Heathers
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Heathers are a clique of bitchy classmates in this dark comedy from 1989. The film itself was a good showcase for Winona Ryder, the Queen of Teen in the late 1980s, playing a high-school girl forced into the social world of “the Heathers”, and Christian Slater, doing his early Jack Nicholson thing. While Ryder’s character muddles over the consequences of giving up one set of friends for another, her association with the new boy in school (Slater) turns out to have deadly consequences. Director Michael Lehmann turned this unusual film into something more than another teen-death flick. There is real wit and sharp satire afoot, and the fusion of horror and comedy is provocative in itself. Heathers remains a kind of benchmark in contemporary cinema for bringing surreal intelligence into Hollywood films. –Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
In his best screen role to date Christian Slater wreaks havoc upon the lives of his peers, forming an uneasy alliance with Winona Ryder’s Veronica as the pair evolve into a conscience-driven Bonnie and Clyde, visiting retribution upon the various deserving factions of their repellent American high school. Slater is JD, a new boy in school whose response to provocation from two bullies in the school canteen is to draw a gun on them, setting in place a chain of surreal events immersed in black humour and no little truth. As his initially willing but increasingly horrified girlfriend Winona Ryder finally begins to twig her date is perhaps not the charming chap she first supposed when he inducts her into her first killing. This is familiar territory given a total makeover by Daniel Waters’ acerbic writing and JD’s character – earmarked as psychotic during the saner moments of the script – emerges as an admittedly barking yet hugely charismatic and not unlikeable student in this school of horrors. As a black comedy the film is peerless. Both Slater and Ryder fully flesh out their bizarre characters, enjoying a script that ticks all the right boxes, leaving no one-liner untouched as the demonic forces of American high school life (the prize bitch, obnoxious football players etc) are visited upon by Slater’s avenging angel with a variety of weapons and diabolical plans. JD’s actions are clearly deranged yet all too realistic and, yes, occasionally understandable. In this school the best days of your life are exposed as nothing more than a myth, the vengeance driven JD and Veronica immersing themselves in a riot of gags, guns and freakishly stupid people who will make you spill your popcorn with laughter and wonder why you could never meet a pair quite like this at your own school. This is a sheer delight, and the definitive cult movie on American high school life.
Rating: 5 / 5
I saw Heathers for the first time ever around two weeks ago. Although I’d heard of the film, I knew nothing of the plot, which focuses on two teenagers (Ryder and Slater), wiping-out the ‘popular’ element at high school through a series of murders made to look like suicides.
With a million unanticipated twists, and blackly comical moments, this film in a sense, precedes similar plots of murderous high school teenagers in modern America.
It’s a fantastic tale, brilliantly acted and well worth shelling out the meagre amount of money to posses a copy.
You won’t regret it.
Rating: 5 / 5
Brilliant film, dark comedy, horror, teen movie all in one; its funnier than A League Of Gentlemen, its as shocking as Scream, and more teeny than American Pie…All that from the eighties?!?
Rating: 5 / 5
This hilarious Black comedy is brought to life by winonna Ryder and Christian Slater. Heathers tells the story of two high school students, J.D (Slater) and veronica (Ryder) who set about trying to get revenge on heather chandler. Once they have killed her, J.D gets a taste for murder and thing start to go horribly wrong.This brilliant cult classic should be seen by everyone.
Rating: 5 / 5
Veronica (Winona Ryder) wants to be associated with the most powerful clique in school called The Heathers; however she is persuaded that there are more fun ways to get ahead by a mysterious young man JD (Christian Slater) who helps even the odds; JD’s methods of culling the pack may be a tad extreme but not by today’s standards.
Winona, who plays Veronica, says this is a comedy about a serious matter. And she is probably correct. However I was watching the surface action and it did not take the time to think about any underlying meanings. I had no idea that Moby Dick does not contain the word “Eskimo.” I was surprised as the different events took shape and can see myself in that situation. I had fun watching this movie.
I did not relate this film, to my high-school days; as with C rations. C Rations before 1955 contained only one box meal with fruit. That was the ham and Lima beans box. During high school and 60’s, we were lucky to have one “Heather” to a class. Now in the time of MRE’s (meal ready to eat), Heathers abound in the class room. This requires the JD’s of the world to once again bringing natural balance the high-school society by eliminating excess Heathers.
Bring your popcorn and beware of what you drink.
Rating: 4 / 5