 Thanks for checking out this movie review video This is a review for a class of 1984 which was a film that was done in 1982 Well, at least it was released in 1982 it feels kind of weird to say that because it's like 84 82 now It's not totally uncommon for films to do that where they're projecting forward now People can guess as to why this was just two years later Maybe they were kind of theorizing in the film of if we don't get a handle on the youth of today This is where we're going in just two short years. I don't know But anyway, there will be spoilers in this like most of my videos because this is an older film Also want to say it's available currently on the shutter streaming service So if you have interest in watching it, which I would recommend it for at least one viewing Go stop this video go watch it then come back and we can talk about all the spoilers because that's what I will be Doing now Let me give you some information on this the director of this particular one was man by the name of Mark Lester And he did films such as fire starter and commando Those would be the most well-known of what he did So he not only directed this film, but he was involved in writing the screenplay now It wasn't just him on the screenplay because the story idea and More screenplay work came from a one Tom Holland now people would know Tom Holland from things such as Fright night which is one of my favorites of his films child's play which also is quite good and one that people don't talk about enough in my opinion Thinner which I think is a really good horror film. It's actually been a while since I've watched it, but I Remember really really liking it and I think it's about due for a revisit. So I'm a fan of Tom Holland I think he's done some really great stuff I mean just just citing Fright night in child's play is kind of enough and that's the first child's play Just so people know This has a really young Michael J. Fox in the film which is really weird to see and this was pre-family ties So much like a lot of you know horror films you have some big names Well, not with a lot of horror films but within the horror genre it is a place where there have been plenty of People who become kind of big names or really big names who they get their start in the horror genre because it's an easy way to get in and Here we go with Michael J. Fox's yet another one But it's really weird to see him so young because he's so young in this The other big name in this is is a one Roddy McDowell who then was in Fright Night as well Great great role in Fright Night. I think he did a really good job in this film as well for what he was given He obviously worked with Tom Holland again So I don't know if he was really introduced to him with the film because I don't like I know that Tom Holland was involved in the story of it and Writing helping with writing the screenplay, but I don't know if he was like on set or anything I actually met Roddy McDowell, but he I'm sure he at least saw his chops in the film So he would be like oh, he'd be great for Fright Night so the theme song for this film is done by Alice Cooper and Listening to it in the beginning so they play it in the beginning and they play it in the end Listening to in the beginning. I was just like oh This is kind of like a fun 80s rock song and it's Alice Cooper so cool Well, then they played it again at the end and I was actually listening to the lyrics And I was like, you know what if you listen to the lyrics of this theme song It gives you kind of the underlying themes of the actual film itself We're just kind of talking about you know Where is the youth of today going if you don't do something now like this is the future that type of thing Which is part of why I was saying like maybe they did it just Released the film in 82, but we're calling it class of 1984 because they were saying, you know We don't have a whole lot of time. We need to get a handle on the youth of today Otherwise in just a short two years. We could be in you know post-apocalyptic Realm at least when it comes to high schools and that's kind of what they set up in this film Is it's like this post-apocalyptic now? Well, I'll finish with the information on this and then before I get into the like the real Nitty-gritty of what happened in the film. I want to say something else about theme Or actually genre so the film was banned actually in a bunch of countries because of its lewd nature It's it's another one of those kind of head scratchers because like I get it Maybe it's because of the rape scene because there's a rape scene in this and I'll talk about it later But it was I don't think the film needed it It seemed kind of like too much in a way, but I'll talk about a little bit more later It had two science fiction based sequels, which when I read that I was like hmm What what type of path did they take for these science fiction sequels? So I kind of interested to see it, but it had two sequels one was called class of 1999 and that one was released in 1990 and then the other one was called class of 1992 or 1992 the substitute and that was released in 1994 so Let me say real quick some people who have seen this I mean if you've seen this I guarantee Well, I can't guarantee but most likely a lot of people have watched this film and have had the thought Early on in the film like I did which is is this actually a horror film? So I don't think it's a straight horror film But I think it's one of those films that falls into the realm of horror Adjacent there are horror aspects to it and there's some horrific stuff in it, but it's not a straight horror film So for me like the horror stuff in it obviously there's death and there's Malice with the kids and they're out of control. So it kind of plays a little bit like a invasion film Like a kind of like a siege film a little bit or you know alone in your house And here comes the intruder because there is an actual scene with that in it But even without that one scene it kind of feels like the school is being invaded and intruded upon with a bad Element of who these you know gang member kids are so I think it kind of works in that sense It's it kind of hits that Bit of a subgenre of horror film like the invasion film or the intruder film I think would be a better way of putting it You certainly get the idea that there's no control over the students, especially when Roddy McDowell's character Corrigan is immediately saying to Norris You got to look the other way because he was saying hey I just saw that kid, you know pass another kid a straight razor and then go through the metal detector And he's just like hey man, and that's how the administration other than Norris reacts throughout the entire film. It's just like What are you gonna do like we're not worried. We don't have enough Enough gall to stand up to these horrible kids because we know that if you do that You're gonna get something terrible coming back your way and you obviously see that later on in the film with Norris But but then you also see later in the film by not dealing with it and having so many things done to you Corrigan loses it like totally loses it and then he ends up getting killed because I mean he basically kills himself Because he just goes over the edge, which those are some good scenes. I'll talk about that a little bit more, but The setup of a criminal Criminal Empire kind of ups the stakes for the teacher's protagonist being Norris in this They established very very early on in the film like there is a criminal Empire at play here the drugs the prostitution just the overall fear that's being dispersed amongst all the students because of this gang that's Stegman and his goons are running and The for that reason when they introduced the awesome piano skills of Stegman It's very surprising because you're just like oh, I thought this guy was just like this low life piece of crap But look, he's got this amazing skill. So it kind of makes me wonder like what is it supposed to be that the only problem that Stegman has with Norris at least in the beginning is that he Won't let him be the pianist for the orchestra like is that it because that's kind of how it played off to me and Unless I miss something Because you know, sometimes I'm kind of looking down at my phone and like, you know doing notes So I have a tendency to miss like something if it's really quick But it seemed to me like Stegman being like look, let me be the pianist for the orchestra and Norris being like now Not until you grow up basically stop wrecking the school and wrecking everyone's chance of like getting a legitimate education because you're Leaving everyone in fear Then maybe we can talk so it makes you also wonder then what would have happened had Norris kind of approached it from a different standpoint and and instead of being punitive and saying hey, you're you're a terrible person you can't do You know, you can't use your P piano skills being like, okay You know, I recognize that you have a lot of behavioral issues To put it lightly, but I'm gonna give you a shot and maybe through Cultivating something more wholesome We can change you we can we can get you to a better place and teach you that There there is a spot for you in the school that doesn't have to do with you know Causing fear and violence and distributing drugs and stuff like that Like you you can be productive and will help cultivate this So if he had taken that standpoint It may have come out differently and that's one of the things you definitely think of towards the end is If he had just said yes to him being the pianist for the orchestra, how would things have gone? I mean granted we probably wouldn't have had much of a movie, but you know story-wise The first death comes later than expected I feel like a lot of the story just keeps going going going and and that's why you start thinking like is this actually a horror film like When are we gonna get to that element? But you do get the first Death and it is kind of the strong drugs kill type moment that you know, then the 80s had a lot of the whole Dare to keep kids off drugs or was that more than 90s? I feel like it's 80s and into the 90s the dare program trying to keep kids off of drugs, but I might be wrong. I think it may be more 90s But anyway, there's there's always been this heart this push of like drugs kill keep kids off of drugs especially when they're in high school and The first death is you know the kid because he's so high on these drugs climbs to the top of the flagpole falls off dies So that's like a very strong statement of kids don't do drugs because they'll kill you I mean can't get much stronger than that So I like how the principal thinks the kids behavior is kind of like a whatever thing, but then as soon as Norris is Implicated as hitting Stegman, even though we actually didn't and there was no evidence of that He's immediately like oh my god. You can't do this. You're so guilty. You know, it's this it's it's the the extreme of What it normally would be where you know The principal would come from it at an in a neutral way and kind of say okay Well, let's look at the evidence. What's actually going on ideally, but in this one He's just immediately like I don't really care what the kids do because we can't really control them I care what you did and I don't even need to have evidence to say that you did something wrong And it just seems a little over the top with the writing. It's a little too much. I mean they could have Given that idea without making it as strong as it was So I think that's a little bit of an issue with the writing So, you know There's a pretty good scene when Corgan loses it and actually it's more than one scene It's a few scenes one where he has the gun when he's trying to teach class and he's trying to get answers out of people Insinuating they'll shoot them if they don't participate in class and be better students And then the ultimate where he ends up killing himself where he starts trying to run people down with his car the gang members that is and That that scene in particular one it was it was well done But it also made me think man some of the things that stuntmen do I mean I know it's safer now, but it's never like a hundred percent safe And back then it was even less safe and like a stunt like the the person who was a stuntman for Stegman's character Like being on on the front of the hood of the car while it's like jerking around and driving and trying to like wreck Pretty dangerous, and that's just what I made me think. I'm like that's intense man Stunt people. I'll tell you I Like how Norris's wife says she needs to leave until she has the baby as If like as soon as she has the baby It's okay to bring that newborn baby back to that environment like it's literally said the way where she's like I'm gonna have to leave until I have the baby Insinuating that she'll come back as soon as she's had the baby that like she feels like she's in danger Just because she's pregnant and then if she's not pregnant like everything will be fine That's a dialogue issue with the writing where it's just like that's that doesn't make any sense It's ridiculous. It's just something that kind of stood out to me So talking about the rapeseed now it was a bit much now Not only was it a bit much in the sense of you didn't need it because you didn't need it they could have just broken into the house and You know stole things or vandalized the house or you know like hit her or something or just kidnapped her because they end up kidnapping her Anyway, so honestly, they should have just abducted her and that's it the whole rape scene totally unnecessary I'm fine with having rape scenes in in horror movies like this if it actually adds to the story if it's Important to the story like you know rape revenge films, you know It makes sense because it's it adds to the story this it doesn't it doesn't really add to the story So you didn't even need it. So I'd rather them just not even go there It just comes off then as being just really distasteful for no reason and Too much it's too much in my opinion, but that's just me The other thing is the rape scene was shot horribly like it looked Terrible not in the sense of like it looked like a brutal rape but in the sense that like The actual directing and filmmaking of it looked terrible and it had like some blinking shots that changed and it just Just they should have next it they just should have next it because it wasn't even shot. Well, it wasn't even done Well, it was crap like probably one of the worst parts of the movie to be honest Directing wise and cinematography wise to be honest But I mean overall like cinematography directing was good the acting was was better than I expected going into the film So I was pretty happy with that There's a good point that's made that the bad kids get so much of the attention within the school And then all the good kids basically end up getting forgotten And I feel like this actually happens with schools where you have to take so much time With disciplining the terrible kids or just worrying about what they're going to do next and reacting to it Or being proactive about trying to make sure that there isn't a problem that you know The good kids become forgotten and you really see that in the moment where you know, they're going to have that concert and the You know, the principal literally is talking about you know, the bad kids get so much attention because norris have kind of pointed out We have a lot of really good students here and it does seem kind of like the principal really Wasn't thinking about that and it's at that moment where that that idea dawns on dawns on him And he's just like, oh, yeah. Well, I guess, you know, we just spend so much time thinking about these bad kids And I feel like that's a real life thing and and for that reason The good students a lot of times that some of these schools won't get Everything they need because it's the bad students to get all the attention and not just from the administration there But also from people from the outside looking in at what like the school's reputation is so Uh portions in the school after dark are my favorite that kind of like Chasing where norris is trying to find his wife wherever she is like the the school's all dark and He's following like the one woman and she's going like in and out of the doors And he can't find her and then they end up getting into fights and he kills the one It it oh plus during that like when they end up actually catching him and they and they beat uh, norris The they had some like extreme close-ups on the faces of the gang members And I felt like that was a a shot that made It made it seem very disturbing like getting that close-up on their faces when when they were looking the way they were Like they were kind of deranged but also really enjoying inflicting pain on norris I felt like it it created this disturbing image that worked really well So the arm-sawing moment is pivotal in this film So not only is it probably the best death in the film I mean some people might argue stegman's at the end is the best one It is it was a good one But I think the band saw where he saws his arm off and then he throws him on the saw I think that's the best death scene in the film and it's pivotal It's totally pivotal because that's the moment that norris decides. I can't I can no longer Not fight back because he had been kind of trying to get the police involved and the administration and everything But that's the moment where he decides I have to physically defend myself And that involves now me going on the physical offensive and so he kills this guy So that's why it's the pivotal moment because that's where norris realizes that he has no recourse other than to physically fight um Good moment So that's all I have to say about the actual like Film film. I like the ending of it. I think that the the stegman death at the end was impactful enough Uh, and then like I said, it kind of makes you wonder at the end like did he you know, if he had been able to be the pianist You know, how would that have been and it's interesting to think this You know, if he had been the pianist his whole goal then was to get to that concert Well in the end of the film he bakes it to the concert But not in the way that he wanted to You know, he's physically at the concert because he's hanging through the roof So he got he got there. He was gonna get there one of two ways and he got there the worst way possible. So Um, so talk about the themes a little bit So it's an old fear of youth out of control and beyond redemption Which seems to be echoed with every passing generation This is that that age old theme of older generations looking at the younger generations and saying oh, they're so lost They're so wayward they care about nothing It's all about chaos and destruction and drugs and giving into their pleasures and doing whatever they want And their generation's gonna ruin everything and we're headed for an apocalypse because their generation's just gonna destroy it all And you see that strongly in this film. I mean just look at the way the school looks there's graffiti everywhere Everything looks just totally broken down and scuzzy Everyone's afraid of this gang. They run everything. They're allowed to do whatever they want It's just this image of like apocalypse and this idea that the film throws at you that if these if this gang of kids are just if they go unchecked We're headed to like societal apocalypse, basically Uh, the idea of the youth looking so useless and wayward signals and apocalyptic societal future I guess I just already said that punk culture was used because it symbolized total total chaos in film at one point The punk culture. Yes for a while was heavily mined In horror films and other films As kind of being synonymous with chaotic youth So that's why you kind of have it here being like oh, these kids are punks But there's also an extra element of nazism, which it isn't played up a lot But it's it's there like they give the salute at one point the like the sea kyle and it's like Disturbing honestly because it because it's this meshing then of like punks and nazis and obviously nazis are The most disgusting scum in the world always will be And then you end up seeing like swastikas. It's not a strongly Focused on thing but every here and there like if you look in the background like graffiti, you'll see a swastika There's one point when one of the gang members is wearing a shirt that has a swastika on it It is kind of obscured a little bit But if you look you can tell so there's this kind of hint that they're also into Nazism There's not much past just seeing the symbols there and their sea kyle moment, but Yeah, it's kind of that that extra to say Evil like like a lot of the times it is that Nazism is invoked in film to like kind of be like this is unequivocable evil Like is it as if the actions didn't speak loud enough. We will give you the symbol of nazism to let you know Beyond evil So it's a little heavy-handed for that reason They could have just kept with the punk style or they didn't even need to use the punk style the kids could have just been You know terrible kids like whatever, but you know, those were the images that were kind of used back then Um, and yeah, and then the last thing I just had written down was just you know It makes you wonder what would have happened if noris had given in the segment and just been like look Let's go with your piano skills. Let me help cultivate that and let's get you in the orchestra Because it would have taken him out of that criminal element potentially not definitely but potentially, but you know It's a story And like I said, we wouldn't have a film and we wouldn't have the film that we do without that so Overall, I enjoyed watching the film. I'm not sure if it's one that I feel I need to watch again But it was a good watch the first time It takes a while to get going so it feels like maybe it's a little longer than it should be I think they kind of needed to get to the meat of the story a little bit faster But once it gets going towards like the middle, it's it kind of really picks up and it's way more interesting and I enjoyed it So uh, I'm gonna give it a rating out of five stars with half stars in play Gonna put this one at a three I feel like a three is appropriate for it. I do recommend it. Go check it out. Like I said, it's on shutter at the moment so Let me know put some comments down there. Have you seen it already? What are your thoughts? Do you like it? Do you hate it in between whatever? And then hit that subscribe for me if you could that's a big favor You could do for me because I don't make money doing any of this I just use my free time what little bit I have because I'm pretty busy But this makes me feel good putting these creative things out there and I love doing film analysis So it's a lot of fun. So anyway, please hit that subscribe for me You can do the likes but the subscribe subscribe means means more to me But regardless, thank you for checking out this video and until next time keep it brutal