Heathers - Movie Review

By
Zora Flatley
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Heathers

In the world of teen movies, a clean line of demarcation can be drawn between the films of John Hughes, which dominated the 1980s, and Heathers, the dark satire that became an enormously influential film with a massive cult following.

Released in 1989, the film, directed by Michael Lehmann and based on a screenplay by Daniel Waters, can also be seen as the harbinger of the grunge era and its eventual flooding into mainstream culture.

It also helped to cement Winona Ryder’s reign as the 1990s queen of misfits everywhere. The film also unleashed the lethal charisma of Shannen Doherty, who would go on to star in another seminal teen drama on television, Beverly Hills 90210.

Heathers tells the story of a clique of powerful girls at Westerberg High -a winking nod to the lead singer of The Replacements - all named Heather. The film begins with their relatively new and reluctant recruit, Veronica, sardonically eyeing the teenager’s version of hell; the school cafeteria.

https://revyou.com/uploads/thumbnail-960/1600031438144Heathers_2.webp Heathers - Movie Review

The lead Heather goes around taking a ridiculous poll and gauging the responses of everyone from the nerds, to the jocks, the yuppies, and every other high school stereotype.

This leads to the introduction of a new bad boy in town, JD, played by Christian Slater in his best and creepiest imitation of Jack Nicholson. Then - as the saying goes - mayhem ensues.

Soon enough, under JD’s toxic influence, Veronica gives in to her darkest impulses, arranging for the murders of the school’s most popular and terrible people, making it look like a spate of suicides.

There’s a lot more to the film, but no point in giving it away; it’s definitely worth a watch or two, if not more. The screenplay is brilliant, and not only does it skewer high school life in America, but it also provides a sly commentary on everything from those popular John Hughes films, capitalistic desires, exploitation of “youth culture,” and the hierarchies found in society at large.

It’s pretty deep for the much-disparaged teen movie genre, that’s for sure.