{"id":25023,"date":"2022-07-18T15:19:26","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T22:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=25023"},"modified":"2022-07-18T15:19:26","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T22:19:26","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-hell-high-1989-aka-raging-fury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=25023","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: HELL HIGH (1989) aka RAGING FURY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cSpecial Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Arrow Video will be\nreleased on July 19th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In horror, the slasher genre likely reached its apex in the\nlate 1970s and early 80s with the releases of titles like Halloween<\/em>\n(1978), Prom Night<\/em> (1980), Friday the 13th<\/sup><\/em> (1980) and Sleepaway\nCamp<\/em> (1981). Of course, that doesn\u2019t mean that there weren\u2019t exceptional\nslasher films made before and after, but these titles really came out fast and\nfurious during this era. One of the last and strangest entries was Hell High<\/em>\n(1989) aka Raging Fury<\/em>. After experiencing shooting delays and\ndistribution issues, this 1986 production didn\u2019t end up arriving at cinemas and\nvideo stores until the very end of the cycle. Critics and audiences appeared to\nhave had their fill of these movies by this point and the movie didn\u2019t fare\nwell critically or commercially. But as the years have passed, the flick has\nfound a following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Arrow Video is releasing the picture on Blu-ray. As with just about every other disc they\u2019ve made available, it features an incredible 2K picture restoration approved by cinematographer Steven Fierberg (who later worked on A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master<\/em> and currently shoots the series Emily in Paris<\/em>). Readers should note the images on display in this review don’t do the movie justice. The film looks better than it ever has before and comes with tons of bonus features that shed light into the difficult path this independent feature had in making it to the big screen. Of course, the movie itself is also a fascinating little oddity quite unlike others of its ilk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A prologue introduces a little girl playing by a swamp.\nAfter a prank ends up resulting in a horrible and traumatic tragedy, the story\njumps ahead 18 years to a local school. Jon-Jon (Christopher Cousins) is a\ndissatisfied teen who decides to quit his high school football team and is\nshunned by his coach and others in the institute. Not sure of what to do next,\nhe befriends deviant and cruel students Dickens (Christopher Stryker), Queenie\n(Millie Prezioso) and Smiler (Jason Brill). Dickens in particular appears to\nhave an issue with tightly wound instructor Miss Brook Storm (Maureen Mooney).\nLittle do they know that is the youngster featured at the beginning. In the\nend, Jon-Jon agrees to participate in a nasty prank on the teacher that quickly\ngets out of hand and turns violent. This pushes Miss Storm past the breaking\npoint and she fights back in equally brutal fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Truth be told, the story itself has issues. Beyond his basic\nattraction to Millie, it\u2019s hard to follow Jon-Jon\u2019s reasoning and logic following\nalong in the tormenting of Miss Storm. Some of the nasty acts committed by the\ngang are also over-the-top and sometimes result in a chuckle instead of the\nintended terror. At one point, Dickens pulls a knife and threatens an injured\nfootball player while a member of the medical staff stands there, showing\nlittle interest or concern in what is occurring. There are plenty of logic\nissues throughout the film, although they aren\u2019t unusual for many films of the\nperiod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What the movie does have going for it is excellent\ncinematography that really impresses. There is plenty of expressive lighting\nand elaborate dolly moves (including one early on during a classroom scene). A\nsequence involving camera set-ups on a car are also striking and there is some\ngreat lighting during the night in scenes involving the teens wandering in a\nswamp. And even if what they\u2019re doing doesn\u2019t always make sense, the cast are\nalso fully committed and giving it their all. As a group, they are actually\ncompelling to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, the film also offers a few twists on the slasher\nformula as the victim turns into something of a tormentor and the supposed hero\nshows nothing but flaws and weaknesses. The make-up effects are also quite\nstriking. The murders are brutal and a few are genuinely wince-inducing,\nincluding a beating with a rock and a memorable gag involving a pencil that is\nplunged deeply into the neck of one unsuspecting group member. The movie may be\na bit of a mess, but it\u2019s an interesting one that is at times particularly unhinged,\nresulting in a feeling that anything could occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned, the disc itself is a winner too. It comes with\nthree commentaries. One is with co-writer, co-producer and director Douglas\nGrossman (this was his only directing gig, but he also wrote the 1984 comedy Up\nthe Creek<\/em> and seems to have worked as an uncredited scribe on other\nproductions). The second features Grossman and cinematographer Steven Fierberg.\nThere are also lengthy interviews with both of these men who share a great deal\nof pertinent information on the production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grossman focuses on his experiences during his solo track\nand interview. He talks about seeing various slashers and, in youthful\narrogance, thinking he could do just as well on his own. Apparently, he raised\nthe money for the feature, found a great New York based cast and crew and began\nshooting the picture in 1986. Unfortunately, they quickly ran out of money and\nhad to shut down for a year before raising enough to complete the shoot.\nAmazingly, all of those involved agreed to return and finish their work on the\nfilm. He talks about all of this in detail and how important it was to have\nhelp in organizing the shoot the second time around so that the group could\nwork efficiently and complete the shoot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He also talks about a dangerous stunt (and the fact that the\nfiremen on site appeared to be completely drunk as it was being filmed), as\nwell as working with Christopher Stryker, the charismatic and sinister lead who\nsadly passed away from AIDS before the film was ultimately released. The story\nof the movie\u2019s sale to a distributor and release is also interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The commentary track and separate interview with Fierberg is\nvery engaging. This project was at the beginning of his career. He discusses\nthat the inspiration for he and Grossman wasn\u2019t other slashers but A\nClockwork Orange<\/em> and European genre fare (Grossman thinks it might have\nhurt their movie\u2019s commercial prospects). The director of photography also\ntalks about his approach to shooting with various gels and using unique angles.\nHe\u2019s an entertaining and honest speaker and mentions how revisiting the movie\ninspired him to use some of the techniques employed on recent projects.\nFierberg seems to prove that going back and analyzing your old work can\nsometimes inspire you in the present day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are also some great interviews with the cast.\nChristopher Stryker talks about his experiences working on the feature. He also\nends up critiquing his own work, saying that he wished that he hadn\u2019t made his\ncharacter so passive and today would have preferred to have depicted Jon-Jon in\na more selfish and vicious manner as the story progressed. He\u2019s interesting to\nlisten to, as is Maureen Mooney, who plays Miss Storm. The disc also includes\ntalks with the men who composed the score and music for the title, and a tour\nof the filming sites. There are archival interviews, a deleted scene, opening\ntitles with the alternate moniker and tons of publicity materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for this reviewer, one of the highlights may actually be\nthe introduction to the film and third commentary track by genre movie critic\nJoe Bob Briggs. He provides plenty of background details and also presents a\nfun analysis of the film which includes what is so entertainingly different\nabout it. Of course, he also has no issue at playfully poking fun at some of\nthe inconsistencies and bizarre behavior on display. He notes his fascination\nwith the fact that there aren\u2019t any truly likable characters in the movie.\nParticularly funny is a comment about why the entire group is so willing to\nfollow Dickens given how cruel he is. He also wonders aloud why \u201cI have a\nplan,\u201d is enough to motivate the group to commit terrible acts. Briggs is a\nfantastic speaker and his commentary is well worth listening\nto.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, Hell High<\/em> is no classic, but it is a\nmemorable film that offers a few moments that will linger in the brain long\nafter the credits roll. Arrow Video have once again done an exceptional job in\nbringing this disc to horror fans and enthusiasts of low-budget horror will\nfind it well worth their time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cSpecial Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Arrow Video will be released on July 19th. In horror, the slasher genre likely reached its apex in the late 1970s and early 80s with the releases of titles like Halloween (1978), Prom Night (1980), Friday the 13th (1980) and Sleepaway Camp (1981). Of course, that doesn\u2019t mean that there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":25024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[122,1832,1836,2933,2939,4368,4391,9033,9034,9035,9036,9319,13462,16600,16601,18515],"class_list":["post-25023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-122","tag-arrow","tag-arrow-video","tag-blasts-from-the-past-2","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-2","tag-christopher-cousins","tag-christopher-stryker","tag-hell-high","tag-hell-high-blu-ray-review","tag-hell-high-movie-review","tag-hell-high-review","tag-horror","tag-maureen-mooney","tag-raging-fury","tag-raging-fury-review","tag-slasher"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25023\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}