Time: 103 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Violence and offensive language
Cast:
Winona Ryder as Veronica Sawyer
Christian Slater as Jason “J.D.” Dean
Shannen Doherty as Heather Duke
Director: Michael Lehmann

I had been hearing about Heathers for a while. I didn’t know too much about it beforehand, just that it was a high school movie starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater and it was something of a classic. I finally got to watch it at the cinema as part of film society and I was glad I experienced it that way, because I kind of loved the movie.

As someone who didn’t know much about this movie going in, I would recommend going in blind too. While there are plenty of high school movies in the 80s and 90s, Heathers stands out among them significantly. It is much darker and surprisingly thought provoking. It has a lot of satire on society, high school, and cliques and has some controversial themes like school shootings, murder and suicide. It manages to be ahead of its time while being very much a time capsule of the 80s to 90s. While it is dark, it’s also very funny with the black comedy and the numerous quotable lines, so it balances its tone perfectly.

Winona Ryder is really great in the lead role and made for a likable protagonist. Christian Slater is also solid and effectively charming yet sinister in his part, even if his constant Jack Nicholson impression gets very distracting at points. The supporting cast are really good too and a lot of them get their chances to shine.

Michael Lehmann’s direction is very stylish with colorful cinematography, and the 80s aesthetic is very much on display especially with the outfits. The soundtrack is also quite enjoyable and fitting for the film.

Heathers is an incredible, hilarious and entertaining dark comedic and satirical thriller with great performances from Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.