Student Body (2021)
Directed by: Lee Ann Kurr
Written by: Lee Ann Kurr
Starring: Cheryenne Hayes, Christian Caramago, Harley Quinn Smith, Montse Hernandez, Ty Trumbo
A high school slasher that offers the kills, but lacks the thrills……
These days to make a slasher film you have to pick either Path A or Path B. If you go down the first route, then you’ll create a fun film that makes itself self aware that its based in the slash genre with knowing winks to its audience who are willing to share the fun journey. Or you can take the second path, make it a serious horror bloodbath, where scares take second place to non stop kills, getting the gore-hounds excited as you fill each set-piece with enough buckets of blood to make Carrie go a little bit madder.
Writer-director Lee Ann Kurr attempt with Student Body seems lost on its walk, unsure which way to go which leaves a muddled film that either excites or scares, not that its not beautifully filmed and everyone involved gives their all, its just you know while watching, you’ve seen better many, many times before.
A slasher set in a high school is always a good selling point and Kurr has some stylish visuals, but lack of any good jump scenes and predictable death scenes makes the 89 minutes running time feel a whole lot more.
Plot wise its all so simple. Student Jane Shipley (Montse Hernandez) manages to pass an impossible test by her teacher Mr. Aunspach’s (Christian Caramago) much to the annoyance of her classmates that include Merrit Sinclair (Cheyenne Hayes), who demand that the test gets retaken. Meanwhile Nadia Parker (Harley Quinn Smith) who plays for the school football team is having trouble with local school mascot Brody (Ty Trumbo) and also needs a good grading to advance in the school term.
Convinced to ask Mr. Aunspach for a retake, Jane is met with a hostile and quite violent response which ends up with the teacher losing his job. Soon Jane and her friends find themselves locked in the school and someone is wearing the school mascot outfit and holding a pretty big sledgehammer. Who is the killer? It won’t take long for most to work out!
Despite a cool looking bogeyman, Student Body is basically a paint by numbers horror that offers nothing new to an already stuffed genre. With an offering of basic kills and a sluggish approach to its excitement, this will probably only appeal to the die-hard slash fans who will find some enjoyment from its safe approach, the rest of us will find it instantly forgettable, once the final credits roll.
Rating: 
STUDENT BODY is out now to rent and buy.
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