13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Expelled movie makers suing school corporation

Expelled movie makers suing school corporation

Alex Sanz/Eyewitness News

Knightstown - Two students, expelled over a home movie, are now suing an Indiana school district. The Knightstown school district says the film threatens a teacher.

A home movie billed by its teenage creators as a "South Park" inspired spoof of the1980s horror film "The Puppet Master" is the talk of school hallways in one Henry County Town, not just for its content, but for what happened to its four creators.

School administrators considered the movie "The Teddy Bear Master" a threat because a character in the movie orders evil teddy bears to kill a fictional teacher with a real-life name.

The real-life teacher, according to documents obtained by Eyewitness News, learned of the movie from a school principal, who learned of the movie from a parent. After the Henry County prosecutor decided the teenagers did not break any laws, the teacher requested a protective order from police. School records showed the students were then expelled for the rest of the school year.

"It's just like a nightmare 'cause I never expected anything like this," said Knightstown High School sophomore Isaac Imel. "They say students are a priority at my school but, I mean, I just kind of feel like I've been taken advantage of."

Imel, who has a minor role in the movie, is suing the school corporation to have his expulsion reversed, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.

"There's no threat in there," said Jackie Suess of the ACLU. "Nobody is threatening anybody's life. There's clearly no serious threat to harm anybody. There's no slander. These, though, are the things the school has claimed. And they're just not. Not in there. It was, you know, their expressive activity that took place completely off of school grounds."

Imel's case is now under review by a federal judge. The school's principal and school corporation superintendent did not comment on the expulsions.