This film from 1989 has made it on to Rotten Tomatoes list of Hidden Gems and it has a score of 95%. Heathers is a dark teen comedy crime film directed by Michael Lehmann.
The film’s synopsis reads: “Veronica is part of the most popular clique at her high school, but she disapproves of the other girls’ cruel behavior. When Veronica and her new boyfriend, J.D., confront clique leader Heather Chandler and accidentally poison her, they make it appear a suicide. Soon Veronica realizes that J.D. is intentionally killing students he does not like. She races to stop J.D. while also clashing with the clique’s new leader, Heather Duke.”
The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Kim Walker, Shannen Doherty and Lisanne Falk among others.
With a near-perfect score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film meets the criteria of a hidden gem.
The critics consensus reads: “Dark, cynical, and subversive, Heathers gently applies a chainsaw to the conventions of the high school movie – changing the game for teen comedies to follow.”
A top critic awarded the film four out of five stars and said: “Still shocking after 30 years… this definitive blast of teenage nihilism is strong medicine indeed.”
An audience reviewer awarded the film five stars and said: “Quick-witted, surreal, and surprisingly kind-hearted for a movie coated in violence.”
“I believe Heathers should be screened for every freshman on their first day of high school, letting teenagers know the price you could pay for being a bully. Ryder and Slater are absolutely unstoppable in this sacred cult monument,” explained another reviewer.
Critics have praised the film for “standing out all these years later as a unique and dark look at high school”, with another adding: “Beneath the hip, lip-glossed surface of this devastatingly witty black comedy lurks a serious satire on peer-group pretensions and other teen movies.”
The film has since been adapted for TV and as a musical.
Heathers is available to watch on ITVX and Amazon Prime.