Head Cheerleader,Dead Cheerleader
(Region 2 DVD)
(2000)
review by Suspiriorium

I’ve been getting more & more disenchanted with the modern teen horrors recently, not helped by fare like Wishcraft & Final Destination 2. So what could possibly have tempted me back to the genre for Head Cheerleader Dead Cheerleader? Well, it was actually a combination of the agreeably daft title, plus the tagline “Two four six eight, who do we decapitate?” which had me grinning when I spied it in the video shop. Plus, it has Debbie Rochon in the cast, so clearly it can’t be all bad. This is a very low budget film, shot on video & looking it. The plot is pretty average fare – a psycho killer is murdering the cheerleading squad, possibly because they haven’t been getting the crowd behind the team properly.

Having sat down to watch HCDC with absolutely no expectations whatsoever, I found myself with a big fat grin on my face very quickly, as the first half hour or so is great low-budget stuff, filled with some good humour, a few nicely put together & even quite inventive kills. The film was looking at getting a pretty solid, if not rather impressive mark. However, nothing ever lasts & the sad thing about HCDC is that I found myself sitting & watching as a superior piece of entertainment self-destructed before my eyes. Because the second half of the film consists of little more than the head cheerleader alone in her house, answering a number of telephone calls (which may or may not be the killer), & then – just to be different – answering the door to someone who may or may not be the killer. It became slow & tedious pretty quickly, which is such a shame after such a great beginning. Things do pick up again slightly for the climax, but it’s really too little too late, as the viewer interest has all but tailed off by that point. In fact, there are some weird oddities about this second half, which makes too little sense. We hear the killers voice on the phone, but the actor who provides the voice also doubles as the police telephone assistant, which leads to unnecessary confusion & just seems a little lazy. And when the killer is finally revealed, you can’t help but wonder how she hadn’t recognised the voice on the phone – unless of course it was because he was impersonating the policeman!

Overall, HCDC is an ok rental for the highly amusing first half hour (which features some impressive Tenebre-esque axe work), although it’s unfortunate self-destruction during the second half means it’s not one to watch over & over.

The UK DVD from Film 2000 is currently rental-only & features OK A/V, although the low budget severely limits the quality of the presentation & you’re just as well off with the VHS as the DVD. The only extra is an impressive trailer (featuring a nice selection of music stolen from various film scores), although I don’t know if a retail version is likely, & if so if it might contain more extras.