School's Out

The teacher of a class of highly privileged high school students tries to commit suicide, in front of said students. Enter Pierre as a substitute teacher, at this prestigious private school in France. He is immediately put off by the reactions of the students. They all seem completely unaffected after having witnessed such a traumatic event. Are they simply in shock, or is this altogether something different? Especially six of the students in the class catches Pierre’s attention as he can tell they are up to something, probably something unsavoury, and he becomes obsesses with figuring out just what that might be.

The mood is set by atmospherically menacing synth music á la Stranger Things, excellent acting, and a pitch black sense of humour. The result is a thrilling genre film with clear nods to everything from Kafka to John Carpenter. A sort of Village of the Damned with an environmental sting, if you will. Director Marnier more than succeeds in orchestrating all of the different elements of the film into a sort of apocalyptic mood, which keeps smouldering under the surface right up to the shocking climax. School’s Out has been screened at multiple international festivals, including the genre film festival Sitges (in Catalonia, Spain), where it won a Special Mention, and the BFI London Film Festival.