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SOURCE-Airing on Joe Bob's Last Drive In
Yea you can argue this isn't horror. But if it counts as horror for Joe Bob Briggs that works for me.
Set in a high school,that in many ways reminds me of the school I went to for 9th grade,in 1984 this was one of the many high school from Hell films to come out between the mid 70s and late 80s.Written by Tom Holland the film ended up being a bigger hit than expected and ended up getting a sequel,Class of 1999.
When this came out the two biggest names in the cast were Perry King,on the left in the above picture. And Roddy McDowell,on the right. Perry plays the new music/band teacher at a run down graphitti covered high school. McDowell is a science teacher that has been there for years.
The film starts on Perry's first day. We are supposed to be shocked by scenes of the students smoking pot out in the open,having to go through a metal detector at the front door. And I'm sure back in 81 when this came out that was a bit shocking to lots of the people seeing the film. Sadly now it isn't nearly as shocking.
McDowell,who carries a gun in his briefcase,tries to tell King that there is nothing they can do. But King wants to change the school. He gets introduced to the gang of street punks that run the school during his first band class of the day.
In this class is a 15 year old looking Michael Fox,no J yet in his name. I looked and Fox was close to 20 if not a bit older when this was filmed. This was before he got the lead on Family Ties.
The film is mostly King and McDowell,eventually,trying to get the street punk kids kicked out. But every time King thinks he has them caught the punks get out of trouble. Finally King and McDowell go so far that the street punks go and kidnap King's pregnant wife.
Which leads to the last 3rd of the film. King is having the school band perform at a concert at the school at night. But before he can start the female member of the street punks delivers a Poloroid of the rest of the gang raping King's wife. King goes after them and we get him killing them in fairly violent ways all through out the school. The best kill is in the woodshop room. Where King uses a table saw to first cut the arm off one of the punks. Then since that isn't enough he shoves the punk down back first onto the running blade.
We end up on the room of the school. King vs the lead punk near a skylight. The punk had planned on hanging King's wife and throwing her through the skylight so that her body would drop down right above where the school band is playing. King of course prevents this and the lead street punk ends up being the one hung and tossed through the skylight.
Now before watching this all I knew Perry King for was Mandingo and the 80s detective show Riptide. He does a great job as our heroic lead. Roddy McDowell of course I've seen in piles of movies. And you believe him as the long time teacher who finally can't take the bullshit anymore. Michael Fox is decent as the band geek.
Overall this was pretty damn good. I have seen bits of it before. But had never bothered seeing the entire film. So when Joe Bob was showing it as the second film of week 2 of season 3 of Joe Bob's Last Drive In on Shudder I watched it live. It is rare I watch Joe Bob live.
Class of 1984 gets a B+
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