All-American Murder seems to be your average college slasher/thriller, but it actually is quite entertaining. Sure, the plot is maze like, but that is what mysteries are. This managed to be dark without being suffocated, and sinister without being nasty. As I first watched this, the questions started. Why was the poor girl burned, instead of a quieter, less attention attracting death? Who hated the kid enough to frame him? How did all the blackmail, adultery, and depravity occur at a "good" college? All these were answered if not amazingly, at least well. Rather than leave us hanging, the suspense actually ramps to the climax. Which leads to my final point. The motivation of the killer actually makes sense, in a twisted way. Too many films like this seem to have someone kill for the thrill of it, and since this one doesn't, I give it serious applause. Also, the protagonist actually has some heart, always a plus. See this if you want a good, modern whodunit with a eighties- early nineties feel.