SHADOW ZONE: MY TEACHER ATE MY HOMEWORK (1997)
A year and a half ago, I reviewed Shadow Zone: The Undead Express. Go ahead and read that. I'll wait here. Back? Okay. I finally chanced upon a beautiful VHS copy of My Teacher Ate My Homework, the second film based on Shadow Zone, a Goosebumps knock-off series that consisted of thirteen titles. I don't know if there were more adaptations planned, but only two of these projects saw a green light. In terms of budget, both picture shows are medium-sized enterprises. The cast here is leavened with thespians your parents would recognize. Shelley Duvall plays a wicked teacher named Mrs. Fink. Jesse can't stand her. To tell the truth, he's convinced that she goes out of her way to undermine him at every opportunity on top of loading him down with homework. He seems to gain the upper hand, however, when he finds an eerie doll at a curiosity shop that could pass for Mrs. Fink's doppelganger. After the doll's arm is "injured," ol' Fink attends class all disheveled with her arm in a sling. Hmm...
I was expecting this to follow a generic "my teacher is a monster" blueprint (maybe something in line with Tobe Hooper's Invaders From Mars), but instead, I got an evil doll bent on "soul transference." Yep, this flick borrows from Chucky's playbook. I didn't see that coming. Perhaps what's more surprising is the fact that I had a blast watching this thing. It's super fun. Compared to The Undead Express, the characters are a little easier to like, and I couldn't figure out where the story was going. I'm shocked that I've never heard anyone make a passing reference to My Teacher Ate My Homework, not even when collating childhood favorites. And I've seen people do some serious collating, let me tell you. I would say it's on par with Goosebumps, but honestly, it's the better product between the two. Alright, I'm hyping it up too much. I forgot to mention The Reaper. Hold on; this calls for a new paragraph.
Each Shadow Zone is hosted by The Reaper, a Cryptkeeper-esque ghoul who I'm now basing my entire life around. This guy rules! He's worth an extra half-Z'Dar, and we were already in 4-Z'Dar territory. Recommended for fans of...Margot Kidder? Yeah, she cameos as a librarian. For reasons.
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