as a new retrospective mini-documentary on the film. Region free. Note: this review contains some minor spoilers.

Dutch filmmaker Rene Daalder (1944–2019) built a diversified career as a screenwriter, director, animator, f/x animation artist, and music video producer. His feature debut, the largely unseen The White Slave (1969), has gone on to become a cult classic. I first heard of his second film, the misleadingly titled Massacre at Central High, on an archived webisode of Siskel and Ebert's Sneak Previews where it was originally shown on a special program titled "Guilty Pleasures." (Neither critic reviewed it in print.) It was first shown in Hollywood and Los Angeles in November 1976 but disappeared until the early Eighties when it was re-released in theaters and drive-ins.

Massacre is not an easy teen movie to categorize. David (Derrel Maury), the antihero of the story, has transferred to Central High School, which seems to be located in a pretty upscale area in Southern California. It's not entirely clear why he's attending Central but the audience learns that David saved Mark (Andrew Stevens) from a couple of bullies. (There's a shot in the opening montage that depicts David's intervention in a dark tunnel.) Mark is one of the most popular students in the school along with his girlfriend, Theresa (Kimberly Beck; Friday the 13th Part IV). Mark is friends with a triumvirate of bullies: Bruce (Ray Underwood), Craig (Steve Bond), and Paul (Damon Douglas). They are a study in contradictions. For example, they confront Spoony (Robert Carradine) at his locker and demand him to expunge the orange swastika that he's painted on his locker door. But to Theresa and others, they're known as the "little league Gestapo" because of their fascistic tendencies.

Introducing the new kid.

Mark faces the most complex conundrum in the film. While he was once bullied and is friends with three bullies, he doesn't partake in any physical violence probably because it's not in his nature and would be the end of his romance with Theresa, who he loves. David also loves Theresa and doesn't want to be like Mark's three friends. (At least at first.)

Daalder makes perverse and synonymous connections between sex and death in his characters. For instance, when one of his friends suffers an "accident," Mark has sex with Theresa as a purgation ritual to cleanse his psychological pain. (There's an image dissolve that bridges the two states.) Late in the film, a nude Mary (Cheryl “Rainbeaux” Smith) flirts with a stick of dynamite before going into a beach tent for a ménage à trois with Spoony and Jane (Lani O'Grady). An Italian distributor capitalized on the sexual aspects of Massacre when it released an X-rated version of the film, which was re-titled Sexy Jeans. (Bootleg DVDs are sold online.)

If Massacre has a weakness, it's the editorial changes producer Harold Sobel brought to Daalder's original cut. According to Derrel Maury, Daalder composed an dissonant score that reminded him of The Exorcist after the actor listened to the theme written for his character ("David's Theme"). Sobel wanted to see Daalder's "charts" and apparently didn't like what he heard and saw. So, he brought in the father of actress Kim Beck to pen a pop tune ("Crossroads of your life...") that bookends the movie's opening and closing titles. While it's a catchy ballad, it has an upbeat tone that goes against the film's mood and atmosphere. The only scene it does work is when David takes Rodney (Rex Steven Sikes) for a ride in his jeep around the mountains. Composer Tommy Leonetti adopts an instrumental version as we hear the staccato trumpet play as David and Rodney enjoy the breeze. The music was the only area that Kevin Thomas of The Los Angeles Times appreciated when he reviewed Massacre: "Tommy Leonetti’s moody, atmospheric score is much better than the picture deserves." It's unknown whether there's still a recording or sheet music of Daalder's original score. Before his death, the director was reportedly working on reconstructing his original version.

Massacre has had direct and indirect influences on a variety of teen films, which includes Heathers (1989) and many others. In a May 1989 feature article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Michael H. Price wrote about "the arrival of a decisive trend toward observant, intelligent movies about things that matter to teenagers." Price quotes John Hughes, who stated that Massacre not only spurred the genre's development, but also made an impact on him: "I’ve always admired that film's refusal to condescend. It is probably the first so-called teenpic of modern times to cut through the music-and-romance nonsense that had been the norm for so long."

Massacre at Central High Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The SteelBook of Massacre at Central High is outfitted with a shiny slipbox with vintage and new artwork by Wes Benscoter. The high-definition 1080p remaster of Massacre was scanned, transferred, and supervised by director Renee Daalder. In the accompanying leaflet, Synapse Films President Don May Jr. explains that the master image files for Massacre "did contain minor inconsistencies and very problematic 'baked-in' restoration issues that Synapse Films had to correct before we felt comfortable frame to frame. The delivered files were composed in the aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and Synapse Films had no access to the original uncorrected/unrestored full-aperture film scan...It took three restoration companies (two of which were removed from the project for creating even more problems than they tried to solve), and quite a few years for us to be comfortable with the final product you now hold in your hands. One issue, which was determined to be a bubble of air trapped during the wet-gate photographic printing process of the end credit sequence, could not be removed." May and David Block of A + D Images supervised additional color correction. The Prasad Corporation (India) carried out additional film restoration and clean-up.

Colors, clarity, and sharpness are all a revelation. Grain is dispersed evenly throughout the frame, especially in long shots and along background walls. There's more coarse grain during the hang-glide scenes. I watched Massacre twice and couldn't find a single damage mark.

A dozen chapter markers accompany the 87-minute feature.

Massacre at Central High Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Don May Jr. has also detailed the audio restoration for this release: "The film's audio files were given to Synapse Films with a written label stating 'Temp Track Audio - Do Not Use.' Of course, this is all Daalder had to give us...The noise-level was high, the fidelity was incredibly low (sounding like everyone was talking behind a brick wall is one way to describe it) and to make matters worse, complete sections of the film's audio were just missing entirely, including the beginning and ending of some reel changes...we were able to make it work by utilizing newly digitized sections from an incomplete set of found 35mm optical negative reels, equalizing and restoring the provided audio as best we could and even utilizing a fan's rare original VHS tape release for a brief segment of about 40 seconds in one scene and about one minute towards the end of the feature. There are still minor fluctuations in the audio quality and while it may not be up to our usual standards, we worked very hard to make this the best it could be under the circumstances." Spencer A. Hall of Pardon My French, an audio production company in Huntington Woods, Michigan, performed audio restoration and mixing.

Spoken words are generally intelligible and easy to discern. Hiss has been significantly minimized on the track. Music and sound effects occasionally spring to life. This is a clean presentation of the original monaural mix.

The optional English SDH deliver an accurate transcription of the dialogue. The lyrics for the song "Crossroads" are displayed on this track.

Massacre at Central High Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Interviews by Mike White ("The Projection Booth" Podcast) - this "track" features interviews with cast members Andrew Stevens, Robert Carradine, Rex Steven Sikes, and Derrel Maury. The comments only play while the film runs and since they were recorded for a podcast, they're not screen specific. White's interview with Stevens covers his acting in the Seventies and the full gamut of his producing career. Stevens admits that he "barely remembers" Massacre at Central High and The Fury. He still talks for twenty-five minutes. Carradine discusses his early career interests in race cars and music, acting in The Cowboys (1972), his vague memories of Massacre, and later films he appeared in. Sikes explains how he got started in acting, how he got the role in Massacre, his many recollections of the film, and its enduring appeal. Maury talks about being a working actor, the casting call for Massacre, auditioning for Rodney, script-reading, and playing David. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Interview with Director Renee Daalder, Conducted by Writer/Horror Historian Michael Gingold - a twenty-five-minute interview with the director who discusses Massacre and other films he made. In English, not subtitled.

• HELL IN THE HALLWAYS: The Making of "Massacre at Central High" (42:27, 1080p) - a new "making of" documentary on Massacre produced by Red Shirt Pictures. It features talking-heads interviews with actors Derrel Maury, Tom Logan, Rex Sikes, Robert Carradine, Andrew Stevens, and Jeffrey Winner. In addition, we hear from first assistant director Eugene Mazzola and cinematographer Bertram van Munster. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:23, upconverted to 1080p) - the fully restored original trailer for Massacre! It's presented in 1.78:1 with mono, which has been cleaned up as well. WARNING: This trailer gives away several major story events so don't watch it if you've never seen the film.

• TV Spot (0:33, upconverted to 1080p) - an unrestored TV spot for Massacre. Original air date unknown.

• Radio Spot (0:27) - one radio spot for Massacre that has excellent sound.

• Collectible Booklet Featuring Liner Notes by Michael Gingold - a slim booklet with France's original theatrical poster art for Massacre at the front. Inside is a well-researched and highly detailed essay on Massacre by longtime Fangoria Website editor Michael Gingold. The booklet also includes production and restoration notes by Synapse Films founder Don May Jr. as well as a full-page list of production credits.

Massacre at Central High Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Massacre at Central High is an excellent "B" film that portends other teen exploitation movies such as Jonathan Kaplan's Over the Edge (1979) and Larry Clark's Bully (2001), two titles that also need Blu-ray releases. The folks at Synapse Films have put everything they have into this SteelBook package and the results are magnificent. The film looks and sounds as good if not better than the original release prints. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.