Tiffany Helm | Scott's Film Reviews-1,533 Reviews posted!!! RECENTLY LAUNCHED-MY TOP 250 FAVORITE FILMS AND TOP 40 HORROR FILMS!!!

Reform School Girls-1986

Director Tom DeSimone

Starring Linda Carol, Wendy O. Williams, Pat Ast

Top 250 Films #175

Scott’s Review #348

Reviewed January 9, 2016

Grade: A

Let’s be honest here- Reform School Girls (1986) is neither a work of cinematic art nor a particularly well-acted film.

From a critic’s perspective, it is riddled with stereotypes and objectifies women.

Still, it’s one of my favorite guilty pleasures, with an offbeat charm that makes me want to watch the film over and over again. I never tire of it. I also don’t think it should be reviled, but rather, revered.

There is a perverse magnificence to the film and some similarities to another cult gem- Russ Myers’s Faster Pussycat, Kill!… Kill! (1965)

Critics be damned- not every film needs to be high art!

One of my absolute favorite cult actresses, Pat Ast, famous for another cult gem, 1972’s Heat, stars in Reform School Girls as a vicious correctional officer.

Alongside punk rocker-turned-actress Wendy O. Williams, they make the film a guilty masterpiece, as both women bring their share of odd energy and humor to the flick.

Sybil Danning co-stars as the corrupt Warden Sutter.

The plot of the film is pretty straightforward, and it screams late-night fun.

A virginal teenage girl named Jenny is sent to a reform school run by the sinister warden and her sadistic and abusive henchwoman, Edna (Ast).

While there, Jenny is intimidated by Charlie (Williams), who rules the roost via bullying and threats. Jenny is accompanied by several other terrified girls, who are stripped and degraded by Edna.

This leads to an attempted escape and protest scene by the girls and others as they try to remove themselves from their tormentors.

Reform School Girls is simply great fun.

The poor acting is actually a strength of the film, as one scantily clad female after another prances around the reform school.

Wendy O. Williams regularly wears skimpy panties, a bra, and heels, and is laughable playing a teenager since the actress was pushing forty years old.

The film’s climax is fantastic, as a chase culminates at an enormous tower on the prison grounds, resulting in the dramatic deaths of Charlie and Edna.

Edna’s charred remains are met by an uproar of cheers by the inmates- I half expected them to burst into a chorus of “Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead”.

Reform School Girls (1986) is a perfect cult classic for a late Saturday night.

Friday the 13th: Part V: A New Beginning-1985

Director Danny Steinmann

Starring John Sheperd, Melanie Kinnaman

Scott’s Review #118

Reviewed July 17, 2014

Grade: B

The fifth installment of the seemingly never-ending Friday the 13^th franchise, Part V (1985), offers viewers a twist, one that sadly did not go over well with horror audiences.

Hardly high art and initially hated by me, I have grown fond a this film over the years after repeated viewings.

Originally, I was not crazy about the twist at the end of the film, but I now recognize that, for this type of film, it’s worth appreciating an attempt to do something different.

The lighting is brighter and more modern than its predecessor, Part IV, despite being made only a year later.

There is greater comedy in this one- the hillbillies are laugh-out-loud funny, and the waitress scene is howlingly awful in the acting department.

Most of the acting is atrocious and laughable, but a much-needed change of setting away from Camp Crystal Lake works and feels refreshing.

The final victim is, for a change, not a teenager, but a mature, intelligent young woman.

Released smack dab in the middle of the 1980s, the film has a jarring, dated look that doesn’t do it any favors when it comes to longevity.

The film cannot compare to the original or even the first three installments (the best, in my opinion), but it is more experimental than any of the others, which deserves some credit.