SPLATTER UNIVERSITY is a laughably inept slasher film of the early 1980s, more low rent than even a companion film like GRADUATION DAY. The story involves an unknown maniac escaping from an asylum and going undercover at a high school, where they proceed to slaughter their way through the cast of unknowns. This is very much bottom of the barrel material, one of those films that's nigh on impossible to take seriously; the acting is goofy and the script completely dead-headed. As for that title, well, there are some gory kills, but they tend to be repetitive and lack the creativity that went into a contemporary slasher like HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.

A psycho escapes from a mental hospital and embarks on a bloody rampage at Saint Trinian's College. Several years later eager new teacher Julie Parker (a spunky and appealing portrayal by Forbes Riley) suspects that something is amiss after the killings begin anew.

Director Richard Haines relates the familiar, but still engrossing and enjoyable story at a steady pace, maintains an engaging oddball tone throughout, presents a colorful array of quirky characters (the male college kids in particular are a hilariously rowdy bunch of obnoxious louts),delivers several moments of jolting gory violence, and further spices things up with an amusing sense of offbeat dark humor. Moreover, the killer's true identity is a total hoot while the slaying of the final gal at the end is genuinely shocking. Dick Biel contributes a solid turn as strict wheelchair-bound priest Father Janson. Right-on groovy shivery synthesizer score by Christopher Burke, too. A neat little slice'n'dice item.

I knew this was going to be a good one (and by that, I mean a worthless piece of trash) when the film began with not one, but TWO, flashback sequences of meaningless characters being murdered. Indeed, the entirety of SPLATTER UNIVERSITY is a strangely paced, horribly edited and utterly stupid slab of slasher garbage that should be featured in your next bad movie night.

Directed by Richard W. Haines, most famous for his co-directing post on CLASS OF NUKE 'EM HIGH (and his demotion to second-unit director of the film after only a week),SPLATTER UNIVERSITY tells the tale of random college students who are introduced and immediately murdered. Meanwhile, a new teacher tries to solve the mystery of who's spilling all this university blood. The VHS cover's cheerleader mysteriously never shows up to class.

The film features many wacky college-kid antics (which are damn near impossible to hear because of sound issues),murders (which are almost all uninspired stabbings),and a mystery that is face-palmingly obvious from very early on. Still, the film never takes itself that seriously and there are quite a few intentional and unintentional laughs to be had. As long as you find rampant misogyny and bloody killings funny (and who doesn't!).

It's only 78 minutes long, and I can safely say I enjoyed most of them. I'm a little surprised at the largely negative reviews here which don't mention how dang fun the whole thing is. Great to pair with FINAL EXAM or THE DORM THAT DRIPPED BLOOD for a trashy double feature of dead collegians.