My review of Student Bodies

(film made in 1981)

This film is based off an actual incident.

Last year, 26 horror films were made.

None of them lost money.

So begins the horror spoof entitled Student Bodies.It is a very cute spoof of the slasher genre made in the same style as the movie Airplane! which served the movie well. I rather enjoyed it.

Acting: well, the acting is decent. It was all that was needed for the movie. You don't need Anthony Hopkins level acting you just need enough so that the audience isn't cringing the whole movie with how dumb the actors are. And if the actors do act dumb, well, it can pass off as another element in the spoof of the slasher genre. 8/10

Plot: The plot does many things to make the film enjoyable
film points out stupid mistakes made by stupid slasher film teenagers and how repetitive those ploys can be. Although, this plot could be repetitive to the point of annoyance which was not good. It also pretty much combined a ton of slasher films into one. All told it spoofed The wizard of Oz, Psycho, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Black Christmas, When a Stranger Calls, Carrie, Carnival of Souls, and Prom Night. I feel that it does this very well. The Killer is a spoof off of the heavy breather sort of killer (most likely mainly Billy from Black Christmas) But I will say that his constant heavy breathing got annoying after a while. Overall though, I really really liked the plot. 8.5/10

Screenplay: The film had a very very cute screenplay. They did little things with the script to make it really funny that you could catch if you paid attention. It is very quick humor. Since it is a spoof, there are points in the film that are really too ridiculous to even be considered good for any other genre but this one. But the screenplay helps solidify the fact that this film is so bad that it's good. I really enjoyed the screenplay and I found myself laughing at it quite a bit. 8.5/10

Likableness. I really enjoyed the film quite a bit. I liked its spoof nature, I enjoyed the screenplay and the acting. There were a few points that I didn't enjoy. Mainly how repetitive the film could be but it was repetitive with a definite point behind it. I would highly suggest it to anyone who likes films like this. 9/10

Final Score: 34/40 85% (N)


TRIVIA TIME: 1. The film was funded by Paramount because of the writers strike that was going on in 1981. The studio wanted to put out as many non-union films as possible during the strike.

2. Producer and director Michael Ritchie had his named removed from the film's credits so as not to run into trouble from the striking writer's guild. Instead, screenwriter Mickey Rose was given on-screen director's credit.

3. Though the film was a failure upon release in theaters its subsequent airings on television helped to gain it a cult following. It was frequently shown on television due to the fact that the film featured little profanity or violence.