Elizabeth Sayers (Pamela Franklin) can’t believe that her sister would commit suicide, so enrolls in her school under an alias to see if something suspicious is happening there. She finds a severe headmistress (Jo Van Fleet), a pleasant art teacher (Roy Thinnes), a sadistic psychologist (Lloyd Bochner), a group of friendly girls (Jamie Smith-Jackson, Kate Jackson, Cheryl Stoppelmoor—soon to be Cheryl Ladd), and a mystery.
Admit it, if you are interested in Satan’s School for Girls, it’s either the title—which implies exploitation—or the names of two of Charlie’s Angels that got your attention. Well, it does have pre-haloed Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd, but there are no scantily clad schoolgirls on display. This is a made-for-TV horror flick that tries for frights but is bound by early ’70s television sensibilities. That means no blood, the girls covered from neck to toe (everyone seems to wear frumpy sweatshirts or something equally blanketing), nothing blasphemous, and deaths taking place only off screen. It also means a tiny budget, lackluster directing, forgettable music, and a cinematographer who later worked on The Love Boat. Sound bad? Well, it isn’t. It’s not great. “Great” may be out of reach for made-for-TV fare. But given the limitations of the medium, particularly in 1973, it’s pretty good.
Things start off as tense as TV allowed at the time, with a girl frantically trying to escape unseen forces. She doesn’t, which brings in her sister, lots of nighttime investigating, and a number of almost-scares. No, it isn’t frightening, but then neither is Halloween.
The story is better than I would have expected. No cinematic or horror rules are broken and while it isn’t all that tricky to figure out what’s going on, every piece isn’t obvious from the start. I was particularly fond of the ending, which takes the most heat from the film’s detractors. But those who complain usually want a different kind of film. Up until the final minutes, it could have been a melodrama, a suspenseful criminal tale, or a monster movie. How much you enjoy the film will depend on which one of those you wanted it to be.
Pamela Franklin (who played an unstable psychic in The Legend of Hell House the same year and had started her career as the daughter in the ghost story The Innocents) plays Elizabeth like she’s ten years too old, unable to deal with reality, and in a big hurry to finish the film. Much better is Kate Jackson, who carries the picture. As the in-the-know, amiable but not sugary Roberta, she is sincere and moving. Her speech on what she has gained at the school has more conviction than I would expect in an Aaron Spelling production. And she’s a beauty. Her not-yet cast mate, Cheryl Ladd, doesn’t get enough screen time to make much of an impression; she’s just a pretty girl that knows our heroes.
If you don’t expect much, you’re likely to find Satan’s School for Girls an agreeable diversion for an hour and a half. It’s not a movie you’ll want in your collection, but probably one you’ll want to catch on late night TV.