Teacher Shortage

Director - Troy Escamilla (Party Night, Mrs. Claus)
Starring - Brinke Stevens (The Slumber Party Massacre, This is Spinal Tap), Debra Lamb (Star Trek: Enterprise, All Strippers Must Die!), and Kaylee Williams (Season's Greetings 2, Model Hunger)
Release Date - 2020
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Some are dying to leave the profession"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I've spent my week watching some of the Hammer Dracula films sent to me for review from Warner Brothers and Scream Factory.  These are not first time watches for me but it was fun to revisit some classic horror.  However, not to burn myself out on the series I've decided to take a few breaks throughout the run to check out some indie productions sent my way for review.  After watching Sam Hodge's fantastic short Conversation with the Devil I decided to toss in Troy Escamilla's newest slasher Teacher Shortage.  This was one I had been interested in for sometime now.  Not many know this about me but my degree is actually in education and my wife is an elementary school teacher so a slasher centered around teachers is right up my alley.

     The film begins with a horrible prank when a girl replaces another girl's name in the yearbook to Ugly Skank.  The girl is mortified and later kills herself in the school bathroom.  We jump forward some time and follows a first year teacher, who is sleeping with the principal, when he attends a department get together that is held annually.  However, he is unaware of a mask killer stalking the staff killing them one by one.  

     This is not my first time reviewing a Troy Escamilla film.  Several weeks back I reviewed Troy's Christmas slasher Mrs. Claus and his prom night slasher Party Night that was sent my way from Wild Eye.  I fucking love holiday horror films but Mrs. Claus was not for me.  Party Night had some cool moments but I wasn't feeling the characters and some of the plot.  However, I thoroughly enjoyed Teacher Shortage.  It did have a few areas that could use improvement but I really enjoyed it.  The acting in this one is leagues better than the previous two films.  It's always cool to see horror legend Brinke Stevens in an indie production and Teacher Shortage was not shy about giving her plenty of screen time.  My favorite performance probably comes from David E. McMahon.  He was funny and his performance was definitely over the top when compared to the other characters.  He brought some humor to the film and really helped move some of the scenes along.  The film's lead, Chris Jehnert, does a fantastic job.  I really liked his performance and the character he brought to life was not your typical slasher survivor.  It is rather unique for the most part but I really enjoyed the diversity.  I can't talk about the cast without mentioning the performances from Roger Conners and Debra Lamb.  The two deliver some solid performances and really went above and beyond to make their characters feel authentic.  Conners' performance does get a little intense during the ending of the film and he does a great job.  The casting in this one is perfect especially when you compare it to the previous two films I reviewed.  The story for this one is a love letter to classic slashers.  The movie is thinking about 80s slashers but it's heart belongs to the post-Scream slashers.  It mixes some elements of both and I really enjoy that.  The movie has some great pacing and show how Escamilla has grown as a writer and filmmaker.  His previous two films had some rough dialogue that made the film feel like it was moving at a snails pace.  However, the pacing feels great and the characters and acting makes the dialogue fun.  I liked the slasher twist at the end and it was one I was not expecting.  My only real complaint about the story is the killer's costume.  The devil/demon mask is cool but with Volumes of Blood and the sequel making its rounds I just feel like something more teacher related instead of a mascot would have been more fun.  Sure, it works for Famine but the goofy mascot costume in that film works with the horror comedy presented to the viewer there.  A few years ago I was in a teacher store in October and they had a few little cheap plastic masks for kids that were intended to be cute.  However, one of them creeped me the hell out.  It was a mask of a teddy bear and painted over it was several letters and numbers.  It was meant to be cute but it was extremely unnerving.  Something like that would have fit the theme of the film a little more.   Finally, this one doesn't shy away from the red stuff.  We get some seriously brutal kills that tow the line with classic slasher kills.  Some of the effects and camera tricks works with the kills but there was a few times where the film's budget was noticeable with the kill.  Overall, Teacher Shortage is an impressive slasher that honestly impressed me.  I know I keep mentioning Party Night and Mrs. Claus but I'm really impressed by how much Escamilla has grown as a filmmaker since he directed these two slashers.  He loves the subgenre and it's evident with this release.  I highly suggest checking this one out because you are going to love it.