Although The Expelled premiered in London in August 2010 and was then released in America in July 2013, I’ve only recently seen it popping up in the search menu during my Redbox visits. After passing it a few times, I finally decided it was time to give this feature a look-see.
The Expelled is written and directed by Johannes Roberts, the mastermind who previously brought the horror community titles like Roadkill and Storage 24. Cast members in this title include David Schofield (An American Werewolf In London, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest), Eliza Bennett (Nanny McPhee), Ruth Gemmell (“EastEnders”), Finlay Robertson (Cockneys vs. Zombies), Roxanne McKee (Wrong Turn 5), Juliet Aubrey (“Primeval”), and Max Fowler (“The Killing”).
Plainly put from IMDB, “A group of teachers must defend themselves from a gang of murderous kids when their school comes under siege after hours.”
My notes on this one are kind of scrambled, so I’m just going to start right at the top of my list and ramble on.
The daughter, Kate (played by Eliza Bennett), is a complete bitch in this movie. I actually don’t blame the lead actor (Schofield) for slapping the shit out of her in the beginning. This, of course, creates a problem for viewers much like myself. How am I supposed to feel bad for her when the school comes under attack? I was under the impression for most of The Expelled that she was going to be the main focus of the movie, but towards the end I quickly realized that her father, Robert (Schofield) is really the one the film revolves around. Which is great, because I feel for him much more than I do his bitchy, better-than-thou, slut of a daughter.
And, how late does schooling in England last? I’m sort of confused by the terminology of college here. The principal asks Robert how his 12th year students are doing, which translates to me as seniors in high school. However, the school is really big and has multiple wings. Either way, the detention Kate is serving lasts well after six o’clock which makes me wonder what the hours of school are overseas? You’d never catch me in my high school after dark, mostly because I weaseled my way out of my detentions and schools are creepy after dark even without a gang of parkour kids killing people. I mean, even when the killers are playing cat and mouse games in the shop classroom, the teacher is wielding a 2×4 and investigating. If that was me, I’d be out of there immediately. Way too many potential weapons just like lying.
The gore in The Expelled is minimal, but pretty good none-the-less. One of the first deaths in the movie is actually a security guard being locked in a dumpster and set on fire. This is basically one of the worst ways a human being can die, or so I thought. The parkour killers enjoy breaking off their victims faces and that is more horrific than anything else. Mostly because the victim is alive during the torture. Ok, maybe any death in this movie is the worst death imaginable.
My biggest problem with this flick is that no one fights back. Humans are born with an instinctive fight or flight response, which has lent itself to many chase scenes in horror films over the years. Everyone is born with this instinct, except people in The Expelled. Or, at least the second security guard had the common sense to run away for a bit. When attacked by the parkour killers, the teachers shout things like “You’re in so much trouble when I call your parents!” or “You need to exit the school after hours!” and then they are brutally beaten to death. Obviously, the kids are not going to listen to you if they have already broken into the school, vandalized the school, cut the phone lines, and burnt a security guard to a crisp.
And why do people beg for their lives? Again, it’s not like the killer/s are going to rethink their plan and stop just because you asked politely. Case and point: Nicky (McKee) aka hot girl in the movie. When she is confronted by the killers in the girl’s bathroom, she sinks to the floor in hysterics and begs for her life. Even if I knew I was going to die I’d be like, “Girl… Hold my ear rings. Hold ma’ purse! I’mma kick some ass.” Nicky aka hot girl probably would have died a lot quicker had she struggled against them, even in a losing effort.
Despite my sarcasm and jumbled paragraphs, I actually thoroughly enjoyed The Expelled. It has an open for interpretation ending and was reminiscent of The Strangers, but set in a school. I rate it 8 out of 10 stars.
