Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
Maybe you’re not quite aware of Josh Ruben yet. But you should be. The director behind the films Scare Me, Werewolves Within, and Heart Eyes has displayed a brilliant ability to create charming horror riddled with engaging characters. All three made my top ten horror movies list during their respective years. I trust him when he brings attention to clever writing. And he did just that recently with the cult dark comedy, Heathers.
Michael Lehmann’s debut feature plays like Mean Girls if it were written by John Hughes and plunged into a vat of darkness. Featuring career-defining performances from Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, with razor-sharp commentary on teen peer pressure, it bombed at the box office yet has since claimed well-deserved cult status. Never seen it? Fix that immediately by streaming Heathers on Prime.
Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
What’s Heathers About?
Veronica (Ryder) secretly dislikes the clique she has found herself in, dubbed the Heathers for the fact that the other girls are all named Heather. When she meets bad boy J.D. (Slater), he convinces her to play a dangerous practical joke on lead Heather (Kim Walker), resulting in the girl’s death. They frame the murder as a suicide…and then commit another…and another…making their victims more popular than they were in life. But as the bodies pile up and J.D. grows out of control, Veronica realizes it’s up to her to stop him before he kills the whole school.
What Josh Ruben Had to Say
Recently on Letterboxd, Josh Ruben praised Heathers, writing, “Wow. Is this the best, most ahead of its time writing ever?”
Witty Dark Comedy that Slays
I don’t know about “ever,” but Daniel Waters’ (Batman Returns) brilliant script sure tapped into a nerve long before others. Through a heavy dose of wit and wisdom, Heathers explores the very core of the bridge question we’re all asked while growing up. You know the one. If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you? Our teen years, filled with high school cliques and immense pressure to fit in, put that question to the test more than any other period during our lives. From the beginning, Veronica makes clear she isn’t about the things that her so-called friends do. But she goes along with them anyway for fear of being outcast. The same applies to her relationship with J.D.
Head to toe, J.D. embodies the psychopathic school outcast trope before society had come to reckon with such a character. Filmed over a decade before the tragedy of the Columbine high school shooting, Heathers predicted a culture of school violence that hadn’t yet come to fruition. And in that prediction, it points a finger at the failings of adults by highlighting the media’s sensationalism of death, in this case, teen suicide. Yet as dark as the subject matter is, Lehmann’s film finds plenty of opportunity for laughter. For a movie focused on murder, teen suicide, and the trappings of popularity, Heathers results in a surprisingly delightful watch.
Join the club of Heathers admirers by streaming the film on Prime Video now. And while you’re at it, maybe give Ruben’s Scare Me, Werewolves Within, or Heart Eyes a spin. All are currently streaming.
For more recs like this, follow me on Bluesky @werematt.
Categorized: Streaming News
