George Clooney’s First Theatrical Role Ended Horribly in This ’80s Meta Slasher

George Clooney is one of the most famous actors on the planet, and has been for three decades. Her time as a Hollywood star really began with her starring role in the hit ’90s NBC series. EASTbefore moving into cinema with notable roles in films like From dusk to dawn, Syrian, In the airand the recent version of Netflix, Jay Kelly. However, back when Clooney was a television actor trying to find his big break, his first film role came in the 1987 meta slasher Return to Horror High.

Another Horror Movie Was Technically George Clooney’s First

If you want to get into it, the first official movie that George Clooney was in, which was also in the horror genre, was in 1983. Grizzly II: Vengeance. Clooney, then 22, had a small role as a fun-loving hiker named Ron, but the sequel, in name only, to Grizzly bear is not considered a big one. Instead, Grizzly II stands out for two things: it also welcomes newcomers Charlie Sheen And Laura Dern in small parts, and a filming disaster led to the film not being released until 2021, two decades after all three actors became huge Hollywood success stories.

With Grizzly II was not published when created (if you saw it, you know it was for the best), the struggling Clooney kept trying before finally starting to make a small mark in the 1984 series. E/R (no, not that one) and a recurring role for George Burnett in The facts of life. Then Clooney got his real chance to star in a real theatrical release in 1987, a slasher called Return to Horror High.

Clooney plays cursed Oliver in ‘Return to Horror High’

Return to Horror Highwritten and directed by Bill Froehlichwas released on January 9, 1987. Despite the title, it was not a sequel, but an original effort in a not-so-original subgenre. After the success of 1978 Halloweenslashers dominated the early 80s thanks to countless imitators like Friday the 13thbut by the second half of the decade the blood rose was no longer in full bloom and the public was beginning to lose interest.

Always, Return to horror attempted to offer something unique with its plot about the fictional images of Cosmic shoot a film in the high school where a massacre had taken place years earlier. Title High Horrorit’s a film within a film, but then, since it’s a slasher after all, a mysterious killer attacks the actors in this film, knocking them out one by one. Most faces Return to Horror High are not recognizable, but a few stand out. Among them is Maureen McCormick of The Brady Bunch fame as a police officer named Tyler.

As McCormick’s power was in decline with The Brady Bunch no longer airing new episodes, another one was about to appear. In Return to Horror High, George Clooney plays Oliveran arrogant and carefree actor played as a cop in the fictional film. However, it doesn’t take long for Oliver to live in this world, because when he goes to investigate a strange noise and sees a trail of blood on a door, he is dragged into a dark room by the killer, who quickly makes Oliver the first victimleaving a trail of blood running down his face. What makes Oliver’s fate even more tragic and ironic for the actor playing him is that he had just played the lead role in a TV show and was ready to leave behind this movie beneath him.

“Return to Horror High” is better than its bad reviews

Image via Images of the New World

Return to Horror High didn’t set the world on fire, earning a paltry $1.2 million at the box office. Audiences weren’t interested in what appeared to be another paint-by-numbers slasher, and critics weren’t kind either, with zero positive reviews found on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, even though the film isn’t a slasher masterpiece, it lives up to its reputation because it knows exactly what kind of film it is and has fun with the idea.

Return to Horror High is a meta slasher that’s nowhere near as clever as Shoutbut he is always aware of his constructions and his beats Wes CravenIt is Scream 3 punching with its similar plot. It also parodies the tropes of what came before it, without quite falling into the category of super goofy. Student bodies Or Horror movie. This slasher tries to create an intriguing mystery in which anyone could be the killer, takes a shocking turn and, although campy, is of the charming variety.

It may have nothing to do with it, but George Clooney’s career really started to take off after Return to Horror High. The same year, he played guest roles in Murder, she wrote And The golden girls. The following year, he began a recurring role in Roseanne. In 1994, when he played Dr. Doug Ross in EASThis career explodedand he was soon one of the biggest names of the ’90s. Yet long before he became a TV star, he was a charismatic guy in a silly slasher playing an actor who had just landed his big role. Return to Horror High It wasn’t exactly that for Clooney, but his very first feature film set him on the path.

Return to Horror High is available for streaming on Prime Video and Tubi in the United States

Release date

January 28, 1987

Runtime

94 minutes

Director

Bill Froehlich

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  Brendan Hughes

  Steven Blake

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  Lori Lethin

  Callie Cassidy/Sarah Walker/Susan

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