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SATAN'S SCHOOLGIRLS
Directed, Edited, and Director of Photography Ted W. Crestview
Written by Terry M. West and Ted W. CrestviewFather Thomas - J. Scott Green
Sister Helen - Suzi Lorraine
Tammy - Kerri Taylor
Julian - Jane Scarlett
Lily - Brandy D'VinnSATAN'S SCHOOLGIRLS isn't Terry West's best movie, but it's far from his worst. After the delightful 35mm splatter fest FLESH FOR THE BEAST, the shot-on-video effort could be looked upon as a step backward. In truth, it illustrates a progression in terms of Terry West - business man. Since breaking away from ei Cinema and Media Blasters, he's now moved on to producing and distribution. To help with the production side of things, Terry has enlisted his longtime "pal" Ted Crestview.
The inaugural release from Plausible Denial Productions, SATAN'S SCHOOLGIRLS picked up where West left off with SATA N'S SCHOOL FOR LUST with strange things afoot at a Catholic School for girls. In this case it's the Saint Anybody School for Wayward Girls, a former Satanist colony that the church sanctified after the ATF exorcised the land.
It's been 10 years since the cult was laid to waste, but someone is currently executing ritualistic murders with serious satanic overtones. It's up to four girls, their new priest, and their pedophile head nun to get to the bottom of things. Part mystery, part horror film, part exploitation, and part comedy, SATAN'S SCHOOLGIRLS tries hard to emulate the classic sleaze film from the grindhouse era of the 1970's. To a degree, it succeeds. Consider the film's opening moments where a priest is sodomized and then murder with a Virgin Mary statue by a naked woman while the man is in the process of masturbating to pictures of his students. How many blasphemous taboos can you count in that last sentence?
SATAN'S SCHOOLGIRLS biggest drawback lies in the characterization of the girls who are all clearly based on stereotypes. So much so that the characters themselves even refer to each other by their type. There's the prom queen, the whore, the dyke, and the brainiac. Sometimes it's easier to pull humor from a broader palette, but here the lack of defined characters leans toward misogyny. To establish some sense of depth, each schoolgirl is given a character flaw, but ultimately these only reinforce the misogyny. The brainiac is into self-mutilation, the lesbian is overly aggressive, and the nympho possesses a sexual appetite so voracious that it appears she can't even wait for protection. These are all symptoms of low self-esteem and depression which only reinforces their victimization at the hands of their superiors, which is something I don't believe the filmmakers were going for since SATAN'S SCHOOLGIRLS is more black comedy than horror title
As the schoolgirls, the actresses are asked to act as broadly as their characterization. They are, after all, playing stereotypes, and all the actresses seem to clearly be having fun with their roles. Conversely, the school staff plays their roles straight. Suzi Lorraine, arguably the most beautiful actress working in east coast B-cinema, has never been given a better performance as the no-nonsense Sister Helen. But the real standout is J. Scott Green as Father Thomas whose sense of naturalism provides a performance that's at once both menacing and empathetic towards the girls.
Clocking it at just over an hour, SATAN'S SCHOOLGIRLS could have benefited from a more developed story. The extra characterization would have lent some weight to the death scenes, but it's apparent that West and Crestview were going for a more visceral approach. The point of any exploitation film is to deliver the goods, ie. blood and boobs, and those they deliver with gusto...and often.
The DVD presentation is top notch. Along with the feature are bloopers, a photo gallery, deleted scenes, and a 10 minute making-of featurette. Also included is the short film BATH WATER, as well as an unedited Tammy Parks strip scene from Terry's debut feature, BLOOD FOR THE MUSE.