For our annual summer countdown, we are looking at our favorite 25 movies that were not huge hits during their initial release, but mean a lot to us. Check out last year’s Summer of Stars countdown or the year before when we did blockbusters! Find the rest of the Flop and Fizzle series here!

by Roxy Snavely, Contributor

Let’s be honest; Heathers flopping at the box office almost makes too much sense. The dark comedy released in 1989 was practically a parody of the teenage films being produced at the time: it’s no surprise why audiences may have been left confused if they had come to see the typical John Hughes affair. Likewise, its meteoric rise as a cult classic in the following decade was sure to happen. The tale of teenage sweethearts turned murderers simply fit into a popular mindset amongst the youth in the 90s, as other darker teen films–think Cruel Intentions (1999) and Jawbreaker (1999)–followed in its footsteps. Furthermore, its soft revival in the 2010s somehow fit into another teen demographic–the Tumblr kids–which made the film popular in an entirely new light. Somehow, Heathers has managed to become timeless, even if it is steeped in a particular ‘80s aesthetic.

There are a few character archetypes associated with the ‘80s teen film: mean girls, star football players, nerds, and bad boys. Heathers utilizes these stereotypes to point out the hypocrisy of each social group, revealing the ugly truths of the supposedly well-adjusted American teenager. In high school, no one is nice. Our hero, Veronica (Winona Ryder), smart as she is, is susceptible to the Heathers’ brand of mean girl coolness, as she sells out her principles to maintain membership in a clique. But Veronica’s not special in her sell-out tendencies, as Betty Finn (Renée Estevez), her friend pre-popularity, can’t help but wish to be a part of the group. Meanwhile, Chandler (Kim Walker) is the only Heather who truly embodies the cool mean girl, as the two other Heathers find themselves miserable trying to keep up the image: Duke (Shannen Doherty) suffers from bulimia while McNamara (Lisanne Falk) has suicidal ideations. Kurt (Lance Fenton) and Ram (Patrick Labyorteaux), the star football players, are the literal definition of high school bullies, as they spout irritable homophobic jokes and will beat up nerds any place, any time. 

Of course, J.D. (Christian Slater) is in a separate league entirely. While the other villains of Westerberg High are virtually cartoon characters, J.D. seems much more comprehendible. We first view him as misunderstood: a friendly loner with a sick sense of humor. The quintessential damaged bad boy, it’s his immense charm that draws Veronica (and the audience) in. Cruel as it is to admit, there’s no doubt that many people can relate to Veronica when she writes, “Tonight let me dream of a world without Heather, a world where I am free.” Similar to J.D., she feels isolated, like she’s losing herself to the inhuman ideology of Heather Chandler. It’s his “fuck everyone” mindset that draws her in, and it’s his ability to take the bullies of the school down a peg that makes him so enchanting. He seems like the perfect anti-hero, as he seemingly kills to rid the school of its ugliest features. 

But of course, J.D. is manic, wanting to kill for no reason. It is only then that Veronica realizes that this mindset is insane, as obviously you can’t murder people to solve the world’s issues. At the end of the film, Veronica is proven right, as J.D.’s punk persona is washed away, ultimately revealing a sad little boy who just wants to hurt people for fun. J.D.’s no better than the bullies he hates so much. 

Considering his charisma, problematic rhetoric, and willingness to prey on the vulnerable, it’s not a stretch to say he has cult leader-like tendencies: he even has the body count. Veronica Sawyer is perhaps the perfect person to fall victim to his master plan. On the surface, she presents herself as a snarky, sensible young woman. Yet, she finds herself adrift in the strange world of high school. While she’s never had trouble making friends, Veronica cares about social status, creating a somewhat paradoxical character who is at once genuine yet shallow. The Heathers give her the popularity she has dreamed of, but they are vicious to the student body and actually not very nice to her. This is why she falls for J.D., who promises love, affection, and, most importantly, a way out of her lifestyle.

But he only offers her these things in order to gain access to the school’s elite, to carry out his master plan of mass death. It’s only after three people are killed that she realizes the error of her ways. One of the underrated joys of this film is watching Veronica come into her own, as she realizes that everyone is full of it and that high school is hell but there’s nothing much she can do about it. The big fight in the boiler room is an absolute highlight, the perfect payoff to a wonderfully built character arc, as she protects herself and the people she cares about, even if she doesn’t like said people very much.

Heathers will always be here, forever burned into the teen comedy canon. It would be silly to claim that it’s so good because of its accuracy to real life because it’s not. It’s extremely stylized and completely exaggerated in almost all aspects of filmmaking. But over-the-top and heightened emotions are what being a teenager feels like. It’s this quality that makes the film resonate with such a large audience. Additionally, contrasted with John Hughes films like Sixteen Candles or even The Breakfast Club, Heathers doesn’t suffer from outdated stereotypes and jokes. When it does make homophobic or sexist jokes, it’s clear that the writers are making fun of the people who think this way–“I love my dead gay son” will always be one of the funniest sentiments in all of cinema. It is these elements that further endear the film to future generations. While people have described Heathers as sick or deranged, they may be missing what makes the film so special in the first place, as it has stayed with the zeitgeist for so long because of these qualities. Heathers is not only one of the most thought-provoking teen films ever made but it is also filled with such cleverness, such delight that it’s near impossible not to take away some level of appreciation from it.