Class Reunion's are always fun

acidburn-10

I saw this movie quite recently, I've read a lot of negative reviews about it but I never let bad reviews lower my expectations for when I actually see the movie myself.

This movie does have a lot in common with "Slaughter High" both having more or less the same story line, only this one is much better. Now then this is one uniquely strange horror film, creepy and unsettling, plus I had no idea what the hell was going on. Why did that kid just rise out of the water Is this a fully-functioning Catholic boys school or a deserted old high school? Two thumbs?! Are the filmmakers really trying to say that if you're a dirty sinner, Satan will send "The Redeemer" from the depths of the California desert to even the score? Or was it just an easy set-up for a slasher.

After a truly baffling prologue involving said water-kid, a sermon, and a janitor murder, Class Reunion Massacre (aka The Redeemer) sets the scene. The robot music kicks in. Six stereotypical former high-schoolers are introduced through presentback (you know, like a flashback...but now). We've got the heartless lawyer, the town drunk, the ex-quarterback, the rich bitch, the flamboyant gay actor, and the good-hearted lesbian. All total sinners, right? Anyway, the super-six arrive at their ten year high school reunion, only to find that they're the only ones invited. Ignoring the obvious clues, the old kids partake of the catering and live it up. Until they find out that all the doors are locked. From the outside. Soon enough, a disguise-changing, bible-quoting killer picks off our cast one by one. After the carnage, the film wraps up just where it started, only with an accompanying on-screen biblical blurb to help us out. Wow.

All in all Class Reunion Massacre succeeds, it may be light on gore but it's effective and filled with interesting shots. The killer himself was really creepy and the idea he changes costume for each murder was a really great idea. Naturally, when you add the religious subtext to all of this, things get even stranger. I find it a little far-fetched to buy into the idea of selling anything (are these filmmakers anti or pro Christian?) through the "art" form of trashy horror, but whatever. Just the idea of someone trying to get their message out through the use of "The Redeemer" is both hilarious and scary.

score 7/10

acidburn-10 19 March 2007

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1620429/