Return to Horror High

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Late Night Classics – Return to Horror High

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Submitted by Jason Bene on March 18, 2011

Every fancy pants movie star has a skeleton in their closet that they don’t want to speak of. Whether it is Jason Alexander in The Burning, Tom Hanks in He Knows You’re Alone, or Demi Moore in Parasite – some of the biggest names in show business have started off their careers doing horror films. Perhaps the biggest of them all is ladies man George Clooney, who cut his teeth on the films Return of the Killer Tomatoes, and my spotlight movie of the day – Return to Horror High. Instead of talking to George, I got in touch with actress Lori Lethin to wax nostalgic about this overlooked slasher.

Jason Bene: After starring in Bloody Birthday and The Prey, were you happy to do another slasher film, especially one that was spoofing the genre?

Lori Lethin: I loved doing Return to Horror High. I thought it was so cool that finally someone got the idea to combine comedy and horror. The first thing that struck me was Return to Horror High was a sequel to a movie that was never made. The second thing that got my attention was that I would get to play three different characters by just slapping a different cheap wig on(very tacky….I loved it) and lastly i couldn’t resist the wonderful cast!

Jason Bene: The script was written in such a way that you were able to play completely different characters. Was that fun for you to do?

Lori Lethin: Oh yeah…the bigger the wig the more fun I had with the characters. I especially liked the scenes with Vince Edwards. I used to watch him on Ben Casey growing up…the fact that he played a sadistic pervert and I got to play the innocent little victim was beyond fun.

Jason Bene: Where was the abandoned school located at? Have you ever been back for a few laughs?

Lori Lethin: The school was located somewhere in the valley and I have not been back.

Jason Bene: Did you get to hang out and chat with former Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick?

Lori Lethin: Okay …first off…I loved Marsha Brady…every girl wanted to be like her. Every time I saw her I just wanted to say Marsha Marsha Marsha! We did not work that much together but she was on set ….she was really having a good time with her character. I think she did a great job playing a perfect combo of a sexy, demented, orally fixated police officer…a far cry from Marsha…I loved It!

Jason Bene: I find it ironic that George Clooney plays an actor who aspires to bigger and better things and leaves the set of a low budget horror movie to be a star. Can you talk about working with him? Did he ever think he would be this mega celebrity?

Lori Lethin: George Clooney was adorable and quite charming. Unfortunately…he was one of the first victims to die so I only worked with him for a day. He was like the rest of us who were acting at the time…we were all happy to be working and focused on getting the next gig… I kinda got the feeling that he wished he could have worked on the film a little longer…..little did he know what was ahead of him.

Jason Bene: Return to Horror High predates movies like Scream and Scary Movie by many years. Do you think it was ahead of its time and can now be appreciated for the clever flick that it is?

Lori Lethin: It was ahead of it’s time and I don’t think a lot of people knew what to do with it. But I am happy to say that it has stood the test of time and become a real cult classic…I am proud of that!

Jason Bene: Do you get messages on Facebook or do you attend horror conventions and have fans approach you about the film?

Lori Lethin: Funny you should ask. A wonderful gentleman contacted me on facebook and has set up a fan page. All of a sudden fans have been coming out of the woodwork. I never knew. It is so sweet. As far as the horror conventions. I have not gone down that avenue …yet….but there could be a strong possibility in the future.

Jason Bene: You are a Scream Queen without officially being labeled one. That is not such a bad thing because guys like myself who grew up with 80′s horror films never forget who was in them. That has to feel nice. .

Lori Lethin: I love that title….Scream Queen. It was especially fun for my kids who when they were asked to share in class about what their mother did for a living….they simply responded…She screams!

From fearnet.com

10 Bad Horror Flicks You Might Actually Enjoy

Return to Horror High
Fans of '80s high-school horror have a fondness for Slaughter High, but I'm sorta partial to this one instead – mostly because it plays around with meta-reality and self-parody long before Wes Craven made that sort of thing fashionable in the '90s. It's enjoying a small revival thanks to the appearance of George Clooney in a small role as a stuck-up actor who's ditching a horror film to do a TV series (I think he was still appearing on The Facts of Life at the time), but I've dug it ever since it popped up on Cinemax back in the day. It's silly, but has some inventive deaths and features Maureen McCormick (a.k.a. Marcia Brady) as a rookie cop who gets sexually aroused by bloody crime scenes. Also, the trailer is pure awesome, as you will see...