A little word in advance: since this producer sadly passed away in 2001, several of his film received a re-release on DVD under the group name `The Samuel Z. Arkoff Library'. Which is actually a good thing because otherwise, many of his productions would be lost and undiscovered forever. The largest part of his film is extremely low-budget horror (The Undead, The war of the colossal beast, Voodoo Women
) and at first sight, this Reform School Girl seems to be a misfit in that collection. Nonetheless, it's a film definitely worth checking out.
Reform School Girl is a raw and intense social drama, which portrays the lesser attractive aspects of humanity. Some of the main topics of the film include betrayal, egocentrism, blackmail, abuse, jealousy and juvenile violence. It's about a young girl who's sent to a reform-institution after being involved in a car accident. The guy she was with threatened to kill her if she would tell his name to the police. Therefore, her lips are sealed and she brought to a closed institution. Yet, even there she has to face that the code' doesn't allow her to speak freely. Disappointed by the whole world, Donna turns into an anti-social and hostile girl who has to rediscover her trust in mankind. Even though the film obviously suffers from a lack of budget and professionalism, it still manages to touch you and leave a huge impression behind. The script contains a few illogical elements (like the uncle who's scared to death because of a phone call by a youngster) but overall, it's fascinating and a much bigger triumph than most overbudgetted drama's that are only out to bring tears to eyes of the viewer by using cheap sentiment and morality lessons. The message' in Reform School Girl is kept limited and the entire atmosphere is strictly dramatic. The acting is surprisingly good considering most cast members are young and inexperienced actresses. Certainly a film worth a look whenever you have the chance of seeing it. It was re-made for the TV-screen in 1994 by Jonathan Kaplan starring Matt Friends' LeBlanc, among other familiar faces.
Reform School Girl is a raw and intense social drama, which portrays the lesser attractive aspects of humanity. Some of the main topics of the film include betrayal, egocentrism, blackmail, abuse, jealousy and juvenile violence. It's about a young girl who's sent to a reform-institution after being involved in a car accident. The guy she was with threatened to kill her if she would tell his name to the police. Therefore, her lips are sealed and she brought to a closed institution. Yet, even there she has to face that the code' doesn't allow her to speak freely. Disappointed by the whole world, Donna turns into an anti-social and hostile girl who has to rediscover her trust in mankind. Even though the film obviously suffers from a lack of budget and professionalism, it still manages to touch you and leave a huge impression behind. The script contains a few illogical elements (like the uncle who's scared to death because of a phone call by a youngster) but overall, it's fascinating and a much bigger triumph than most overbudgetted drama's that are only out to bring tears to eyes of the viewer by using cheap sentiment and morality lessons. The message' in Reform School Girl is kept limited and the entire atmosphere is strictly dramatic. The acting is surprisingly good considering most cast members are young and inexperienced actresses. Certainly a film worth a look whenever you have the chance of seeing it. It was re-made for the TV-screen in 1994 by Jonathan Kaplan starring Matt Friends' LeBlanc, among other familiar faces.