“Heathers” is an 80s teen film that, despite being a cult classic, is often overshadowed by the typical John Hughes fare of the decade. This is unfortunate because its sarcastic humor and dark satire makes “The Breakfast Club” look like “The Goonies” in comparison.

I first heard of “Heathers” as being the forerunner of “Mean Girls,” and being a huge fan of the movie that defined our generation (as everyone should be), I knew I had to watch. The two films are similar in that they follow a clique of popular high school girls and tackle the issues of bullying and cliques through absurd and exaggerated humor – however, “Heathers” takes a much darker turn. Instead of Kady Heron, our (anti)hero is Veronica, who resents being a member of the popular crowd after assisting them in making the general student body as miserable and self-hating as they are themselves. After she meets her Aaron Samuels, new boy J.D., she’s somehow pulled along with his psychotic killing spree, going after the cruelest members of the student body. The two use Veronica’s talent at forging signatures to create suicide notes for all of their victims, and as a result, the once-resented  and now-deceased members of the student body are placed on such a high pedestal that the idea of killing oneself becomes as popular as they once were.

While the plot can become a bit ridiculous, its insanity perfectly highlights all of the other ‘minor’ problems occurring in the background of the madness and mayhem – date rape, bulimia, self-harm, mental abuse, disinterested parents, homosexuality, losing a family member and having actual depressed thoughts, an idea mostly ignored due to the fake, over-the-top suicides. By subtly addressing these problems, “Heathers” manages to comment on serious matters that face teenagers every day without becoming a PSA or having Tina Fey come in and deliver a heartwarming, girls-let’s-love-each-other monologue.

That being said, “Heathers” does not live up to where “Mean Girls” strives – humor. Both are supposed to be black comedies, and despite “Heathers” taking on darker subject matter, its goal is still clearly to make its audience laugh. However, its jokes fell so flat that whenever the film wasn’t taking on a more serious tone, I often found myself blanking out.

It has some great one-liners, spot-on acting from its teenage cast, and its darkest moments will stick with you far after deleting it from your queue – but “Heathers” just didn’t deliver in the same way its brainchild did. I give it 3/5 stars.