Film Corner: Heathers 1988

What do you get when you cross malicious high school cliques, croquet, and murder? Heathers. This movie premiered in 1988 starring Winona Ryder as Veronica Sawyer, the unique member amongst the most popular group in school called ‘the Heathers’. The Heathers consists of Heather Duke, Heather Mcnamara, and the red-scrunchie queen-bee, Heather Chandler. This movie has remained a cult favorite for generations, noted for its quirky quotes, 80s clothing, and dark humor.

The movie opens with a dream-like scene of the Heathers and Veronica playing croquet, a favorite pastime of the clique. Veronica begins to question the cruel habits of her so called “friends”, as they terrorize and bully their classmates. A mysterious boy transfers to their school and catches Veronica’s attention. JD, played by Christian Slater, sees the cold-blooded functioning of the social groups at Westerberg High and how it disgusts Veronica too. She confides that they aren’t really her friends, more like “people I work with and our job is being popular”, and JD urges her to do something about it. JD shows how seriously he takes his mission to rid the school of these bullies when he tricks Veronica into poisoning Heather Chandler. The two stage the crime scene to seem like a suicide and direct blame from themselves. They’re successful and soon JD escalates, with Veronica in tow, and the body count soars. Eventually Veronica refuses to continue helping him, fakes her own suicide to avoid his revenge, and foils his attempt to blow up the school building.

If you haven’t seen this film yet, “what’s your damage”? The thoughtful cinematography, quotable dialogue, unique plot, and delightful 80’s aesthetic makes Heathers a timeless cult classic. The threat of a loner with violent impulses attempting to exact justice on his bullies has become even more relevant, and the message of ‘survive high school, popularity is overrated, and the world is crazy and cruel so why should you add to it continues to resonate. The original film has now been adapted as a Broadway play and now a television series set to premiere March 7th. So if you are looking for an entertaining movie for next movie night, I would highly recommend this cult favorite. Don’t be put off by the dark subject, there’s plenty of laughs and insightful commentary, and “the extreme always seems to make an impression”.