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 Revisiting Heathers is a simultaneously pleasurable and horrific experience. It’s a darkly funny, surprisingly insightful comedy that manages to tackle almost everything you’ve ever hated about attending high school and that means between the laughs, you’re forced to a re-live all those painful moments.
Kicking off with sledgehammer symbolism – nothing says “subtle” like a character buried up to her neck - we’re introduced to Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder), the newest inductee into the infamous “Heathers” clique. The group is populated by the most beloved girls in Westerburg High, all named Heather: the cute but mopey bulimic Heather Duke (Shannon “High-Eye” Doherty), the instantly forgettable cheerleader Heather McNamara (Lisanne Falk), and queen-bee socialite Heather Chandler (Kim Walker, who was so adept at playing the character, I wouldn’t be surprised if crazed film fans cheered for her brain tumor).
Veronica, being a few rungs down the social ladder and yet still part of the group, spends her high school life bowing to the various whims of the Heathers, especially Heather Chandler, who treats Veronica more like an assistant than a friend. But Veronica’s salvation comes in the form of Jason Dean (Christian Slater), whose introduction gets his bad-ass image across in no uncertain terms when he fires a gun full of blanks in the school cafeteria. It's a scene that might come across as shocking to today’s audiences, but remember that such activities were popular, even encouraged by any school staff back in 1989. God, I miss those days.
Not mature enough to differentiate between coolness and sociopathic behavior, Veronica quickly latches onto Jason and their friendship provides welcome respite from her Heather-induced anxiety. In fact, their mutual distain for Heather Chandler quickly goes from morbid jokes about killing her to murder, when the contents of a harmless prank consisting of orange juice and milk (seriously, haven’t these guys ever had a creamsicle? That shit’s delicious) gets mixed up with a cup full o' drain cleaner. With swollen tongue and a last ditch request for corn nuts, Heather Chandler crashes into a conveniently placed glass table and dies.
 Concerned that having a murder on their permanent record will foul up their chances to get into a good party college, Veronica and Jason forge an ambiguous suicide note which, rather than throwing the authorities off their scent, catches the attention of the entire school. Things get even messier when Jason, full of confidence concocts a plan to do away with a few jocks in a scheme that suggests a homosexual suicide pact. Fearing her boyfriend’s newly revealed homicidal tendencies, Veronica breaks up with Jason, leading him to create a devious master plan worthy of a super villain to blow up the entire school and stage it as the ultimate suicide convention. What a jerk.
Originally planned as a three-hour film to be directed by Stanley Kubrick, cut down by half of its proposed running time - I’d love to see that original script - and directed by Michael Lehmann (Hudson Hawk, Airheads), Heathers manages to hit every note nearly perfectly. The film plays out in a state of heightened reality, starting off as a typical teen comedy with snappy dialogue (“phlegm globber” being the only bit that manages to come off slightly embarrassingly). But as the story takes a nightmarish turn, the visuals also become darkly foreboding, showing a palpable Kubrickian influence, even though he was never directly involved in the production. Funky angles and asymmetrical framing work together to support a surreal look that never condescends to the audience.
 An excellent script and solid directing from Michael Lehmann wouldn’t mean a thing if the cast wasn’t able to deliver a certain gravitas to the proceedings. In fact, Heathers is one of the few “cult” films that aren’t embraced ironically. That’s because the straight-faced cast manages to deliver dialogue that’s simultaneously dense and absolutely ludicrous. Performances are excellent across the board. Winona Ryder, who was 15 at time of filming delivers a particularly noteworthy turn. Even Christian Slater’s Jack Nicholson shtick that eventually unceremoniously landed him in Uwe Boll films is frighteningly full-tilt in Heathers.
Avoiding the conventions of a genre that was well established by 1989, Heathers concentrates on concepts and ideas that are timeless. Hair and clothing styles expose the film’s era, but the harsh message remains unchanged: left unprovoked, Winona Ryder can and will kill you.
 Presentation
New World Pictures was never really known for high production values (their association with Roger Corman should tell you a lot), but Heathers manages to overcome its shoestring budget. The transfer is mostly satisfactory. While a few shots come off a tad grainy and soft, the colors are excellently balanced – important in a film where color is used as a story telling technique - and the source film elements look very clean with scratches and specks seldom marring the image. The audio is lacking in wide dynamic range, as to be expected from a talky comedy and the subwoofer and surround channels don’t have much to do. Given that Heathers’ low budget means low expectations, the presentation is excellent though I do have to wonder if another spit-shine re-release would do the movie good. Anchor Bay has worked wonders on many similar films in the past. Even though I’m thankful that I haven’t had to buy another copy of Heathers, I would, and I’d be happy to do so.
 Extras
First off, there are several different versions of Heathers on DVD. There’s the original non-anamorphic version, which you can disregard completely, and there’s this special edition, originally released with a number of variant different covers. There’s also a limited edition set, which comes in a tin case. The differences between the now out-of-print box and the current special edition are negligible. The only extra content you get with the limited edition tin is a 48-page color photo booklet, fold out liner notes, and an eight-inch “Heathers Rule!” ruler. It’s bulky and unnecessary, but it’s easy to get a hold of and relatively cheap if you feel the need to own it.
The on-disc extras, common to both SE and LE releases include an audio commentary with Director Michael Lehmann, Producer Denise Di Novi and Writer Daniel Waters. The participants are in good sprits on the track. Daniel Waters dominates the discussion, explaining the script and pointing out the differences between it and what ended up on screen.
 While padded with many clips from the film, the documentary Swatch Dogs And Diet Coke Heads feels more balanced in comparison to the commentary. With a running time of about thirty minutes there is some overlap with the commentary, but the feature benefits greatly from the participation of the cast, who are candid when talking about both the film and their own real-world high school experiences.
Most interesting is the inclusion of an alternate ending. Never filmed, the feature is presented in script format and covers the final 20 minutes of the movie. Nixed as being “too dark” for teen audiences, it’s a fascinating but not necessarily better conclusion.
The extra features end with the obligatory theatrical trailer and talent bios. Woo?
Overall
I’m biased – Heathers is my favorite teen flick of all time. Anchor Bay’s special edition DVD is a worthy addition to the collection of anyone who ever went through the burden of high school. If you’re still in that stage of your life, don’t worry – things get better. If you’re years past the experience, I hope you’ve learned your lesson.
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