“Splatter University” (1984)
Studio: Aquifilm
Starring: Forbes Riley, Ric Randig, Dick Biel, Kathy LaCommare
Directed by: Richard W. Haines
Rated: R
Running Time: 78 min.
Synopsis: A killer pops up on a college campus and the whole school is terrified and wondering who the killer is and when will they strike next.
REVIEW
Chris Woods
This is another slasher flick that came out in the mid-80’s, that has its moments but could have been a lot better. For one, the film is ultra low budget and has a great gritting feel through out. It has a great start when it begins at an insane asylum. One of the patients escapes the place by killing one of the doctors by stabbing him in the crotch and slitting his throat.
Then it’s three years later and we’re now at a college. A teacher is working late grading papers when someone comes in and stabs her in the breast and kills her. Could this be the patient that escaped years ago? After two brutal killings to kick off the film, the movie’s story starts up with a woman replacing the murdered teacher at the college. The dean, who is a priest in a wheelchair, even warns her that the old teacher was killed and the murderer still hasn’t been found. The woman still takes the job anyway.
The rest of the movie runs very slow, following the new teacher as she gets adjusted to her new life and it also follows a group of college students. Not much going on for a while until the next murder, then another slow run. Most of the film is like this through out. Some parts of the film are interesting, but not enough to keep your intention. The killing scenes are all right, but not that creative or scary. The first two in the beginning are the best and the rest are kind of lame.
The movie does pick up towards the end and the last ten minutes are worth watching. The film is a who done it?, but you figure out who the killer is within the first five or ten minutes of the film. The ending is kind of predictable, but has one minor twist, which I won’t give away.
Splatter University is a very fair slasher flick of its time. It might be worth to watch once if you all ready seen better films of the genre. It does have a good low budget feel to it that is very cheesy but has a touch of grit and a great opening. Other than that, like The Prowler, it has slow moments between the killings that are uninteresting.