This film begins with some statistics being flashed on the screen detailing the number of violent acts committed in American schools per year. The scene then shifts to a young man by the name of "Andrew Norris" (Perry King) arriving at Lincoln High School to begin his first day as a teacher. To that effect, one of the first people he meets is a biology teacher named "Terry Corrigan" (Roddy McDowell) who gives him a little advice and then shows him to the principal's office. To his surprise, "Principal Morganthau" (David Gardner) also gives him some dire warnings prior to his first class as well. Not long after that, he has his first encounter with some rowdy students who are led by a teenager named "Peter Stegman" (Timothy Van Patten) and things immediately deteriorate from that point on. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was one of those films that features a number of violent and sexually explicit scenes which are clearly not intended for a general audience. Having said that, however, none of these scenes are really that unique and there isn't that much gore associated with them. But there is some surprise value here and there and quite a bit of suspense throughout as well. On the minus side, these scenes tend to get more ridiculous the further along this film continues and eventually ends with an extremely preposterous conclusion. How disappointing, as this could have been a really great film. Be that as it may, it's still entertaining to a certain degree and I have rated it accordingly.
Review of Class of 1984
