Movie: "Class Of 1984"
Year: 1982
Rated: R
Genre: Cult / B-Movie
Directed by: Mark Lester
Writing credits: Tom Holland, Mark Lester, John Saxton, Barry Schneider

Reviewer: -RoG-
Posted: 6/10/2008

Plot: A new teacher arrives at an inner city school to teach music, but he's the one who's about to be taught a lesson.

Review: You've seen The Principal... you've seen The Substitute... but when it comes to excessively violent films about schools troubled by gangs, they all need to pay homage to their granddad - Class Of 1984. This cult classic was a somewhat prophetic vision of the future of violence in schools, with some unintentional hilarity added in for good measure.

Andrew Norris arrives at Lincoln High School (seems like every school in the movies goes by that name, doesn't it?) with an optimistic outlook on teaching the students how to play music. Unfortunately, nobody told him that drugs, gang wars and prostitution were all part of the daily curriculum at Lincoln High. No need to worry though, Peter Stegman, the leader of the most ruthless gang in school, lets Norris know exactly who's running the show. "Life is pain, pain is everything. You will learn." It doesn't get much more poignant than that, eh?

Well wouldn't ya know it? Good ol' Mr. Norris isn't ready to just step aside and let Stegman and his gang run the school, so they go to war with one another. As a result, it becomes more of a game of one-upmanship that reaches its brutal climax at the big school orchestra performance.

With a will to do whatever it takes to get his way, Peter Stegman is easily one of the greatest bad boys in movie history. You'll also be treated to one of Michael J. Fox's earliest film roles as an innocent student who is also troubled by the gang violence. Roddy McDowall also has a fantastic role as an alcoholic biology teacher driven so absolutely mad by his careless students that he makes one of them answer his questions at gunpoint. Top that off with a boatload of punk rock imagery and a soundtrack featuring Alice Cooper and you've got yourself one hell of an entertaining 80s flick. Face the music... teacher teacher!

Overall rating:
(Scored on a 0.5 - 5 pickles rating: 0.5 being the worst and 5 being the best)