The Class That Almost Made the Grade
Released in 1989, Cutting Class arrived near the tail-end of the slasher boom—a decade defined by hockey masks, butcher knives, and formulaic teen terror. By the time this film made its way into theaters, horror fans had already seen the genre’s highs (Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street) and its plentiful lows (Graduation Day, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2). With a title that screams “late-night cable filler,” Cutting Class doesn’t exactly rise above its station, but it doesn’t entirely flunk out either. It’s a curiously uneven horror-comedy hybrid that plays more like an after-school special that took a hard left into homicide.
On one hand, you have a cast of recognizable faces—particularly a young Brad Pitt in one of his earliest film roles and genre favorite Jill Schoelen doing her best with the material she’s given. On the other, you’ve got a script that can’t decide if it wants to be scary or funny, a tone that shifts like a teenager’s mood, and pacing that tests your patience.
Cutting Class isn’t a disaster, but it isn’t a standout either. It’s a C+ student in a class of overachievers and dropouts—a slasher flick that occasionally earns a smirk or gasp, but mostly coasts on the charm of its cast and the nostalgia of its era.
The Plot: Who’s Failing at Murder?
The premise is textbook ’80s horror: a high school is rocked by a series of mysterious murders, and it’s up to a group of teens to figure out who the killer is—before it’s too late.
Jill Schoelen stars as Paula Carson, the sweet and studious daughter of a district attorney. Paula has two very different men orbiting her: the troubled and recently released Brian Woods (Donovan Leitch), a boy with a dark past and a thousand-yard stare, and the cocky basketball star Dwight Ingalls (Brad Pitt), who struts through school like he owns the place. When teachers and classmates begin dying under suspicious circumstances, all signs point to Brian—but things aren’t quite so simple.
The rest of the film plays out as a combination murder mystery and teen melodrama. Paula tries to navigate her crumbling love life while avoiding detention—and death. Meanwhile, a rotating cast of cartoonish authority figures (teachers, principals, janitors) serve as cannon fodder or comic relief, depending on the scene.
There’s a killer on the loose. The school is a warzone of hormones and homicidal rage. And in true slasher fashion, no one seems particularly alarmed.
Jill Schoelen: The Honor Student of the Cast
Once again, Jill Schoelen proves why she was one of the most compelling genre actresses of her era. As Paula, she anchors the film with a grounded, empathetic performance. While the movie around her sometimes descends into farce, Schoelen plays it straight—projecting both vulnerability and intelligence. She’s not just a scream queen—she’s a protagonist with presence.
Schoelen had already made waves in The Stepfather (1987) and would later star in Popcorn (1991), and in Cutting Class, she continues to demonstrate a quiet strength. Even when the plot goes off the rails, she remains believable. You buy her fear. You believe her confusion. And she brings a warmth to the character that makes you root for her survival, even when the movie seems more interested in snark than suspense.
It’s worth noting that Cutting Class puts a surprising amount of narrative weight on Paula. She’s not just a damsel in distress or a final girl by default—she’s the emotional center of the film. If only the screenplay had given her a bit more to work with, she might’ve elevated the entire movie.
Brad Pitt Before the Spotlight
Let’s talk about the elephant in the letterman jacket—Brad Pitt.
Yes, that Brad Pitt. In Cutting Class, he plays Dwight Ingalls, Paula’s boyfriend and the school’s resident jock/charmer/sleazeball hybrid. While the role doesn’t demand much, Pitt exudes a natural charisma that hints at the movie star he would become just a few years later. He’s got the smirk, the hair, the “I can’t be bothered with this scene” energy that somehow makes him more watchable.
But character-wise, Dwight is a bit of a mess. He vacillates between supportive boyfriend and jealous jerk, often in the same scene. The script never decides whether he’s supposed to be a red herring, comic relief, or romantic interest—and Pitt seems unsure how to play him as a result. Still, his screen presence is undeniable. You keep watching him, even when he’s doing little more than delivering exposition or tossing out weak one-liners.
For completists and Pitt fans, this film is worth the price of admission just to see him in pre-fame form. For everyone else, he’s a mildly entertaining footnote in a middling movie.
Donovan Leitch as Brian: Brooding to the Point of Parody
As Brian Woods, Donovan Leitch is saddled with the most thankless role in the film. He’s the misunderstood outcast who may—or may not—be the killer. It’s the kind of role that demands nuance, but the film gives him none. He’s intense when he should be sympathetic, cryptic when he should be relatable, and outright creepy in scenes that are meant to generate doubt, not discomfort.
Leitch does what he can with the role, leaning hard into the brooding, socially awkward vibe. But the script sabotages him with inconsistent motivations and an eventual payoff that feels more obligatory than shocking.
It’s a shame, because there’s a decent performance buried under the heavy-handed direction and poorly structured reveals. A tighter script and clearer character arc might have made Brian a tragic figure. Instead, he’s a walking question mark until the film runs out of red herrings.
The Tone: Comedy or Carnage?
One of Cutting Class’s biggest problems is that it doesn’t know what kind of movie it wants to be. Is it a horror-comedy in the vein of Heathers or Student Bodies? A straight slasher like Friday the 13th? Or a mystery thriller dressed in high school letterman gear?
The film tries to do all three—and ends up doing none well.
The comedic moments, such as a bumbling principal played by Roddy McDowall (yes, that Roddy McDowall), feel out of sync with the rest of the film. McDowall is clearly having fun, and his character is so over-the-top it borders on cartoonish. But his antics undercut any tension the movie tries to build. You can’t have a serial killer hiding in the science lab if the principal is busy groping mannequins and sniffing test tubes for laughs.
Meanwhile, the horror elements are tame and uninspired. The kills, while creatively staged at times, lack suspense. There’s little buildup, little payoff. The camera often cuts away just before things get graphic, suggesting either a budget issue or a studio-mandated PG-13 vibe that didn’t quite pan out.
The result is a tonal mishmash. One scene wants you to laugh at the absurdity of teenage life. The next wants you to gasp as someone gets impaled by a flagpole. And somewhere in between, Jill Schoelen is trying to hold the whole thing together.
The Script: A Study in Missed Opportunities
The screenplay, written by Steve Slavkin, had the raw ingredients for a solid teen slasher: a troubled kid with a violent past, a jealous boyfriend, a relatable heroine, a high school full of suspects. But the execution is lazy.
There’s no real investigation. The mystery plays second fiddle to teenage drama. Suspense sequences are often rushed or undercut by awkward dialogue. And the killer’s motivation, once revealed, feels like an afterthought.
The script’s biggest failure, though, is its inability to stick with any tone or theme. It flirts with satire but lacks the wit. It attempts horror but lacks the nerve. It introduces subplots—an absentee father, a scheming teacher, a police investigation—that go nowhere.
In more capable hands, Cutting Class could have been a sharp critique of authority and adolescence. Instead, it settles for weak punchlines and mild jump scares.
The Direction: Functional but Flat
Director Rospo Pallenberg, primarily known for his writing collaborations on Excalibur and Deliverance, makes his directorial debut here—and it shows. The film lacks visual flair. Scenes are competently shot but rarely stylish. There’s little sense of atmosphere, and the few attempts at horror—foggy school hallways, isolated locker rooms—feel generic and underutilized.
Pallenberg seems unsure whether to embrace the absurd or play things straight. As a result, scenes often feel like rough drafts of ideas that could’ve worked with more conviction.
That said, the pacing isn’t terrible. The film moves along briskly, and there’s rarely a dull moment. But fast doesn’t mean tight. The story meanders, doubling back on itself, unsure of how to land its story beats.
The Kills: Bloody But Forgettable
A slasher film lives and dies by its kills, and Cutting Class delivers a few that stand out—if only slightly.
There’s a decapitation by paper cutter, a gym equipment “accident,” and a final sequence involving a Rube Goldberg–style showdown in the school’s auto shop. These moments are fun in a cheesy, late-’80s sort of way. But they lack impact. The kills happen quickly, often off-camera, and with little emotional buildup. It’s all style, no shiver.
Fans looking for gore will be disappointed. Fans looking for suspense will be bored. Fans looking for camp? They might just have a good time.
Final Thoughts: Not Quite a Failure, Not Quite a Pass
Cutting Class isn’t the worst slasher of the ‘80s, not by a long shot. But it’s also not a hidden gem. It’s the kind of movie you watch on a lazy Saturday afternoon, half paying attention, occasionally chuckling or raising an eyebrow at Brad Pitt’s early attempts at acting.
What saves it from total obscurity is the cast—particularly Jill Schoelen, who lends the film a legitimacy it doesn’t deserve. Brad Pitt is a novelty, sure. Roddy McDowall is amusing. But it’s Schoelen who provides the emotional throughline. Without her, Cutting Class might have been completely forgettable.
As it stands, it’s a time capsule of late-‘80s horror mediocrity—occasionally funny, rarely scary, but always very, very 1989.
Final Grade: C+
Rating: ★★½ out of 5
Recommended only for slasher completists, Brad Pitt historians, and fans of Jill Schoelen looking to see her shine in spite of the chaos around her.
