Highlights
- Heathers is a cult classic with a dark comedy and explores the pessimistic side of teenagers, which sets it apart from other 80s teen movies.
- The movie follows Veronica, who becomes involved with a clique of mean girls but despises their bullying.
- When a rebellious loner named J.D. arrives, he and Veronica plan to kill off classmates, leading to a troubling situation.
Directed by Michael Lehmann, Heathers has been hailed as a cult classic. The movie incorporates a vast amount of ‘teen movie’ clichés, such as the iconic mean girl clique. However, Heathers’ popularity largely stems from its black comedy and exploration of some pretty dark themes, making it stand out from the average 80s teen movie. The 80s witnessed the rise of John Hughes’ upbeat teen comedies, such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Sixteen Candles. Because of this, the arrival of Heathers had a shocking and lingering impact. Hughes’ movies presented the optimism of high-school life, while Heathers explored the pessimistic side of teenagers.
Although the movie wasn’t necessarily well-received at the time of its release, Heathers has since amassed a cult following. In recent years, it seems like Heathers is more popular than ever, largely due to the success of ‘Heathers: The Musical’, which is an esteemed adaptation of Lehmann’s dark comedy movie. Undeniably, Heathers features an exceptional cast. Winona Ryder stars as the movie’s protagonist, Veronica Sawyer, an outsider who somehow makes it into the popular girls’ clique. Heathers also stars Christian Slater as J.D., a rebellious loner who detests the cliques of high school. Ultimately, Heathers is renowned for its shocking conclusion, which stands out from the upbeat happy endings of other 80s movies. So, what is Heathers about, and how does the movie end?
RELATED: The Mean Girl Trope In Movies, Explained
What Is Heathers About?
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Heathers |
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Director |
Michael Lehmann |
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Writer |
Daniel Waters |
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Cast |
Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, and Kim Walker |
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Release Date |
March 31st, 1989 |
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Runtime |
103 Minutes |
The movie follows Veronica Sawyer who detests the bullying and cliques of her high school, Westerburg High. Westerburg is run by a villainous group of mean girls, comprising Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty), Heather McNamara (Lisanne Falk), and the group’s renowned ‘leader’, Heather Chandler (Kim Walker). They are known as the Heathers and ultimately make high school a living hell for their peers. Unexpectedly, Veronica becomes a member of this fearsome clique. Whilst she craves the attention of being a ‘Heather’, Veronica resents the Heathers’ merciless bullying and cruel antics. Ultimately, she is struck by the realization that she despises her friends, especially Heather Chandler, but simultaneously craves their approval.
However, the arrival of a new student to Westerburg breaks the foundation of the Heathers. J.D. is outwardly rebellious and isn’t afraid to stand up against Westerburg’s bullies. He and Veronica form an instant connection, but their relationship is jeopardized by Veronica’s newly found position as a Heather. However, Heathers separates itself from the average high-school movie when Veronica accidentally poisons Heather Chandler, resulting in the death of Westerburg’s notorious leader. Both Veronica and J.D. concoct a plan to disguise Heather’s death as a suicide, forging a suicide note for the police to find.
As the movie progresses, it’s clear that Veronica has become involved in something beyond her depth. It becomes apparent that J.D. is a calculated killer, who longs to kill off multiple classmates. Ultimately, J.D. believes that the world would be a better place without Westerburg’s toxicity, kick-starting a series of macabre events. What started as a naive teen romance, soon springs into something more alarming, placing Veronica in a troubling situation.
As previously mentioned, Heathers reinvents the high-school film genre. Heathers’ release shocked its 80s audience, mainly because it was unheard of for a teen movie to incorporate murder. By lending a darker name to the teen movie genre, Heathers has a lingering popularity. However, Heathers’ twisted ending is arguably the most shocking part of the entire movie.
What Happens at the End of Heathers?
Towards the end of the movie, things are rapidly spiraling out of control. Although Veronica believed that the death of Heather Chandler would make high school a better place, Heather Duke promptly takes her place as Westerburg’s malicious leader, leading J.D. to believe that the world would be a better place without Westerburg’s existence.
Horrified by his actions, Veronica ends her relationship with J.D., but J.D. falsely informs Veronica’s parents that she was planning on committing suicide. Shockingly, Veronica realizes that J.D. is planning to kill her and intends to disguise her death as a suicide. In order to avert J.D.’s villainous plan, Veronica fakes her own suicide, leading J.D. to falsely assume that she is dead. Due to his assumption that Veronica is dead, he informs her that he has planted dynamite in the school’s boiler room and intends to activate the explosives during Westerburg’s pep rally, consequently killing everybody in the high school.
Veronica races after J.D. to the school, intending to confront him before he can set off the explosives. However, J.D. refuses to defuse the bomb, causing Veronica to shoot him in the hand. As Veronica continues to point the gun at J.D, he ultimately knows that his game is up, but he attempts to justify his decision to Veronica:
Let’s face it, alright! The only place different social types can genuinely get along with each other is in heaven.
He attempts to convince Veronica that Westerburg ought to be destroyed, largely because of the bullying and cruelty it inflicted on others due to its abomination of cliques. However, Veronica is having none of this and keeps the gun pointed at J.D, who continues to persist:
People are going to look at the ashes of Westerburg and say now there’s a school that self-destructed, not because society didn’t care but because the school was society.
However, Veronica refuses to be manipulated by J.D. and keeps asking which button will deactivate the bomb. Ultimately, J.D. surrenders and tells her to “press the middle one to turn it off, if that’s what you really want”, but he abruptly lunges towards her, intending to attack. Veronica then starts shooting at J.D., causing him to stick a knife in the bomb’s wiring to temporarily pause its countdown. Veronica then responds with:
Veronica: You know what I want, babe?
J.D: What?
Veronica: Cool guys like you out of my life.
She continues to shoot at J.D., grievously injuring him, before leaving the boiler room to go outside. J.D. follows her, and he has now strapped the bomb to himself. The countdown has re-started, making it clear that J.D. intends to blow himself up. He expects Veronica to talk him out of it, but she refuses and instead stands there watching him, with a cigarette in her mouth.
Standing in front of Westerburg, J.D. blows himself up, but the impact doesn’t cause any damage to the school. Covered in blood and ash, Veronica goes back inside the school to bump into Heather Duke, and the movie’s most iconic lines are uttered:
Heather: Veronica, you look like hell.
Veronica: Yeah? I just got back.
Veronica then takes the red scrunchie from Heather Duke, telling her that: “There’s a new sheriff in town”. After saving the school from destruction, Veronica puts an end to the Heathers’ reign of terror. While Veronica rightfully opposed J.D.’s murderous ideology, she did take his anti-clique beliefs on board. By removing the red scrunchie from Heather Duke, it’s clear that Veronica is advocating for a school without cliques and more equal treatment of its students. While this isn’t a stereotypical happy ending, it’s clear that Veronica is set on changing Westerburg’s backward ways for the better, which gives the movie a satisfying, yet dark, conclusion.
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