dir. Liam Regan

As British goth Beth Connor (Lyndsey Craine) drinks a glass of milk laced with pills she explains that – for 17 years – she’s been trapped in horror films. Literally. Her suicides are in the hope that she’ll be able to jump genres, although so far she’s had no such luck. But don’t worry, it’s vegan milk. Beth wouldn’t hurt an animal. 

At Henenlotter High, Americans have taken over the board and Mr. Sawyer (Vito Trigo) is the new headmaster. To bolster school spirit, he announces the first annual Binge & Purge All You Can Eat Massacre: first prize is a loaded handgun, which the winner can turn on their fellow classmates… or themselves. The board wants a bloodbath because streaming services will pay top dollar to host footage of the mayhem, but for Beth this may finally be her ticket out.    

There’s another new face from across the pond however — the dreamy Miss Campbell (Lala Barlow), a teacher for whom Beth immediately develops a crush. After taking a few bites out of bullies, something ignites within Beth and Miss Campbell reveals she has similar tastes. The two start an affair filled with love, laughter, murder and mastication, with Barlow chewing scenery in contrast to Craine’s straight-woman. 

Approaching sensitive topics with an over-the-top, hyper-camp absurdity makes it clear that director Regan’s sophomore outing is one for those with a contorted sense of humour (this is a Troma movie, after all). Despite its self-awareness however (one would need a notepad to keep track of all the references) Campbell never ruins the joke, whilst the soundtrack perfectly balances the off-kilter tone with nostalgic, 90s-esque needle-drops.

© Lindsay Dawson

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