STUDENT BODY
Directed by: Lee Ann Kurr
Starring: Christian Camargo, Montse Hernandez, Cheyenne Haynes, Anthony Keyvan, Harley Quinn Smith, Austin Zajur
When they learn that their PE teacher has a stash of booze in her desk, five students - Jane, Nadia, Merritt, French and Ellis - break into their own high school for an impromptu party. However, they soon find themselves trapped and stalked by a killer wearing the school mascot costume…
With her feature directorial debut, Lee Ann Kurr delivers a film with both teen movie and slasher movie tropes to good effect.
Starting with a smash-cut between night and day, we are swiftly introduced to our five protagonists via the contents of their lockers. There we get an immediate feel for their characters and who is hung up on who and is a nice visual short cut to imprint facets of each onto the viewer.
The film's main antagonist is Mr. Aunspach (Camargo), a math teacher who has no time for slackers in his class. When most of his class fail a test, he refuses to allow them to re-sit as Jane happens to be a math genius and aced the test (regardless of not studying for it like her friends). Its clear that Aunspach has a soft spot for Jane and is emotionally invested in her achievements and defeats, and sees her friends as a bad influence on her. On more than one occasion we see Aunspach in the background of a scene, keeping an eye on her. This is a nice change to the traditional POV shots of the killer stalking his prey.
This continues once the quintet break into the school for their booze-up. At one point they frolic around in the school's swimming pool, and the mascot-killer can be seen in silhouette in the room overlooking the pool. Our killer is quite patient, biding his time until one of the group is isolated. This allows for some well crafted character development and comedic timing, and it also means that by the time characters do start to die, we're emotionally invested enough that each death has an impact.
Lee Ann Kurr's script is well-thought out with interesting characters brought to life by a talented young cast. One of the potential plot holes is handled nicely by having one of the school's sponsors a developer of high strength plexi glass, meaning they can't just smash a window to escape when they discover they're locked in by the killer.
Harley Quinn Smith and Austin Zajur have good chemistry together as best friends Nadia and French, who are on the verge of realising that they are actually attracted to each other. Austin is the film's comic relief but his relationship with Nadia is sincere. Similarly Harley Quinn Smith is able to take a moment to drop her tough-girl façade and allow a moment of emotional vulnerability which would not be out of place in a John Hughes movie. Anthony Keyvan also has a couple of good scenes. First in his spouting anti-establishment political rhetoric, he seems to fail to grasp that he is part of the Establishment. However he proves to be insightful and genuinely nice towards Jane.
The film is mainly focused on Jane (Montse Hernandez) and Merritt (Cheyenne Haynes). They have been childhood friends but as they've grown older Merritt has become embittered by her controlling step-mother, while Jane obsesses over a camping trip the pair went on with Jane's mother before she died. Merritt is someone with Privelege imprinted through to her core. She complains that her step-mother is going to cut off her inheritance if she fails to get into Princeton, but at the same time makes no effort to actually study. She uses her parent's position on the school board to threaten the Principle, and consequently destroying a man's career for the sake of a test she didn't study for.
Jane and Merritt's relationship comes to a head as the pair are hiding in the library. Merritt hits Jane with some home truths but these are probably embellished with her own sense of privilege and self-importance. Nevertheless, the result is a confrontation with our killer where he asks Jane to thank him. I have to be honest I almost expected her to.
The production values are really strong for Student Body, with the school setting actually seeming like a prestigious place (the students all wear a uniform, the student lounge is furnished with leather sofas, the fact there' a swimming pool). The design of Anvil Al, the mascot costume the killer wears, is really good - a throwback to 50s design and yet his cartoon smile is able to seem sinister. The kills are perfunctory - the killer uses a sledge hammer - but still are portrayed as brutal acts despite a lack of gore. The cinematography does a great job of helping to build suspense, such as the scene set in the drama theatre where there is a single oversized lightbulb illuminating the stage.
THE VERDICT
Student Body is a lot of fun, a slasher-style film which melds well with teen movie drama. Our protagonists almost fit the Breakfast Club archetypes and there is a nice contrast between that group of kids bonding while stuck in detention with a teacher who doesn't care, with our protagonists fragmenting and dying at the hands of someone who cares a little too much!