Girls' School Screamers (1986) Vinegar Syndrome Exclusive

“Kiss me, Tyler!”

Alright, alright, so Girls School Screamers might be on the rather cheap end of Z-grade budget horror, but from the very beginning (in which a ghost in a wedding with worms and maggots dangling from her face scares a little boy so badly he runs from the house), to its ever-lovin’ end as a group of young girls are sliced and diced into oblivion, this trip to Girls School Hell is completely entertaining, never missing a chance to thrill us with the seven young girls who are brought to the haunted mansion to clean it up and catalog the art on its walls.

"a grindhouse cult classic"


Talk about chills and spills!

That’s right, Jackie (Molly O'Mara), Elizabeth (Sharon Christopher), Rosemary (Monica Antunucci) Karen (Beth O'Malley), Katie (Marie Butler) Adele (Marcia Hinton) and Susan (Karen Krevetz) are the targets of this haunted estate.  At first think they are the lucky ones to be selected to catalogue the art in the estate, but little do they know of its history of scaring the pants off ANYONE dumb enough to cross its seal and giggle or taunt or tease its maliciousness.  

But a seance - however ill-advised - fills in the details to the terror that surrounds them.  The horror hasn’t set in yet and that’s probably the downfall in this slow-moving horror yarn.  You got girls in naughty nighties and . . . nada.  Oh, the temptation is certainly there, but this slow jam of horror really takes its time to get us back to the scares.

If it all sounds a bit too titillating to be believable, just know that the girls’ attempts to cut through the bullshit applies to the movie, too.  There is gold tucked away in the tiny moments of this horror film.  They are few and far apart, though.  Truthfully, the atmosphere in this cheap film doesn’t last through the entire movie and with no nudity and a few screams here and there, we are left with a house which eventually kills in SHOCKING manners and not much else.Girls' School Screamers (1986) Vinegar Syndrome Exclusive

What began as an independently produced horror film from director John P. Finegan (Blades) quickly found its way under the banner of Troma, who slapped a more salacious title to The Portrait and turned it into the grindhouse cult classic that is today thanks to the haunted terror that lives within the walls of the Welles Estate, a house that is not unfamiliar with tragedy.

With Sister Urban (Vera Gallagher) in tow, these sorority girls aren’t going to get away with anything.  Instead, it’s the unseen spirit in the house that gets away with murder!  From meat cleavers to “accidental” electrocutions, this haunted house fills the bill if ever you want a slasher by way of a haunted house.  And it does so with a solid atmosphere, providing well-lit scenes of brutality as the house turns on its guests. As far as haunts go, this one is a bit uneven, but it still manages to pull off some interesting stuff with the whole haunted house trappings.

Find out why “In the darkness there is evil.  Within the evil, there is death” with Girls School Screamers, now on blu-ray with a special limited edition embossed slipcover (designed by Earl Kess).  Limited to 5,000 units, this release is only available at VinegarSyndrome.com.

3/5 beers

Girls' School Screamers (1986) Vinegar Syndrome Exclusive

Blu-ray Details

Vinegar Syndrome Exclusive / Limited to 5,000

Home Video Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome
Available on Blu-ray
- August 31, 2021
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English SDH
Audio:
DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono; English: Dolby Digital 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A, B

At an exclusive all-girls college, a group of chronically misbehaving students are "rewarded" for their bad behavior by being assigned with the task of cleaning a magnificent old mansion (with a deadly past) in preparation for its grand re-opening by the school. But when the girls discover - and use - a dusty old Ouija board, they accidentally revive a terrifying evil spirit, which begins dispatching them by cleaver, hook, car, and more. Can they put an end to the carnage before none are left alive?

Video:

Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 35mm original camera negative and framed in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, this release from Vinegar Syndrome is literally as good as it gets for Girls School Screamers.  An awful amount of love went into putting this release together and it shows. The crisp transfer is well-lit, so details are impeccable.  It looks quite warm in the color department.  Reds are the dominant colors.  Black levels are solid, though.  The film looks crisp and colors are bold, with special gooey attention paid to the creature feature aspect of the special makeup effects.  It’s unlike any other version of the movie released thus far; focused and detailed. 

Audio:

An English mono track provides the chills and spills in this estate.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • There are two included with the purchase.  See the Special Features for the breakdown of the content.

Special Features:

With its effective mix of haunted house horror and gruesome, slasher structured kills, Vinegar Syndrome is delighted to offer Girls School Screamers on Blu-ray, for the first time, freshly restored from its original negative and jam packed with extras.

  • “28 Seconds of Violence” - an extended making-of documentary featuring interviews with writer/director/producer John P. Finegan, editor/assistant director Tom Rondinella, second assistant camera/second assistant director Bill Pace, actor Peter Cosimano and sound designer John Hodian
  • Commentary track with writer/director/producer John P. Finegan
  • Commentary track with editor/assistant director Tom Rondinella and second assistant camera/second assistant director Bill Pace
  • Reversible cover artwork

Blu-ray Rating

  Movie 3/5 stars
  Video  4/5 stars
  Audio 3/5 stars
  Extras 3/5 stars

Composite Blu-ray Grade

3.5/5 stars


Film Details

Girls' School Screamers (1986) Vinegar Syndrome Exclusive

MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime:
86 mins
Director
: John P. Finnegan
Writer:
John P. Finnegan
Cast:
Mollie O'Mara; Sharon Christopher; Mari Butler
Genre
: Horror
Tagline:
The Finishing School That Finished Them Off!
Memorable Movie Quote:
Theatrical Distributor:
Troma Entertainment
Official Site: https://vinegarsyndrome.com/products/girls-school-screamers?_pos=1&_sid=1a363ebca&_ss=r
Release Date:
May 2, 1986
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
August 31, 2021.
Synopsis: At an exclusive all-girls college, a group of chronically misbehaving students are "rewarded" for their bad behavior by being assigned with the task of cleaning a magnificent old mansion (with a deadly past) in preparation for its grand re-opening by the school. But when the girls discover - and use - a dusty old Ouija board, they accidentally revive a terrifying evil spirit, which begins dispatching them by cleaver, hook, car, and more. Can they put an end to the carnage before none are left alive?

Art

Girls' School Screamers (1986) Vinegar Syndrome Exclusive

 

Girls' School Screamers (1986) Vinegar Syndrome Exclusive