Class of 1984 (1982)
Starring: Perry King, Timothy Van Patten, Roddy McDowall
Genre: Drama/thriller
Random observations:
- Theme song by Alice Cooper!
- Perry King, star of the short-lived 80s TV show Riptide, which no-one but me seems to remember.
- Roddy McDowall. Best known as Cornelius in the classic Planet of the Apes, but to me he'll always be Peter Vincent in Fright Night.
- Michael J Fox sighting! He's really young here. This is the same year as he started on the TV series Family Ties, which would shoot him to stardom. Here he's got a nasty bowlcut.
- Man, this movie is worth watching just for the array of early 80s fashions, which range from pretty cool to downright hilarious.
- Now we're two-for-two for movies featuring cars blowing up dramatically, this one after flipping over in the street.
Overall comments: I haven't seen this movie since I was a teenager, and it stands up pretty well after all that time. Class of 1984 is your basic revenge flick, with a teacher (King) pushed over the edge by a group of punk students, led by Stegman (Van Patten). What makes this movie stand out from others in the genre is the acting (especially Van Patten and Roddy McDowall, who plays another teacher) and the violence. If you want to dig deeper, there are subtexts about the degeneration of youth and the ever-decreasing level of respect shown towards authority/elders. If not, just enjoy the ride - Van Patten does such a good job of eliciting hate that you'll be cheering by the time Perry King takes his revenge.
Up next: Smokin' Aces
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