Late Night Classics – Return to Horror High
Every fancy pants movie star has a skeleton in their closet that they don’t want to speak of. Whether it is Jason Alexander in The Burning, Tom Hanks in He Knows You’re Alone, or Demi Moore in Parasite – some of the biggest names in show business have started off their careers doing horror films. Perhaps the biggest of them all is ladies man George Clooney, who cut his teeth on the films Return of the Killer Tomatoes, and my spotlight movie of the day – Return to Horror High. Instead of talking to George, I got in touch with actress Lori Lethin to wax nostalgic about this overlooked slasher.
Jason Bene: After starring in Bloody Birthday and The Prey, were you happy to do another slasher film, especially one that was spoofing the genre?
Lori Lethin: I loved doing Return to Horror High. I thought it was so cool that finally someone got the idea to combine comedy and horror. The first thing that struck me was Return to Horror High was a sequel to a movie that was never made. The second thing that got my attention was that I would get to play three different characters by just slapping a different cheap wig on(very tacky….I loved it) and lastly i couldn’t resist the wonderful cast!
Jason Bene: The script was written in such a way that you were able to play completely different characters. Was that fun for you to do?
Lori Lethin: Oh yeah…the bigger the wig the more fun I had with the characters. I especially liked the scenes with Vince Edwards. I used to watch him on Ben Casey growing up…the fact that he played a sadistic pervert and I got to play the innocent little victim was beyond fun.
Jason Bene: Where was the abandoned school located at? Have you ever been back for a few laughs?
Lori Lethin: The school was located somewhere in the valley and I have not been back.
Jason Bene: Did you get to hang out and chat with former Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick?
Lori Lethin: Okay …first off…I loved Marsha Brady…every girl wanted to be like her. Every time I saw her I just wanted to say Marsha Marsha Marsha! We did not work that much together but she was on set ….she was really having a good time with her character. I think she did a great job playing a perfect combo of a sexy, demented, orally fixated police officer…a far cry from Marsha…I loved It!
Jason Bene: I find it ironic that George Clooney plays an actor who aspires to bigger and better things and leaves the set of a low budget horror movie to be a star. Can
you talk about working with him? Did he ever think he would be this mega celebrity?
Lori Lethin: George Clooney was adorable and quite charming. Unfortunately…he was one of the first victims to die so I only worked with him for a day. He was like the rest of us who were acting at the time…we were all happy to be working and focused on getting the next gig… I kinda got the feeling that he wished he could have worked on the film a little longer…..little did he know what was ahead of him.
Jason Bene: Return to Horror High predates movies like Scream and Scary Movie by many years. Do you think it was ahead of its time and can now be appreciated for the clever flick that it is?
Lori Lethin: It was ahead of it’s time and I don’t think a lot of people knew what to do with it. But I am happy to say that it has stood the test of time and become a real cult classic…I am proud of that!
Jason Bene: Do you get messages on Facebook or do you attend horror conventions and have fans approach you about the film?
Lori Lethin: Funny you should ask. A wonderful gentleman contacted me on facebook and has set up a fan page. All of a sudden fans have been coming out of the woodwork. I never knew. It is so sweet. As far as the horror conventions. I have not gone down that avenue …yet….but there could be a strong possibility in the future.
Jason Bene: You are a Scream Queen without officially being labeled one. That is not such a bad thing because guys like myself who grew up with 80′s horror films never forget who was in them. That has to feel nice. .
Lori Lethin: I love that title….Scream Queen. It was especially fun for my kids who when they were asked to share in class about what their mother did for a living….they simply responded…She screams!
Jason Bene
I'm just an average man/ With an average life/ I work from nine to five/ Hey, hell, I pay the price/ All I want is to be left alone/ In my average home/ But why do I always feel/ Like I'm in the twilight zone
Follow Me:
5 Comments
Join Us On Facebook
Advertisement
Great interview, very nice woman.
Clooney has spoken about his horror past in a few interviews over the yrs. Heard that Alexander also has spoken about The Burning as well.
As for Mrs. Kutcher, I doubt that she has or ever will talk about Parasite 3-D, General Hospital or that crappy Master Ninja tv series she did with Lee Van Cleef.
Loved the MST3K treatment her episode got on the TRUE SciFi Channe.l
What about a certain FRIENDS actress in LEPRECHAUN?
We all had a great time making that film. The truth is that we never really got to shoot the script. Not enough time and money. If we could send a copy of the script with the film you could see just how brilliant the concept was. Lori was beautiful, an incredible actress, fun. It was like summer camp with cast and crew. George was very inquisitive about everything. He kept talking about a Pilot he was going off to do. A genuinely nice person. I love when people go on the web and suggest it’s no where near as good as the original. As Lori said there was never an original. I think I have some photos on my website. I’m very happy that people are finding this film. No money, no time, great people, lots of talent, lots of fun! I wish all of you could have been there.
Roy H. Wagner ASC
Director of Photography
Return to Horror High
Jason Bené Reply:
March 24th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Thanks for all the cool info, Roy!
I am happy to spread the good word about RETURN TO HORROR HIGH!
That high school was in La Canada/Flintridge California. One of the producers was Gregg Simms. He represented most of the cast members. That’s how we got such a great cast. The director, Bill Froelich and his writing partner Mark Lisson had been writing for several television shows. The assistant director was Rachel Talalay. After Return she became the Line Producer on Nightmare On Elm Street III. She hired me from the experience on Return to Horror High. My favorite characters in the entire film is the fat cinematographer who is always eating a donut and Alex Rocco (who had been in “Godfather”). He played the sleazy producer. All of us had spent years working for characters like the one he played. How he dealt with the crew who wanted to get paid in extremely funny. All of the hallway shots were done during the daytime. We were allowed very little night work. We tented in the windows at the end of the hallway.