After arriving at a strict night school, the students find themselves forced to follow a series of unreasonable requests that go against their curiosity as a series of tests are implemented, but when they learn the harsh truth about their presence at the school must try to save themselves and their friends.
There was a lot to like about this one. One of the strongest features here is the general setup of the school and how it comes together which has some fun aspects about it. The whole idea of the rigorous teaching methods and disciplinary system in place at the very beginning gives this a fun start with a set of ominous instructions that work to elevate a kind of natural distrust of authority that the students replicate with their own reactions to everything. As they start to suspect something is amiss and that there's something genuinely wrong with the school but can't place the true cause of it all, these incidents and outbursts provide the necessary starting point to get to the truth behind not just the faculty's odd behavior but the conditions surrounding their enrollment. The other factor to like here is the final payoff to these bits in the finale when the full extent of their presence is revealed. The way it builds the importance of the test is established which carries on throughout the second half makes for a generally fun time here with the final reveal coming off quite nicely. The type of scare presented here provides some fun with that reveal as there's a far darker secret than what's been given so that it turns the whole point into a much more intriguing concept that has a lot to like about it while taking the direction completely differently which is quite nice. The other really intriguing part here is a rather impressive visual flair here with demonstrating a highly effective technical grasp that's quite unexpected and makes for a much higher-quality genre effort than expected, all of which makes for a rather enjoyable time overall. This one does have some drawbacks to it. One of the main features here is the chaotic and wholly random plotline that seems to veer all over the place with a series of wholly disjointed elements thrown together. The whole concept of the school and the secret mission they're undertaking comes off quite well but everything here is given the flimsiest pretext and throughput that makes the connection seem quite tenuous. The idea of the school harboring a secret and the race to uncover it makes sense the way it's set up but handling that leads to a series of extraneous plot points that go nowhere and lead to a rather obvious secondary flaw in the lack of genre thrills that leaves. Rather than pad out the running time with the mysterious goings-on proving macabre and deadly, the reliance on atmosphere and the hint of something are where the majority of this one tread leading to a sluggish middle section. These are the factors bringing this one down.
Rated Unrated/R: Violence and Language.
