What could be worse than being trapped in a high school with a fascist principal and a hardass basketball coach? Howzabout a swim team transformed into brain eating zombies??? That's the fate of our luckless heroes in Tim O'Rawe's cult splatter fest GHOUL SCHOOL.

Our twisted tale of terror begins with an ordinary day at the local high school. In the boiler room, the drunken lardass of a janitor secretly stashes a wad of cash. AV geeks Steve and Jeff, fresh from an encounter with Jeff's Neanderthal older brother, find solace in the latest issue of Fangoria. It's the typical high school crowd - the popular kids, the freaks, the wannabes, et al, suffering together another series of useless announcements from Principal Kaplan, who doesn't have a clue about today's kids.' Outside, two greasers roar up to the grounds on a stolen motorbike; they know about the janitor's stash and plan to rob the poor bastard. Finally, the bell rings - as the kids leave, the greasers take advantage of the crowds and get into the school. In a totally irrelevant bit, Kaplan calls radio personality Joe Franklin, which leads into a scene between Franklin and Jackie 'The Joke Man' Martling. Back at school, Steve and Jeff hide out in the AV room watching a gore film bootleg. In the boiler room, the greasers torture and ultimately shoot the hapless janitor, and search for the stash. One of them unwittingly pushes a button that releases some sort of gas. They're knocked out, and the water pipes carry the gas into the school's water supply, including the pool where the swim team is practicing.

Some time later, the greasers recover from the gas, feeling sick and frustrated by their situation. At the pool, the swim coaches monitor practice. They are attacked by the now zombified swim team and torn to shreds. Meanwhile, in the auditorium, the metal band rehearses for their performance at the school dance. Lead singer Blade and his girl Roxie have different ideas on how to break into the big time; Blade feels any show is worth it, Roxie scoffs at the idea of a high school dance. In the AV room, Jeff and Steve are absorbed in their bootleg film. The basketball team starts their practice under the dictatorship of their jerkweed coach. The popular couple makes out in the hall. The principal keeps trying to figure out what's up with today's kids and their antics. Little do these diverse groups know what they will soon have in common; the zombie swim team is on the move, hungry for flesh, and our unsuspecting staff, students and musicians are next on their menu!

Well, as you might have guessed, there's not a lot of complicated plot in this GHOUL SCHOOL. The story is riddled with holes, the action is exceedingly dull, the acting ranges from passable to downright bad, there is no suspense, continuity doesn't exist, and the ending doesn't make any sense at all. The music score is atrocious; it never fits in with the visuals and repeats endlessly. On the plus side, there is some clever humor, decent (if not obviously amateur) special effects, and most of the cast seems to be trying their best. In his commentary track, writer/director O'Rawe bemoans the fact he tried to 'do too much with too little.' That's kind of expected in a first feature film. The real problem with GHOUL SCHOOL is the result of everybody's hard work is a mish mash that doesn't work as comedy, horror or good entertainment. There are brief flourishes of a good film hiding in there, but as O'Rawe admits, the lack of pre-production and limited resources sabotaged their efforts at every turn. The picture quality is flawed as well; many scenes are grainy and/or soft focused. Sound is uneven; some sequences have an annoying buzz, and others are mixed poorly with the music track. Did I mention the music detracts from the film? John Carpenter-style electronica just doesn't mesh well with a high school atmosphere, and the metal band's rehearsal is so out-of-synch sound-wise as to be embarrassing. There is talent working here, but GHOUL SCHOOL makes it hard to find. However, let us keep in mind James Cameron did start out with 'Piranha II'...

Tempe has released GHOUL SCHOOL with a load of fun extras. In addition to O'Rawe's commentary, there is a separate track by director of photography Michael Raso. It's interesting to compare their reminisces of the shoot. There's a short feature on the make-up SFX, outtakes from Jackie the Joke Man's cameo, a 1988 promo for the original uncompleted version of GHOUL SCHOOL, as well as trailers for both the 1990 and 2004 releases of this film. The best extra is a set of three short films by O'Rawe presented as the Meadowlands Showcase, complete with ghoulish hosts. Each short is obviously an amateur work, but enjoyable for their raw intensity and quirky takes on horror conventions. I highly recommend the creepy 'Tag, You're It.' Of course, there are the obligatory reviews of other fine Rampage titles available as well.

Orson Wells and 'Citizen Kane' come along once in a million years; a director's first film is bound to be severely flawed and still quite amateurish. But that's o.k., as long as the effort is sincere and the creative forces making the film are evident by the passion brought to the screen. GHOUL SCHOOL is a dull and poorly made film, of this fact have no doubt. Inside this drek though, lies the potential of a director who has the ability to do more. I look forward to what the future holds for Tim O'Rawe and his graduates from GHOUL SCHOOL.