Rush Week

Toni, a journalism student, transfers to a new college, where several female students begin to disappear under suspicious circumstances. She starts to investigate, making her the prime target of a mysterious assailant.

The opening is worth the price of admission itself but seriously a way good time and underrated.

Rush Week has that exact end-of-the-’80s slasher vibe I’m always happy to find. Pamela Ludwig makes Toni easy to follow as she starts digging into the disappearances around campus, and I like that the movie leans into the mystery side instead of just becoming a nonstop body count.

The college setting gives it plenty of atmosphere, and once the killer starts closing in, the movie gets a lot more fun. It’s not the bloodiest slasher ever made, but the whodunit angle, the cast, and that slightly cheesy late-’80s energy kept me into it.

The Blu-ray presentation is solid too. Vinegar Syndrome restored it in 2K from a 35mm interpositive, and the image keeps a nice natural film look. The commentary and cast interviews are good bonuses, and the Earl Kess slipcover fits the movie perfectly.

Not an all-time slasher classic, but definitely a fun deep cut and exactly the kind of movie I like seeing rescued from the video-store era. 😁

Rush Week (1989) is a late-era slasher mystery directed by Bob Bralver. It follows a college journalist investigating student disappearances tied to campus fraternity rituals. Vinegar Syndrome released the film on a restored Region A Blu-ray.

Fun little low-budget slasher. I liked the setting and atmosphere.