Return to Horror High (1987) – WTF Happened to This Horror Movie?

Last Updated on June 22, 2023

The Return to Horror High episode of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? was Written by Emilie Black, Narrated by Travis Hopson, Edited by Victoria Verduzco, Produced by Lance Vlcek and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

The 1980s, especially the mid-1980s, were basically the heyday of slasher films, many of them were being released each year in theaters and direct-to-video, some of them making huge box office numbers like the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, the Friday the 13th movies, and the Halloween movies. Non-franchise films were not as big both financially and critically but they didn’t do too badly either. Then came Return to Horror High in 1987 (watch it HERE). Some would say that the film was ahead of its time, being a very meta horror comedy about slasher films, having endings within endings, and twisting the sub-genre on its head. However, the film failed, and it failed hard.

This slasher film is an early take on the slasher film within a slasher film, here the story follows a film crew making Return to Horror High who get dispatched one by one both in their film and maybe in their “real” lives. Maybe. You see, those 3 endings nestled within each other are misleading and well, they caused some confusion and while the is entertaining, it has its issues, so it’s not exactly a shocker that most people will lose track of the plot at some point. Basically, the story is that of a film crew shooting the story of a slasher who killed students and teachers at a local high school, mixing a few points of view. Of course, their own time at the high school comes with complications, arguments, the cops finding their props, and a few other twists and turns. Honestly, the plot is convoluted at best, and it leads to a few question marks along the way that even those who enjoy this film may need a few extra rewatch times to manage to make sense of it all.

One thing going for it is that the film had the luck to come out when slashers were huge. Well, not necessarily luck as some arguably much better slasher films were coming out left and right, so it was hard for any film that wasn’t straight forward to carve its niche. The film came out in a year with incredible odds against it in terms of being a hit at the box office and it was released at a time of year that was not quite ideal. The film was originally released in theaters on January 9, 1987, and the film got a kind of wide release in April. It played a total of 227 theaters, which is not terrible. However, the film came out in a month where the competition included The Golden Child, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Crocodile Dundee, Platoon, and Little Shop of Horrors to only name the top five films of January 1987. Some of these were carryover from December, none of these films made anything less than $17.7 million with the number 1 film making $26 million. Return to Horror High made a measly $1.1 million at the box office. The film cost about $1 million USD, meaning the profit would have been just under $200,000, but the budget usually doesn’t consider the distribution costs and marketing costs, so, overall, this was not a hit, not even close. The film was a flop on the financial front for sure.

Of course, since then, the film has gained a following, but that following is not quite as high as that of other horror films released in 1987. Considering 1987 saw the releases of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, The Lost Boys, Dolls, Prince of Darkness, The Gate, and more, the race to reach horror fans hearts was a tight one, even when the films made it to video stores. Still, Return to Horror High found some of its viewers on the rental market and eventually through conventions, collections, and online forums. These days, it has its fans and it’s been re-released a few times on DVD with one release as a double bill with Return of the Killer Tomatoes, and one release in a box set by Anchor Bay in 2002 with Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Vamp, Sleepaway Camp, Return of the Killer Tomatoes, and Transylvania 6-5000. It was one heck of a box set to get. It also came in a lunch box-sized little cooler made for a six pack of beers. This may not say much to some, but to others, it’s perfect: Six movies that are perfect for enjoying with friends while enjoying a drink or two. Of course, since the DVD releases, it has been re-released on Blu-ray, in a pretty blood red box which is going for an insanely high price online, showing there may still be some collector interest out there. Considering the film was not exactly a big hit at the box office, the home video releases were a great way to get some of their money back on cost and maybe even make a bit of profit. Of course, now it’s on streaming services and finding even bigger audiences and new fans.

So, why do fans love this one? Well, it’s a multi-level thing, not like an MLM, but like a nicely layered tiramisu of talent and energy, if that makes sense. The main person most people will recognize here is George Clooney. Return to Horror High was his first non-TV movie, meaning what most consider his first feature film. The part he has here is that of OIiver, an actor in the movie within the movie who ends up taking part in a series in LA which takes him away from the film they are making. Of course, he soon becomes one of the first victims to the real killer, or maybe not? His on-screen death is mostly hidden behind a door, and we get a bunch of blood, but not much of a view on the kill. That being said, and being a bit frustrating to horror fans these days, his death is memorable and seeing George Clooney early on in his career, sporting a mullet and an attitude, on top of his on-screen death is a fun bit of nerdy goodness in there that was definitely not planned at the time. While some might say people must have known he would become a huge star, there was no way to guess that he’d become as big as he is now.

A big name at the time, who most remember to this day, was co-star Maureen McCormick who plays a cop in the “reality” of Return to Horror High, her part is that of someone who finds body parts and dead bodies, showing up here and there, unfortunately not having that much screen time or that much of an impact on the actual story. She’s one of many cops and while it’s fun to see her, the part is only somewhat memorable. Top billed here are Lori Lethin, Brendan Hughes, Alex Rocco, and Scott Jacoby. Lethin was known at the time for mostly television work on shows like Starman, Matlock, Diff’rent Strokes, The A-Team, Magnum P.I., etc. Hughes was known for, well, he had 4 parts before this and they were not that well-known, Rocco who was much better known with credits in the Batman and Get Smart TV series, The Godfather, The Entity, and a ton more, and Jacoby who has some decent credits before this film including One Life to Live, The Little Girl Who Lived Down the Lane, and Murder She Wrote. What we’re saying here is that the cast was all over the place which is pretty expected for a low budget horror film made in the mid-1980s. As a side note, Lori Lethin had 3 different parts and absolutely loved her experience.

Behind the scenes, the team is also interesting in its own way. Director Bill Froehlich seems to only have 1 directing credit, which according to IMDB is not even a thing. They list him as the director for Return to Horror High, but his page shows no credits for directing. His own website shows 1 directing credit with Return to Horror High in terms of feature film and 1 directing credit for documentary with Rogue Waves, a History Channel Special. As a writer, his credits include Return, 3 television credits before Return and a few more known credits since including MacGyver, Freddy’s Nightmares, and a variety of films and television series. Also listed with Froehlich as writers for Return are Mark Lisson and Dana Escalante. Lisson had a few television series and a tv movie under his belt with credits after Return that are mostly television credits as well. As for Escalante, Return to Horror High is their only credit listed for anything.

Now, let’s take a peek at something most horror fans are interested in: The special effects. Here, they look decent, but dated, showing their age and budget, especially in the high-def release. The makeup effects supervisor on this film is Allan A. Apone, a man who currently has over 200 makeup credits and who, back in 1987 had 33 credits before Return to Horror High which include the Faces of Death movies, Prophecy, The Unseen, Galaxy of Terror, Friday the 13th Part III, The Return of the Living Dead, and a whole bunch more. These are credits a horror fan can trust and can just go with the any film this man is involved in. His work is good in general, back in the day and now, and he did what he could with what he had access to, budget, and production schedule here.

In terms of looking at the films from a critical standpoint, the cinematography and music have to be looked at and they definitely help this film as much as they can, within budget limitations. The cinematography here is by Roy H. Wagner. Like Apone, Wagner has a good number of credits and is still working today. The man had done 4 feature films before Return to Horror High and they were mostly horror films: Meatcleaver Massacre, Nine Deaths of the Ninja, Pray for Death, and Witchboard. He had built cred and he since has added a bunch of horror titles. The man is a firmly a horror dude, and we love it!

For the score, composer Stacy Widelitz was tapped to take care of it. While Widelitz has a respectable resume and seemingly stopped working in 2012, the credits he had before Return to Horror High were not exactly massive with 1 episode of the TV series People Do the Craziest Things and a short film called Chicken Thing. Nevertheless, the man has good credits since then, and some surprising ones like “She’s Like the Wind” by Patrick Swayze for Dirty Dancing. It can probably be said that Return got lucky and got him early.

So, what happened here? Well, it’s probably a mix of things, including some issues with the studio as reported by some online, a lack of marketing, a low budget that hurt the effects, an ending that is muddied by there being 3 endings within 1, etc. Of course, the fact that it was a sort of meta slasher film, which was way ahead of its time, probably didn’t help. Had it been made in the mid to late 1990s, it may have had a better chance, at least at the drive-in as a double bill with one of the many meta slashers of the time. Reviews from the time of its release are also hard to find. From what can be found on Wikipedia, the reviews were mixed at best. From what is on Rotten Tomatoes, a total of only 4 reviews, professional opinion is that the movie is terrible, while the public gives it a scant 18%, so truly rotten.

All of this being said, the film has its charms. It’s an important slasher film for the period, it brings new aspects and ideas to the table, or rather it did in 1987, and it’s fun for the majority of its runtime. The film does have its issues, but it’s clearly made with heart and a love for slasher film, so it’s got something to offer viewers who aren’t already attached to it or viewing it for the nostalgia factor.

A couple of the previous episodes of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? can be seen below. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!