Set in Spain, the film opens with a scarred man named Miguel attempting to rape and ultimately killing a woman at a masquerade party. Five years later his sister Manuela picks him up from a mental institute.
We are then introduced to Angela, who has come to the newly opened boarding school to learn Spanish, and soon finds herself in the middle of a bizarre killing spree. Has Miguel relapsed, or is there something else going on?
This film provides examples of:
- 13 Is Unlucky: Angela resides in bungalow number thirteen. Superstitions are discussed when she tells about it.
- Attempted Rape: Posing as her boyfriend, Miguel picks up a girl from the party in the opening and attempts to take her forcibly when he is unmasked.
- Big Damn Heroes: As Angela is being attacked near the climax, Miguel rushes to the rescue.
- Boarding School of Horrors
- Breast Attack: When Eva is killed with a knife, it is shown going through her breast.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Miguel and Manuela had an incestuous relationship in the past. After being released from the asylum, Miguel wants to resume it, but Manuela refuses.
- Car Fu: A kid is run over by a car.
- Cassandra Truth: Angela's attempts at telling what happened are constantly dismissed as bad dreams. And she is stupid enough to believe that.
- Chainsaw Good: A huge circular saw and a bush trimmer are put to deadly use.
- Creator Cameo: Jesus Franco appears briefly as a doctor in the mental institute.
- Failed a Spot Check: At one point, one of the girls doesn't notice another girl's body hanging in her closet because she was too busy trying to convince her friends she was having sex. Neither do any of the other girls when they look through the window to laugh at her.
- Final Girl: Angela.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: A quarter of Miguel's face is scarred, and he is certainly morally unhinged.
- Improvised Weapon: After failing to rape the girl in the opening, Miguel kills her with a pair of scissors.
- It Was Here, I Swear!: Eva's body is taken away after Angela temporarily leaves the crime scene.
- Kill It with Fire: Contessa dies as she is set on fire at night.
- Losing Your Head: After Antonio beheads the snake that was threatening Angela, its head is shown squirming on the ground.
- Market-Based Title: Die Säge des Todes ("The Saw of Death") in Germany and Colegialas violadas ("Raped Schoolgirls") in Spain. Doubles as a case of Never Trust a Title — there is only one saw-related death in the film, and no raped schoolgirls.
- Not Quite Dead: After being stabbed through the neck, Miguel clings to life long enough to kill Manuela.
- Off with His Head!: Provided in the giant circular saw murder.
- Peek-a-Boo Corpse: Angela runs into a row of these near the end.
- The Reveal: Miguel is just a Red Herring, and he is being framed for the murders by Manuela and Alvaro so that she can get her mother's inheritance.
- Vapor Wear: Manuela's nightgown which she wears when Miguel is asking her to resume their past relationship.
- Video Nasties: It was one of the 39 prosecuted films.
- Weird Moon: It's full moon all the time.
- Would Hurt a Child: The killer runs over a kid who witnessed the death by saw.
- You Watch Too Much X: Everyone Angela tells about Eva's death blames it on her reading a murder mystery. Everyone. And she tells a lot of people.
