Equal Parts Uncomfortable and Unavoidable

Read Time:5 Minute, 46 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Delinquent Schoolgirls: The Psychotronica Collection #1
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Genre: Comedy, Exploitation
Year Released: 1975, VCI Entertainment Blu-ray 2025
Runtime: 1h 29m
Director(s): Greg Corarito
Writer(s): Greg Corarito, John Lamb, Maurice Smith
Cast: Michael Pataki, Bob Minor, Stephen Stucker, Colleen Brennan
Where to Watch: available December 16, 2025, pre-order your copy here: www.vcientertainment.com, www.mvdshop.com, or www.amazon.com

RAVING REVIEW: DELINQUENT SCHOOLGIRLS is the kind of film that doesn’t ask whether its premise is appropriate, logical, or even remotely defensible. It simply launches into chaos with commitment, reflecting a period of exploitation filmmaking built on shock value, budgets, and whatever concept could draw attention on a marquee. Watching it today is less about the story—which barely exists—and more about experiencing a very specific corner of 1970s grindhouse cinema, one where boundaries were pushed mostly because no one involved believed any existed. This new addition to the PSYCHO TRONICA line embraces exactly that, packaging a notorious title with a much-needed restoration that leaves every rough edge intact.

The setup is simple: three men escape from an asylum and make their way to an all-girls school, where they unleash an array of crude antics. The film introduces each escapee like a punchline—an ex-baseball player with violent tendencies, a flamboyant fashion designer, and a terrible impersonator whose career failure supposedly triggered his instability. Their personalities are exaggerated to the point that they feel more like caricatures than characters, fitting the film’s preference for noise over nuance. The story skips between the men’s antics and the schoolgirls’ various scenes of aimlessness, leaving viewers with a movie that doesn’t pause long enough to question its decisions.

The women at the school are portrayed as a revolving group of young delinquents who spend more time getting into trouble than receiving any kind of education. Most of them were performed by performers known for modeling or adult work at the time, including Roberta Pedon, whose limited filmography has given this movie a cult following centered largely on her. The film’s reliance on revealing costumes, suggestive framing, and recurring nudity is exactly what defined a certain type of exploitation production during the era. Yet the film adds an unexpected layer by giving the girls martial-arts training. This gimmick allows the story to escalate into messy and strangely enthusiastic fight scenes.

Greg Corarito’s direction feels both rushed and improvised. Scenes sometimes begin mid-action with no setup, jokes that are all over the place, and the camera occasionally seems unsure of what to focus on. But this lack of perfection becomes part of the film’s identity. Corarito leans into slapstick, allowing Michael Pataki, Bob Minor, and Stephen Stucker to perform a mix of overacting and absurd physical comedy. Pataki in particular plays his role with full commitment, contorting his expressions and embracing a manic energy that becomes one of the film’s defining features. Stucker brings flashes of the eccentric improvisation for which he would become recognized.

Watching the film in its restored form makes its intentions even clearer: DELINQUENT SCHOOLGIRLS was never meant to be subtle. The new transfer reveals grain, lighting issues, and the textures of its low-budget origins. Instead of softening those aspects, the restoration preserves them, giving modern audiences an unfiltered look at the filmmaking approach of the time. Grindhouse films thrived on first impressions rather than craftsmanship, and this one is no exception. The scrappiness, the humor, the tonal shifts—they all reflect a production that prioritized sensation above all else.

Yet the film’s most lasting impression comes from its extremes. The content pushes far beyond what modern audiences expect from a comedy, frequently entering territory that feels uncomfortable, exploitative, and questionable. Its depiction of assault, voyeurism, and sexual aggression is handled with the insensitivity typical of many exploitation films from the era, which can make the viewing experience challenging. The film often treats trauma as a punchline, cutting to gags immediately after disturbing moments. That distortion of tone is part of its identity, but it also makes clear why the film exists primarily for fans of niche cinema rather than broader audiences.

The karate sequences become unexpectedly memorable. They’re clumsy and ridiculous, but their unpredictability brings an odd momentum to the story. These scenes remind viewers that the film wants to be outrageous above all else. Whether through exaggerated choreography, outrageous reactions, or sheer audacity, DELINQUENT SCHOOLGIRLS commits to the idea that no scene should play out predictably. This commitment to over-the-top spectacle is one of the film’s distinguishing traits and likely a reason why it remains discussed among exploitation enthusiasts.

While DELINQUENT SCHOOLGIRLS is, by design, a film that tests patience and comfort, its place in the PSYCHO TRONICA collection makes sense. It represents a specific type of filmmaking: shameless, unfiltered, interested in provocation more than plot. The inclusion of archival commentary, original trailers, and a featurette expands its context, helping the film feel less like an isolated oddity and more like a deliberate snapshot of its era. Those additions make the package worthwhile for collectors who appreciate the cultural and historical significance of exploitation cinema, even when the films themselves sit on shaky ground.

DELINQUENT SCHOOLGIRLS stands as a product of its time—uneven, crude, and often baffling, yet unmistakably committed to its own style. It’s trash cinema, fully aware of its identity, operating without shame or hesitation. It’s a fascinating relic. For the PSYCHO TRONICA collection, it’s a fitting entry that makes a loud, unapologetic statement: this line is not interested in playing it safe.

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[photo courtesy of VCI ENTERTAINMENT, MVD ENTERTAINMENT]

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