Search - Welcome to the Grindhouse: Malibu High/Trip with Teacher on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 11/21/2015...

Trip with the teacher had a good ending.

Decent plots compared to today's movies with all action and no plots.

1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Teen babe as gun-toting assassin; plus babes vs. biker thugs

Joseph P. Menta, Jr. | Philadelphia, PA USA | 10/22/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Another exploitation double feature disc emulating the formula of the 2007 film, "Grindhouse", which featured two simulated 70's-era low rent thrillers (contributed by Robert Rodiguez and Quentin Tarantino), along with simulated trailers and concession-stand ads from the same era. Here, though, you get two actual low-rent, 70's-era epics featuring babes, guns, and some nasty violence. "What?" you say. "The cover of the DVD makes it look like you get lots of sexy fun. Where do the guns and violence come in?"

Well, that's the fun of these independent thrillers from a bygone era, an era when independent fare 90% consisted of sleazy gems like these, not the latest Jane Austen adaptation. And added fun always came from the fact that, regardless of the poster art, you never knew what you were actually going to get from these unpredictable movies. So, what are you getting from "Malibu High" and "Trip With the Teacher"? Glad you asked...

"Malibu High" delivers the nudity and high school hijinks promised in the poster... at first. But then it slowly goes off on a kind of descent-into-crime-and-madness riff where the central teen-age girl character, in an effort to gain independence from her nagging mother, becomes a prostitute (first small time, then as a busy, going concern), then- I kid you not- a cold-blooded hit woman working for a mob kingpin.

Oh, yes, during all of this the girl is still concerned about getting good grades, so she bribes her teachers with sexy fun at the local lovers' lane in return for A's. So, yes, the producers do drift back from time to time to the sexy exploitation theme promised on the poster, but it's soon back to assassinations in parking garages and rich guys' mansions.

While many "grindhouse" movies are unfairly lumped into the "so bad it's good" category, this one probably rightfully belongs in that particular bin. But it's definitely worth a look, preferably with a group of friends and a case of beer.

"Trip with the Teacher" doesn't want to distract you with a complicated plot, so it simply employs that old stand-by, "teens on a field trip get terrorized by crazed motorcycle thugs", and uses the rest of its energy to come up with particularly brutal ways for the thugs to terrorize the girls. Though the poster art indeed suggests that there's some kind of menace in the film and not just naked girls, it really doesn't prepare you for the unsavory deaths in store for several of the characters, and not just the girls. Yes, these thugs are mean to everybody, so it would be unfair to hit this creepy little epic with a lot of "another movie that hates women" reviews.

Things are lightened up a bit by a "good" motorcycle guy who comes to the girls' aid, but it's still all rather unpleasant. In the end, though, I have to concede that "Trip with the Teacher" is ultimately an edgy, and (unlike the earlier film) not at all ridiculous example of the grindhouse form. And since you all want to know this: Yes, there's a fair amount of nudity, but none of it is really fun to watch, due to the violent context in which most of the nudity takes place.

Extras include trailers for something called "The Stepmother", offering more thriller/exploitation fun, as mom gets it on with everyone but her husband; and "Weekend with the Babysitter", a silly movie that examines the "relevant" issue of white-haired, late middle-aged married guys suddenly taking up with their teen-age babysitters and their "now generation" friends. This trailer appears on at least one other "Welcome to the Grindhouse" double-feature DVD, but it never gets old. The disc features one or two other trailers from the 70's, but those were the best ones.

The prints used for the main features are generally fine, but both show some wear and tear. But you're not supposed to let that bother you, as scratchy prints and even the occasional missing reel were supposed to be part of the classic grindhouse experience.

In the end, I'd say that "Malibu High" is about 80% worth seeing because it's "so bad it's good" and 20% worth seeing because it's genuinely sort of interesting. "Trip with the Teacher" reverses things: it's 80% actually involving (but only if you can tolerate violent exploitation fare) and 20% fun-to-laugh-at badness.

With that said, if any of this sounds at all interesting to you, go pick this DVD up and see for yourself how you'll respond. After all, what's to lose considering the dirt-cheap price?

"

SCHOOL IS IN SESSION!

CBlaze | Batavia, IL | 10/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Feature #1:
Let me start off by saying that this movie is really bad - the acting, the sound, the directing, the plot... Everything was just so bad - but in the end I cleared off a little room in my heart just for it.

Malibu High was about Kim and how she seemed to think that she was getting a raw deal. She got a raw deal with her boyfriend who hooked up with someone else - she got a raw deal at school when she was about to flunk out - she got a raw deal with her pimp when he kept her at a 60/40 cut - she got a raw deal with life. So, what does she do? She lets down her hair - and her shirt - and sleeps her way out of all her problems.

What I loved about this movie was that she created all her own problems and blamed it on the world. What I also loved about this movie was the sheer 70's cheesiness. The movie glorifies her achievements as a prostitute making all the perks of becoming a prostitute - the fancy cars - the 70's style - and the hairy men - seem amazing without casting any shame on her (which usually makes for the best kind of exploitation flick). Of course since she goes down this dark path of prostitution - she also becomes the #1 hit-woman in town - killing everyone from Tony to Mr. Elmhurst (and you'll love the way she kills the principal). Also, the music is something to behold - a little musical interlude that sounds like Pac-Man dying was the "oh snap" of it's time - and the chase music at the end which is the People's Court theme!

This movie was highly entertaining - but chalk full of nudity - no one under 18 should be admitted!

Feature #2:
Trip with Teacher was a whole different ballgame - I found it to be entertaining in a different way than Malibu High. I almost took it as a serious movie - something that Hollywood should remake instead of remaking proven commodities - simply because there was `something' to the story. I use the qualifier `almost' because the movie was in no speck of the imagination a good movie - but the story was far more interesting.

The movie is about a bus of 5 girls who go off for a summer camping trip - the `Teacher' that the title refers to isn't as much of a teacher as she is the acting guardian. They run into 3 bikers - one crazy guy, one follower guy and one nice guy. They all seem to get along with one of the bikers - but not the other two (I forget which one though). When their bus breaks down and the bikers are there to "help" - they tow the bus deeper into the desert and then the trouble begins.

What I liked about this movie was that there was some pretty good suspense - not great - but good for a b-movie. The acting was terrible by several of the girls as well as the evil biker dudes - but some of them actually had some decent moments. What cracked me up about the movie was the girls break-a-way clothing - one quick tug and the evil biker guy could strip a girl bare. What I also like about this movie was they color coded the girls so I couldn't get confused - there was the green girl - the blue girl - the yellow and white girl - and the all yellow girl. It's so easy when you don't care about the characters to forget who died - but this movie makes it easy! One thing I really disliked about this movie was the sound transfer as it buzzed quite a bit - but it did add to the whole watching a crappy movie experience.

This movie also features some rape scenes that may be too strong for some - but if you can stomach that - it's not a horrid bad movie - it's just regular strength bad.

As part of the whole Grindhouse package you are treated to 2 previews in front of each film when you select the `experience' option. The previews are of `The Stepmother', `The Teacher', `The Virgin Witch' and `The Babysitter' - I hope from the titles you would be able to figure out what these movies are about. If not - they are about naked women running around not acting the way they probably should if they were indeed a teacher, stepmother, babysitter or virgin witch (though I've never met a virgin witch - I would have to assume that since she kept her virginity - that they wouldn't be running around naked in public).

I highly recommend this DVD for anyone who enjoys bad movies - as they are both fun movies to watch and you will get plenty of laughs from them both.
"

Deliciously BAD

Mr. G. E. Harbert | WV | 01/19/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you're looking for good movies, go elsewhere. If you're looking for a great recreation of the "grindhouse" experience, then look no further.

"Malibu High" is deliciously bad, with just the right amount of corniness and kookyness that it will instantly become a guilty pleasure.

"Trip with the Teacher" fails where "Malibu High" succeeds. It is almost a good movie, meaning that with a little tweaking it could have been a solid idea for a mainstream hit. It was too bad to be good, and too good to have the cult level of goodness that "Malibu High" has.

The trailers are great, (most notably, "The Stepmother") and all in all this DVD set makes for a great experience. Skip it though if you're looking for an Oscar winning masterpiece. You're buying the experience here, not the movies."