Student Body has its moments, but is ultimately a missable horror movie. The performances are what one might expect from a young cast and writer-director Lee Ann Kurr (Lindsey Luff: Remind Me) does little to subvert the genre. The antagonist is certainly menacing, but there are almost no jump scares and the scares that do populate the movie are nothing to write home about. While parts of Student Body are both socially contemporary and well-executed, it's the rest of the movie that doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
When Jane Shipley (Montse Hernandez) is the only one in her class to pass Mr. Aunspach’s (Christian Caramago) nearly impossible test, her classmate & childhood friend Merrit Sinclair (Cheyenne Hayes), comes up with a way to get the rest of the class a retake. Merrit isn’t alone either, soccer star Nadia Parker (Harley Quinn Smith) has had enough of the guys at school. Not only is Nadia’s playing career at stake due to her grade on Mr. Aunspach’s test, but the school mascot Brody (Ty Trumbo), makes it a point to shove her around and call her inappropriate names after matches. Blindly taking one for the team, Jane approaches Mr. Aunspach and submits her case for the retake. His response borders on violence, prompting Jane and Merrit to approach the principal and he is as arrogant as he is unhelpful. That is, until Merrit convinces him that firing Mr. Aunspach is the only way to keep her family’s money coming into the prestigious and pricey school. In the immediate aftermath of the teacher's dismissal, Jane and all her friends are locked inside the school with a sledgehammer-wielding mascot bent on murder. Is it the bully who regularly dawns the mascot? The scorned teacher? Or the principal being blackmailed?
Student Body is best when it's looking down on toxic masculinity. The relationship the young women have with men is both terrifying and relevant. Two scenes, in particular, illustrate these horrors. When Mr. Aunspach explodes at the idea of a retake he does everything but physically harm Jane. He grabs her things, throws them on the floor, unleashes a verbal tirade, and calls every student except her worthless. His behavior is just wild enough to frighten a teenage girl and just legal enough to not break any real law. In the scene where the principal does not believe that any of this warrants discipline on the teacher's part, he points out that, not only did Mr. Aunspach act within the school's guidelines, but he was doing her a favor.
Student Body takes great care to create a terrifyingly accurate environment that is all too realistic... for about 25 minutes. The rest of the film is by-the-numbers at best and slapstick at worst. There is a love story with Nadia that rings true but ends before it can even begin and an unrequited love story with Merrit that over-explains her character traits. And while Jane and Mr. Aunspach are compelling characters, the acting is not noteworthy. The evil school mascot is certainly menacing and a visually engaging villain but does not get enough screen time to cause true havoc.
Student Body underwhelms most of the time but the premise is reliably solid. Trapped inside grade school with the threat of the people in power not believing a word you say is a nightmare unto itself, and with a killer on the loose, the stakes are considerably higher. Granted, this film does not have the bones of a classic phycological thriller, but Student Body is better with less gore and more thought. Ultimately, it's a great premise that offers little else, sidestepping serious issues that devolve into a laughable slasher film. Not dissimilar from the real world, the scariest part of Student Body is patriarchy and gaslighting, not getting hit in the head with a sledgehammer by the school's mascot.
Student Body is available digitally on February 8. The film is 88 minutes long and is not rated.