The Curious Case of the Campus Corpse

Moviecut—The Hazing

During a hazing, Barney (Charles Martin Smith) one of the pledges dies. Pledge Craig Lewis (Jeff East) is asked not only to keep quiet about the issue, but fill in for Barney in his classes. I am not sure how funny this film was in 1977, it sure is boring now. The only decent character in the movie is killed off thirty minutes into the film. The rest of the characters were dry and dull with terrible dialogue. Rated PG but feels like it was made for TV.

This should be re-titled "The Curious Case Of The Unscrupulous Filmmakers Who Misrepresented A Non-horror Snorer As A Shock Film." It's one long, boring tale of a fraternity hazing, a gag so transparent that even Flounder from Delta House could see through it. Jeff East, an actor in the dues-paying stage, can be forgiven for taking any work he could get. The same can't be said for Charles Martin Smith, who formerly acted for such cinematic heavyweights as George Lucas and Sam Peckinpah. Once available on tape but, thankfully, not out on DVD. Misrepresented garbage like this belongs in a landfill and nowhere else.

Also titled "The Campus Corpse" This is a twisted ending flick that weaves you through one great frustration to the next as these current "college students" don't seem to have a reasonable brain between them. As some one once said "All's well that ends well!" In the mean time you may wonder if the authorities would notice multiple snow shoe tracks leading from a road to a body that died naturally on the trail. I absolutely love these movies and appreciate a little ineptness here and there.

This movie is pretty awful but I have some interesting information about it: It was filmed in 1976 at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ, as well as at Oak Creek Canyon near Sedona, AZ. A good bulk of the extras in the film are then-drama students from NAU. I was a freshman there that year, minoring in theatre, but for some reason I didn't get involved with the production. I did however know several people who did and can supply this rather odd fact: There is a scene in this movie where two of the principals, as part of their hazing ritual, have to run naked into the woods. They are seen from behind in the movie, doing just that. The thing is, those aren't the actors at all but two guys I knew from the theatre department. The identity of these "stunt posteriors" will remain anonymous, at least to this website, unless they decide to, um, "reveal" themselves!

Track star Craig Lewis (Jeff East; Young Clark Kent from SUPERMAN but sporting a perm) is pledging the Deltas at his new school with fellow pledge Barney (the perfect Charles Martin Smith). The duo are initiated by running in the wild wearing only jockstraps (!). Barney slips and breaks his leg, leaving Craig to get the Frat brothers for a rescue. Unfortunately, trouble starts when they get back to Barney and he is dead. Not wanting to be kicked off campus, Frat leader Rod creates an elaborate scheme to make the school think Barney is still alive before they stage his death the following weekend. This is actually a thriller/dark comedy hiding under a horror sounding title. While the film's intentions are good, if you don't have this thing figured out in the first ten minutes, you need to see more movies. Yeah, it is all an elaborate gag a la THE GAME in order to initiate Craig and get him back for a stunt his brother Carl (yes, his name is Carl Lewis) pulled several years previously. I'm sure it packed more punch back in '77. East is quite good as the lead and Smith steals the show for the first half hour. Brad David and the debuting Jim Boelsen are both perfectly sleazy as the frat guys. Director Douglas Curtis keeps an awkward pace on the flick though and in different hands Lewis' paranoia could have been played up better.

People should just know going in that they shouldn't expect anything resembling a serious horror movie or thriller going by the title "The Hazing" or the false advertising. This is really more of a combination dark comedy & drama. It's deliberately paced, sometimes amusing, and very evocative of this era in low budget filmmaking (including the requisite irrelevant interlude and theme song). The performances are universally engaging from all concerned. By the end, one can't help but admire the ingenuity of the fraternity in this movie; hazing and initiation rituals can have a nasty edge, but some people sure go all out in the way that they devise them. The appealing Jeff East ("Superman: The Movie") stars as Craig, who goes to college on a track scholarship and decides to apply to join the frat known as The Delts. Delt head honchos Rod (Brad David, "The Candy Snatchers") and Phil (Jim Boelsen, "Strange Behavior") decide to have Craig and his new friend Barney (Charles Martin Smith, "The Untouchables") run almost naked down a mountain. The problem is, Barney falls and breaks his leg. Forced to leave Barney to go for help, Jeff brings Rod and Phil back only for Barney to have died in the interim. They then go to great lengths to keep the nature of Barney's death a secret. And poor schmuck Craig becomes riddled with guilt as one lie after another is contrived. David and Boelsen are just fine as our merry antagonists, and other fine support is supplied by David Hayward ("Nashville") as Craigs' loving older brother Carl, Sandra Vacey as the perky Dworsky, and the pretty Kelly Moran as Craigs' girlfriend Wendy. Extremely prolific character actor Hal Smith and 'Eight is Enough' actress Lani O'Grady have small roles. But the movie largely rests on the shoulders of East, who does well in this role that marked his transition from Disney productions to more "grown up" fare. The climactic reveal is sure to amuse many in the audience, especially with the utterance of the immortal line, "Welcome to the Delts." All in all, an enjoyable story. Seven out of 10.

There is not a speck of entertainment in this entire film. There's not one scary, funny, or even interesting scene in this film. It advertises itself as a horror, then goes on to call itself a comedy. It doesn't even ATTEMPT humor. Neither does it attempt to be scary. In order to not be bored by this film, you would have to be one of the most easily entertained people on earth. If you like this movie even a LITTLE BIT than you have no standard for what you watch at all. I'm having a very difficult time trying to understand what the filmmakers were trying to accomplish with this. Its not funny, scary, shocking, or intriguing. So was it supposed to be a drama? Because it really wasn't dramatic either. Please just do yourself a favor and don't watch this film. Life is too precious to be wasting 90 minutes of it watching this.

I thought this movie was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it a lot. In fact I thought it was one of the best movies I ever saw. My advice is to watch this movie and decide for yourself. I doubt the first reviewer who put this movie down got the point of the movie. It's kind of a two level dialogs. It can be looked at in different ways. Maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much. Also it reminded me of myself when I was young. In fact I thought it was very realistic, on one level, but on another level it was totally absurd. It's not the kind of movie you see everyday. So keep an open mind. This movie is different. It kept me in suspense the whole time, and when it was over, I felt fulfilled. Isn't that what we go to a movie for? Keep in mind that I was young (in my early twenties) when I saw this movie. I'm 43 now, I think perhaps it's a young person's movie. But I think I'd still enjoy it. But if I was about 18 years old I think maybe I'd enjoy it more.

College freshman Craig Lewis (a fine and likable performance by Jeff East) agrees to partake in a hazing in order to join an elite fraternity. After witnessing the accidental death of fellow pledge Barney (the always affable and excellent Charles Martin Smith) during said hazing, Craig and the other fraternity members do their best to cover up the incident by hiding the corpse in a freezer. Director Douglas Curtis offers a curious and compelling blend of straight drama and quirky dark humor that keeps the audience alert and on their toes throughout as the engrossing story culminates in a neat double twist ending. The clever script by Bruce Shelly and David Ketchum astutely nails the cruelty and secretive nature of fraternity hazing rituals as well as the insistence on upholding tradition and maintaining a respectable reputation above everything else. Moreover, the issues of guilt, morality, and responsibility are addressed in a smart and provocative way. The sound acting by the able cast helps a whole lot: Brad David as arrogant head frat boy Rod, Jim Boelsen as Rod's dim-witted lackey Phil, Kelly Moran as Craig's sweet girlfriend Wendy, Sandra Vacey as dumpy frump Dworsky, and David Haywood as Craig's laid-back older brother Carl. Donald G. Knight's handsome cinematography makes nice occasional use of fades. Ian Freebairn-Smith's melodic score does the tuneful trick. Worth a watch.