1970s and early 1980s, Student Bodies grossed $5.2 million at the box office. It became famous as a late-night cult favorite on cable afterwards, appearing frequently on the Rhonda Shear-hosted USA Up All Night, as well as the network's USA Saturday Nightmares double feature series. The DVD was released on June 3, 2007. The HD Blu-ray version was released on May 3, 2011. Critical reception Vincent Canby of The New York Times called the film "a real disappointment", writing that it "just slowly topples over as you watch it, like a stand-up comedian in the act of failing". Variety found that the jokes became "depressingly repetitive", writing that "unfortunately, once you've seen the trailer, you've seen all but one of the good gags included in the entire film, meaning that there are about three minutes of effective material over the course of the 86-minute running time". Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave it two stars out of four, writing that it "exposes all its comic tricks in the first reel, suggesting that the genre itself is not all that deep and that there may be less to parody than one might think". Linda Gross of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "The film has some very funny moments, but it is definitely not another Airplane!". Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote: "Although it frequently misfires and occasionally keeps firing away on empty satiric chambers, Student Bodies is a likeably sarcastic and knowing assault on the clichés of horror movies". AllMovie wrote, "Student Bodies, though occasionally very funny, is not consistent enough to recommend as a comedy or scary enough to be an effective horror film." References External links 1981 films 1981 horror films 1980s comedy horror films 1980s high school films 1980s parody films 1980s serial killer films 1980s slasher films 1980s teen comedy films 1980s teen horror films American comedy horror films American high school films American parody films American serial killer films American slasher films American teen comedy films American teen horror films Films directed by Michael Ritchie Films set in Houston Films shot in Houston Paramount Pictures films Films about proms Parodies of horror 1981 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films