Overview: In 1985, movie-obsessed entrepreneur Richard Horian – who’d made his fortune inventing a vinyl record cleaner sold at K-Mart – wrote, produced, directed, edited, scored and starred in the film that redefines vanity projects forever.

With a cast that includes Eric Douglas (son of Kirk/brother of Michael), Marlon Jackson (of The Jacksons) and Susan Scott (Playboy Playmate of the Month, May 1983) as troubled high school students, along with Oscar® nominee Ronee Blakley (NASHVILLE) and a deliriously sincere lead performance by Horian himself, THE COUNSELOR was retitled and released in 1987 by Troma Entertainment to scathing reviews and savage dismissal.

Nearly four decades later, this misunderstood masterpiece of auteurism can now be experienced on two discs with the Theatrical and Director’s Cuts scanned in 4K from their original camera negatives – which Troma had been instructed to destroy by the director – plus over 5 hours of revealing Special Features that include the first-ever on-camera interview with Horian, the complete podcast The Vanity Project and much more.

Blu-ray Verdict: For one thing, whether you like the film or not, you certainly can’t say that it’s the usual bottom-of-the-barrel fare, produced on the cheap. In fact, it actually looks like a rather expensive production. True, the eagle-eyed may feel that the movie relies too much on close-ups, but there are some big action scenes as well, plus a little female nudity here and there.

Basically, it’s an account of a misfit psychologist, employed as a school counselor. This role is eagerly and expertly played by Richard Horian, the movie’s director. Horian presents the character as a typical hero but then starts chipping away at him. In fact, all the acting is first class.

Despite Lloyd Kaufman’s typical introduction on the DVD package, this movie is actually far from the usual Troma fare. Not only is all the acting first class, but the film certainly packs in a large amount of action, some of it very expensively staged.

Although the movie is often directed in TV style with lots of close-ups, the device does not become wearisome – partly due to the skill of the director and the ambiance of the players themselves. An effort has been made to fill the cast with famous family names, but, as a general rule, players like John Milford easily outshine names like Eric Douglas.

All told, this is definitely not the usual Troma fare – despite the usual Lloyd Kaufman introduction in which he describes the movie as teenage dynamite – which is true to some extent, but the movie is actually middle age and old age dynamite. Available on an otherwise excellent Troma DVD. [Z.T.]

Special Features for STUDENT CONFIDENTIAL:
Disc 1:
• Audio Commentary With Director Richard Horian Moderated By Filmmaker Nicholas McCarthy
• Richard Horian Revealed – Interview With Writer/Director/Producer/Editor/Composer/Star Richard Horian
• Acquired Tastes – Lloyd Kaufman On Troma’s Theatrical Pick-Ups Of The ’80s And ’90s
• The Making Of STUDENT CONFIDENTIAL
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spot
• Troma Trailer

Disc 2:
• The Vanity Project – Six Episode Podcast About Richard Horian And The Making Of STUDENT CONFIDENTIAL, Featuring Ambient Video Created By Filmmakers Nicholas McCarthy, Graham Reznick And Zena Grey

Feature Specs for STUDENT CONFIDENTIAL:
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Runtime: Theatrical Version: 98 mins / Director’s Cut: 95 mins
• Audio: English Mono
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Region: A/B/C
Limited Edition Slipcover