Director – James Bryan (Hell Riders, The Executioner Part II)
Starring – Rene Bond (Disco Lady, Girl in a Basket), Larry Barnhouse (Hitler’s Harlot, Beach Blanket Bango), and Ric Lutze (Sunny side Up, Video Tramp)
Release Date – 1974
Rating – 3.5/5
Blu Release – 3.5/5
I’ve been tearing through a lot of horror releases over the last few weeks. I love my genre but too much of a good thing can become boring after awhile. After digging into some no budget features and a horror documentaries I’ve decided to take a break from horror for a day or two.
In December Vinegar Syndrome released two adult flicks. The first one is 1974’s High School Fantasies from director James Bryan who also directed Hell Riders and The Executioner Part II. Genre fans should be very familiar with these two titles.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a lonely nerd who is trying to get laid but has a crush on high school hottie Marry Lou (Bond). She refuses to give him the time of day so he tries to find it elsewhere. The high school jock sends him on a wild goose chase looking for Spanish fly. After some mis-adventures he returns empty handed. This gives the jock the idea to make his own to trick the nerd. However, their own brand of Spanish Fly seems to work so they use it on the ladies at school. That is until their little game backfires and the nerd is able to land Mary Lou. **Spoiler Alert**
It had been a minute since my last sexploitation review so I was looking forward to spinning this one. Honestly, I really was looking forward to checking out a sexploitation flick set in the 50s starring Rene Bond. The movie was fun, sleazy, and unexpectedly funny.
The acting in this one is pretty solid especially for a sexploitation flick from the early 70s. When Vinegar Syndrome started releasing these films with Rene Bond I quickly fell in love with her. She’s gorgeous and naturally comfortable on screen but sometimes her performances are a little underwhelming. She uses her looks to get by on camera instead of actually acting. Here she uses both which works. With that being said, the rest of the cast delivers some funny over the top performances with high energy characters that is rather uncommon for sexploitation flicks. They are fun and you can tell they really enjoyed coming to set.
The story for this one is a little coming of age comedy mixed with 50s stereotypes and lots of sex. I actually enjoyed it and the humor but it’s not something that I could see myself watching again.
Finally, no blood or gore in this one as you suspected but there is plenty of nudity and sex so if that’s your thing then this one is for you. Overall, High School Fantasies is a fun sexploitation flick that has memorable characters and a solid story. If you are looking for a fun late night skin flick then let this one be it. The blu from Vinegar Syndrome looks great. They never disappoint so check it out.
Special Features:
Region Free Blu-ray
Newly scanned & restored in 2k from its 35mm original negative
Video interview with director James Bryan
Video interview with producer Damon Christian
Original theatrical trailer
Reversible cover artwork
English SDH subtitles
