Rush Week

_Nancy Drew goes to college where there’s an axe-murderer_ A journalism student (Pamela Ludwig) transfers to a university in SoCal during a notorious fraternity’s rush week ceremonies. When attractive female coeds go missing and are curiously underreported, she investigates, but this attracts the attention of the axe-wielding antagonist. “Rush Week” is a mystery/slasher that was released direct-to-video in the UK at the end of 1989, and not made available in the USA until early 1991. I point this out because it doesn’t have the ‘feel’ of a theatrical release. While there’s some nudity, there’s hardly any gore until the final ‘kill’ (not that I care personally; I’m just reporting). Despite being second tier, it should be enjoyed by fans of, say, "Happy Birthday to Me" (1981), “Zombie High” (1987) and the later “Class Warfare” (2001). Ludwig works well as the star with her distinctive, pretty face. She was 28 during shooting and left acting for good in 1990 after an 11-year career where breakout success was denied her. Also on the feminine front, Kathleen Kinmont, from “Halloween 4” (1988), has a noteworthy sequence in the opening act. Meanwhile Heidi Holicker is a highlight as Sarah in a small part; you might remember her as Stacey in “Valley Girl” (1983). On the other side of the gender spectrum, Gregg Allman from the Allman Brothers, and Cher’s ex-hubby, has a notable cameo as an aged-hippie “faculty advisor.” While this has a comic booky direct-to-video vibe, it’s colorful and a fitting choice if you’re in the mood for something Halloween-ish, like "Night of the Creeps" (1986), just not as good production-wise. I’d watch it any day over the overrated and ridiculously contrived “Scream” (1996). Sure, this is contrived and cartoonish too, not to mention predictable, but it’s more palatable and less eye-rolling. The film runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles at the VA Hospital in Brentwood and the Higgins-Verbeck-Hirsch Mansion in Windsor Square. GRADE: B-