PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Most horror movies have a set theme: supernatural, psychological, slasher, thriller, creature feature… Normally, those themes and/or genres are pretty easy to spot from the very beginning of the film. Movies like those have a very distinct formula, and it’s rare that they stray from that. But sometimes, there are films that keep you guessing, trying to figure out what kind of movie you’re actually watching. One of these grab bag releases is the new film, Boarding School, and it is a maze of a movie.
Boarding School was written and directed by Boaz Yakin and it stars Luke Prael as Jacob, Sterling Jerins as Christine, Halloween 2018’s Will Patton as Dr. Sherman, Nadia Alexander as Phil, Nicholas J. Oliveri as Elwood, Kobi and Kadin George as Lenny and Calvin, and Christopher Dylan White as Frederic. The plot can be a little confusing because it jumps around a bit, but the gist is this: Jacob is a quiet boy that has such frequent nightmares that his mother and stepfather are at their wits end from lack of sleep. Jacob somehow gets blamed for his own bullying, and when his grandmother dies, he becomes intrigued by her clothing. When he gets caught wearing it, he gets sent to a special boarding school for two weeks to be… reformed, I guess?
Also, there is mean girl/pain fetishist named Christine, a burn victim named Phil, a special needs teen named Elwood, adopted good boy twins Lenny and Calvin (it’s never explained why they are there, so they feel like filler characters) and Frederic, who suffers from a very severe case of Tourettes Syndrome. The whole situation is bizarre, and the only things they learn are Bible verses. If they get out of line, they are beaten with a switch. When the “problem” children start dying, things go downhill pretty past, as the kids try to leave and figure what the hell is going on in that tiny boarding school. All the while, Jacob keeps having visions of an attic filled with Jewish people captured by a German soldier.
Is this film a supernatural ghost thriller? Is it a psychological horror? Is it a revenge film? Yes! It’s all of them, and you’d assume that a movie with this much going on would be bad, but Boarding School was immensely enjoyable. I never really knew where the story would go next. There were times that it seemed so art house in its script that I wasn’t sure what was going on anymore, but it didn’t take away from the larger points of the film or the enjoyment I got from watching it.
Boarding School was beautifully shot with artistic angles and illumination fit for a Giallo film. The blue and red lighting on opposite sides of the frame gave it a retro and almost psychedelic feel. Sometimes the film felt like a modern day thriller, while other times, it felt like a 1960s psychological horror and in others, like a 70s revenge film. The kids in this film are outstanding. Most have to portray some form of disorder (save for poor Phil, a burn victim), and they do it very realistically. Unfortunately, the prosthetic mask for Phil looked less like a burn victim and more like a re-purposed Planet of the Apes mask. Bad makeup effects aside, their performances make the movie.
Boarding School was released August 31st and is available to watch digitally at this time. I definitely recommend this movie. It’s fairly long at a solid 1 hour and 50 minutes, but there isn’t a dull moment that makes you feel the time. It goes by quickly, and not once did I look at my phone to check the time. To me, that is a big sign of a great movie.
