The Horror Of Receiving An Education
They’re all gonna laugh at you — Margaret White
School has been a popular setting for horror movies for many years; school is a popular location for horror movies because school provides a variety of different people in one location. Making a movie in one place is cheaper than making a movie and many different locations.
Horror movies appeal to more people under 35, so a horror movie set in a school makes filmmakers more likely to hit their target audience. There tends to be a lot of angst, drama, and confusion for many people during the school years, making plenty of material to create interesting characters.
Ginger Snaps (2000)
Ginger Snaps is a movie that uses the werewolf genre as a metaphor for a girl going through puberty. The film wasn't very popular when it was released but has gained a cult following over the years. Ginger Snaps stands out from the crowd of werewolf movies by its unique approach to the werewolf genre.
The unique angle the movie takes shows a girl becoming a woman. Ginger (Kathrine Isabelle) goes through changes in her body that she can't control. She goes through changes in her appearance and mental attitude. And she begins to tap into her inner sexual power. Other horror movies that have touched on the same themes of womanhood are The Company of Wolves and Jennifer's Body.
Heathers (1989)
Heathers would be a difficult movie to make today; there has been a rise in teen suicide and school shootings over the years, which is exactly the things Heathers is making fun of.
Is any subject too dark to joke about, or is blaming books, music, video games, and movies an easy scapegoat instead of dealing with the problems and providing solutions in our culture and society?
Raw (2016)
Raw is probably the grossest movie on this list, but how often have you seen a cannibal coming-of-age story? Which is what Raw is about. Justine (Garance Marillier) is a strict vegetarian desperate to fit in at veterinarian school. She eats raw meat for the first time with horrible consequences as she discovers who she is.
Raw, like Ginger Snaps, deals with the theme of a girl becoming a woman. Where Ginger Snaps deals with the theme in a campy way, Raw takes a more horrific severe approach. When Justine tastes meat for the first time, it is like taking a bite of the forbidden fruit, and she wants more. She notices changes in her body and craves more meat. She eventually moves from eating meat to becoming who she is, which is a cannibal. Cannibalism is a metaphor for our animalistic human nature, sexual awakening, and growing up into who we are.
Carrie (1976)
Carrie is a movie about being a bullied outsider in high school. The movie is about Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) and her life of going through hell daily. The performance by Sissy Spacek, the writing of Stephen King, and the direction of Brian DePalma are all spot on.
Carrie is taunted and bullied at school by her classmates, only to be abused by her toxic religious mother (Piper Laurie) at home. Carrie does have one thing going for her in the movie; she has the power of telekinesis. People can't help to feel empathy for Carrie throughout most of the movie. The reason is that everyone has felt left out or like outsiders.
Battle Royale (2000)
Battle Royale is a movie about a dictator government that shows the worst parts of human nature when humans are in a terrifying situation where they must fight to survive.
If you enjoy The Hunger Games or Squid Game, you will probably enjoy this brutal flick. Battle Royale is a much darker movie than Hunger Games but about the same as Squid Game.
All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is probably Amber Heard's best performance. Warning: The Next Paragraph contains spoilers about the movie.
It isn't a great movie, but an entertaining one and Amber Heard stands out in the film. The film's ending is confusing once Mandy Lane's true nature is revealed. Did the way people treat her because she was a beautiful woman feed into her mental illness? Or did she happen to be a beautiful woman who was mentally ill? How did she hide her mental illness, and what was her motive? But overall, it is an entertaining dark little horror movie.
Massacre at Central High (1976)
While watching Massacre at Central High, you may feel like you have seen this movie before. That is because the movie feels like a blueprint for the movie Heathers. Where Heathers was a stinging dark comedy, The Massacre at Central High takes a more dramatic approach.
It is incredible how Heathers and Massacre at Central High foreseen the violent school shooting culture we live in today.