Yet another iteration of “Slaughter High,” director Brian C. Weed’s revenge horror film attempts to be a sanctimonious message about bullying all the while lulling its audience to sleep with an illogical and goofy film about revenge and the past coming back to haunt some classmates. My only fear is the memory of this movie coming back to haunt my nightmares.
During their homecoming dance, three young couples are turned away by bullies in an elaborate effort for the leader to ensure getting laid for the night. While they party in their own small corner of the school, things get out of hand and one of the students dies in a horrible fire. “Bloody Homecoming” has some interesting ideas, but it falters mainly for its inexperienced and unpolished cast, all of whom deliver their dialogue awkwardly, and without conviction. The cast is filled with amateurs, and it shows painfully through most scenes where director Weed seems to be reaching for some semblance of pain or desperation from the female cast members.
Of course, three years after the murder, the group of class mates are now being stalked and haunted by someone who knows what they did. Wait–they never told anyone that their classmate died in a fire? How did they keep it a secret, again? Did they just bury his body? In either case, the film follows the same tropes of the slasher revenge genre, with various characters trailing off and being picked off by the murderer, and no one really noticing until the end. There’s the chase, and of course the big reveal. It’s all so routine and incredibly lackluster. Did I mention boring as all get out? The movie has no energy, absolutely no sense of humor, and the soundtrack seems to be nothing but stock music the director could afford.
Meanwhile, the tension and suspense, meant to invoke the whole whodunit atmosphere is completely lost in a series of dull and lifeless scenes. There’s even a moment where one of the characters open their locker and there’s a ripped banner for homecoming stuck inside. Everyone begins to freak and I kept thinking “There is an actual homecoming dance coming soon. Maybe it’s there by coincidence?” The big pay off really doesn’t amount to much for the audience, and “Bloody Homecoming” is really just another shelf filler that borrows from much better films. For my money you’re better off buying “Slaughter High” or “My Bloody Valentine.” At least those films had energy and charm that kept audiences awake from beginning to end.