The Hall Monitor

Director(s) - Shawn Gioiosa and Kevin Hartman
Starring - Dan Frome, Ursula Abbott, and Sean Crouse
Release Date - 1999
Genre - Action/Comedy
Tagline - "Reading, Writing, and Reloading"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     Troma has released some fantastic films over the years.  They are mostly known for their original films like The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke 'Em High but Troma has distributed several now classic films over the years like Cannibal: The Musical and The Taint.  I've collected Troma flicks for several years now but I can never make the time to watch them.  The creation of Tromatic Thursday allows me to take time from other films to watch some of the cheesy and outlandish no budget flicks that I love but never get to see.  The first two reviews for Tromatic Thursday I checked out the Toxic Twins Two Pak consisting of Jefftowne and Trailer Town.  Both were unique flicks but they didn't embody that no budget fun that I crave.  The next film I set my sights on is one that I've wanted to watch for year, The Hall Monitor.
     The film follows hall monitor Dan who is ruthless when it comes to maintaining law and order.  He sports a gun and he's not afraid to use it.  When he confronts students from the voc tech he has his hands full when they plan a retaliation but things go too far and one of the members of the football team is found dead.  Dan sets out to find the killer as the bodies stack up.

   




     I first saw the trailer for this years ago after finding the DVD for $1 on oldies.com.  The trailer was everything that I look for in indie flicks.  The film had fun characters, a story that most big budget production companies wouldn't touch, and violence.  Gotta have violence!  The acting in this one works so well for the film.  The cast is inexperience but the characters are so lively that they were able to have fun in the role which made their performances fun to watch.  My favorite performance came from the hall monitor himself Dam Frome.  Frome channels his inner Dirty Harry and delivers a clichéd performance that was enjoyable.  I really like how serious his character was especially when the scene took a comical turn.  He made that role his own.  The story for this one is a clichéd 70s and 80s cop flick but set in a high school.  The film would be considered bad taste when placed against the current social climate and the amount of school shootings but considering it was the late 90s it wasn't that common then.  With that being said, it was released the year of Columbine massacre which I'm sure brought the film under fire.  Aside from this, the story was great.  Giving a hall monitor a gun and have him track down a murderer worked for the film.  It created a fun environment that most films lack.  The story had great pacing and enough action to comedy ration to be very effective.  Finally, the film does have a few deaths but most take place off camera with no effects.  Fans of Troma style gore will be disappointed.  Overall, The Hall Monitor is a fun no budget flick that has some action and plenty of laughs.  I highly recommend this one.