Rape, gory violence, great villains, a killer signature song from Alice Cooper ("I Am The Future"), and solid performances from genre vets such as Perry King ("Mandingo", "Search and Destroy") and Roddy McDowell equal one of the greatest exploitation films of all time. King starts work at a crime-ridden school and is targeted by a nasty gang led by the disturbed, spoiled, vicious, gifted youth Stegman (Timothy Van Patten). Not able to ignore the non-stop assaults and abuse of other teachers and students, King wages a nasty war with Stegman and his goons and, in the process, endangers both his own life and the life of his wife. Director Mark Lester, who was handed the "Commando" gig after the surprise international success of this pic, never made another movie as tight, violent and dramatically coherent. It is a textbook example of how to do exploitation right. In addition to the mean-spirited mayhem, there are other special treats such as a moving scene in which the arrogant Stegman sits at a piano and plays like a maestro in front of his stunned class and teacher. Actor Van Patten, who gives a believable, knock-out performance, actually composed and played the piece himself. Michael J. Fox plays a nerdy student ally of King's, and McDowell, always reliable, is great as a teaching veteran pummeled into submission by decades of classroom violence. The film carried a prophetic message back in the early 80's when it was made, and it's a message that is even more appropriate today in our politically correct times where teachers have no power to discipline students and students have every right at their disposal and know it. The film's climax is explosive and Lester never lets a gory opportunity pass him by. A classic in every sense.
Review of Class of 1984
