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.
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.