| Bad Girls from Valley High | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | John T. Kretchmer |
| Written by | Robert LoCash |
| Starring | Julie Benz, Monica Keena, Nicole Bilderback, Jonathan Brandis, Janet Leigh |
| Distributed by | Universal Home Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | May 13, 2004 (Cannes Film Market) March 22, 2005 (DVD) |
| Running time | 84 min. |
| Language | English |
Bad Girls from Valley High is a 2004 direct-to-video comedy horror film starring Julie Benz, Monica Keena, Nicole Bilderback, Jonathan Brandis, and Janet Leigh. Originally titled A Fate Totally Worse than Death, the screenplay was based on the novel of the same name.
Danielle (Julie Benz), Tiffany (Nicole Bilderback), and Brooke (Monica Keena) are the three most popular and most nasty girls in high school. Danielle, the leader, is used to getting what she wants and what she currently wants is good looking yet lonesome ex jock Drew (Jonathan Brandis). Drew has been mourning over the death of his girlfriend Charity Chase for a year. Charity was believed to have committed suicide; however, this wasn't the case. Danielle, Tiffany and Brooke lured Charity to a cliff and killed her.
A year to the day of Charity's death, a Romanian foreign exchange student Katrina (Suzanna Urszuly) arrives. She and Drew immediately become friends and a jealous Danielle tries to do everything in her power to stop this friendship developing into love. In an attempt to get close to Drew, Danielle works at the elderly home where Drew is also working. She is assigned to look after an old lady whom she believes is in a coma. Danielle, Tiffany and Brooke use this opportunity to raid the old lady's cupboard and eat her box of chocolates.
In the following two weeks, the 3 girls begin to notice that something strange is happening to them, they are receiving back pains and their hair is turning gray - to their horror they discover that they are aging at a rapid speed. They believe this has something to do with Katrina, whom they now think is in fact the ghost of Charity coming back to seek revenge. The three decide the only way to regain their youth is to kill Drew and let his spirit be with Charity.
On the night of Danielle's 18th birthday party, the three lure Drew to the same gorge where Charity died and attempt to shoot him. Katrina shows up and says she is not Charity's ghost. Danielle briefly ponders this but decides to shoot them both anyway. Brooke however, the kindest of all the three, says that they have gone too far and prevents Danielle from pulling the trigger. Drew disarms her, and both Danielle and Tiffany overcome by back pain faint, and are carried to the old age home.
Tiffany is hooked on a life support machine and Danielle is barely alive. At that moment, the old woman who Danielle was meant to be caring for shows up. She reveals that she was Charity's grandmother and that while she had been briefly unable to speak do to a stroke, she had very good hearing and sight and overheard Danielle bragging about Charity's murder. She then reveals she poisoned the chocolate box knowing that the girls would eat it, with a chemical from her friend's husband who works in a chemical factory that specializes in biological warfare technology. Danielle sticks her middle finger up at her and dies.
At the funeral for her and Tiffany, everyone is in attendance, including Drew and Katrina (who were by this time an official couple) attends. Brooke is also in attendance; she didn't die because she didn't eat as many chocolates as Tiffany and Danielle had eaten, demonstrating her sense of self control. She was operated by a plastic surgeon and she appears to be 35 years old. Her teacher (Christopher Lloyd) will forgive her , knowing she wasn't as cruel as Danielle and she regrets what she has done.
Danielle is then revealed to be in a revealing dress in a luxurious room with her youth restored. She and Tiffany are both young again and are convinced that they are in heaven. However it is revealed that they are actually in hell, forced to forever endure the company of the most annoying dork in school (Aaron Paul), who is completely devoted to he every move. So much so, that her committed suicide himself just to be with her forever.
Shot in 2000, the film was not released on DVD until five years after filming completed although it premiered at Cannes Film Market in France. Bad Girls From Valley High also marks the last screen appearances of both Jonathan Brandis and Janet Leigh.