Official Synopsis:
“Virginia Madsen (Candyman, Sideways) and Richard Cox (Cruising) star in this humorous thriller about the bizarre happenings that occur in a prestigious boarding school. It seems to Andrea Miller (Madsen) that the upperclassmen act like robots. They’re the perfect students – dedicated, involved and loyal. Their clothes are perfectly pressed and their hair is perfectly styled. It seems that the teachers have something to do with this ingratiating behavior. And when Andrea, the new kid at school, sees her friends turning into clones, she starts to suspect the worst.”
It must be said that those hoping for the undead definition of the term will be disappointed. For the rest of us who understand that there are different incarnations of this term, this should not have any bearing on your enjoyment of this film.
Zombie High is very reminiscent of films like The Stepford Wives, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Faculty, with its own twist at the end.
While the story is fairly interesting and mildly entertaining, it doesn’t bring anything new and unique to the table when compared to similar films that did it much better. The big reveal doesn’t hold up, and doesn’t make a lot of sense. The agenda of the faculty isn’t quite clear, and the reasons they change the students and what they plan to do after don’t have any correlation to one another, leaving the viewer scratching their head during the last sequence.
The cast is the most impressive aspect of the film. Virginia Madsen, Richard Cox, and a great supporting cast including Paul Feig, who has gained popularity as a director. They give a lot of credibility to the story, but unfortunately don’t have a lot to work with.
Video
The blu-ray disc is presented in 1080p 1.85:1. The transfer suffers from excessive grain in a lot of scenes, which is a little more tolerable in the darker scenes. The source prints looks to be in fairly good shape, however, with few blemishes or defects noticed.
Audio
The audio on the blu-ray is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio Mono. There isn’t much to say about a mono track. Levels seemed fine throughout the film, complete with an odd score that includes random sound effects in the more suspenseful scenes.
Special Features
Unfortunately there are no special features on this set. It would have been great to get some of the cast to share their thoughts on this film, especially Paul Feig, given his current status as a filmmaker.
Zombie High doesn’t add anything unique to a story that has been done before. Although it has a great cast, there is a blandness to it that made me feel like a Zombie while watching it.