Certainly anyone who's ever been bullied in school, no matter what gender the bulliers were, can relate to the plight of 14 year old Linda Blair in this very exploitive look at a bunch of very troubled teens. Most are supportive to new arrival Blair at a detention center for troubled young women, but a group of bullies lead by the nasty Nora Heflin sets out to make Blair (who rejected Heflin's advances) miserable. They commit a violent act against her that is unbelievable maybe in 1974 terms, but a lot more creditable since the advent of the social media days that has exposed violent bullying so physically and psychologically damaging that no punishment seems great enough.
This is so cheaply made that you can't help but see this as complete exploitation, and it's not the kind that makes it campy or a cult film. Tina Andrews is really good as the genuinely concerned fellow resident who becomes a protector, while Allyn Ann McLearie and Joanna Miles as the superintendent and psychologist are fine as well. As Blair's parents, Richard Jaeckel and Kim Hunter don't really get deep material to share their point of view, and the story is far too deep to play out with necessary back story that's barely explained. The mood is maudlin, overwrought with a downbeat musical score that not only becomes depressing but frequently cumbersome and painfully slow moving to the point of frustration.
This is so cheaply made that you can't help but see this as complete exploitation, and it's not the kind that makes it campy or a cult film. Tina Andrews is really good as the genuinely concerned fellow resident who becomes a protector, while Allyn Ann McLearie and Joanna Miles as the superintendent and psychologist are fine as well. As Blair's parents, Richard Jaeckel and Kim Hunter don't really get deep material to share their point of view, and the story is far too deep to play out with necessary back story that's barely explained. The mood is maudlin, overwrought with a downbeat musical score that not only becomes depressing but frequently cumbersome and painfully slow moving to the point of frustration.