CLASS OF 1984 (1982)

CLASS OF 1984 (1982) 

Label: Scream Factory 

Release Date: April 14th 2015 
Region Code: A

Rating: R

Duration: 98 Minutes

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0, DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.78:1) 

Director: Mark Lester

Cast: Merrie Lynn Ross, Roddy McDowall, Michael J. Fox, Lisa Langlois, Perry King, Timothy Van Patten, Stefan Arngrim, Erin Noble, Neil Clifford, Keith Knight 

The '80s cult-classic Classic of 1984 (1982) scared me beyond belief in the early 80's, the nihilistic vision of urban decay and violence in the classroom were the stuff of nightmares for me. I was only in middle school at the time this is exactly what I imagined would be waiting for in high school, though it turned out that this could not have been further removed from my own experience, but that little fact didn't prevent me from stressing out about it. This was a very affecting film for me and I probably caught it at just the right time for it to have the most most complete affect on me. 

In the film Andrew Norris (Perry King, Big Love) is the new music teacher at inner-city high school Lincoln High. The school overrun with unruly youth, drugs and violence. Peter Stegman (Timothy Van Patten, Catacombs) is the charismatic leader of a group of punkers comprised of Drugstore (Stefan Arngrim, Fear No Evil), Barnyard (Keith Knight, Meat Balls), Fallon (Neil Clifford) and the lone female of the group Patsy (Lisa Langlois, Deadly Eyes), the latter of whom is a true vision of punk girl naughtiness, a very bad girl with shocks of pink hair and an awesome '80s punk aesthetic. 

Walking into this urban jungle of a school nice guy teacher Norris is taken aback by the unruly and violent students who show not one ounce of respect for the teaching staff. On his first day he befriends science teacher Terry Corrigan played my genre veteran Roddy McDowall (Fright Night), after years of abuse Terry has given up any hope of  getting through to the students but the idealistic Norris refuses to give up, does his level best to develop meaningful teacher-student relationships. Peter and his crew prove to be quite a menace for both the teacher and for his star pupils, particularly band students Arthur (a very early Michael J. Fox) and Deneen (Erin Noble). Arthur's best friend scores drugs from the gang which leads to him falling to his death from atop a flagpole, an event which sets in motion an escalating series of altercations ending with a murderous finale during an orchestra performance at school. 

Perry King turns is a solid performance as the good natured teacher who is pushed to the edge by the violent punkers who brutally rape his wife before kidnapping her. After which Norris flips the switch and becomes a serious revenge seeking badass, setting punks on fire and sawing  off limbs in the woodshop, brutal stuff and way darker than I had remembered it to be. There is one scene that always make me laugh a little, when punker Patsy taunts Norris in the hallway and squeezes her titty in a mocking gesture, a quirky scene that has just stuck with me through the years. 

Norris is not the only teacher pushed to the breaking point by the gang, Roddy McDowell goes off the deep end when the punks break into his lab and kill his rabbits, after which he cracks and holds his classroom at gunpoint before attempting to run the thugs down with his car, which doesn't end so well for him, the vile punkers gather round the ensuing inferno and celebrate his death. 

Directed and co-written by Mark L. Lester (Commando), Class of 1984 has original story and screenplay co-written by Fright Night (1985) writer/director Tom Holland and benefits from a strong cast of characters inhabited by some very good young actors. Notably Timothy Van Patten is fantastic as the charismatic head of the gang, he's definitely one of the great assholes of '80s high school cinema. 

The movie features a decent rock tinged score from composer Lalo Schifrin (THX-1138) and the song "I Am the Future", a fairly awful synth tune performed by classic rocker Alice Cooper from his nuwave Zipper Catches Skin album. There is some redemption as we do get a live performance clip from he Canadian punk rock group Teenage Head during which we are treated to scenes of teenage punks slam dancing and a snarling punk chic baring her titties for the band.

Audio/Video: The nihilistic Class of 1984 debut on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer framed in widescreen (1.78:1) with a pleasing amount of natural film grain allowing for some damn decent fine detail and some clarity, quite a nice upgrade from the Anchor Bay DVD, it definitely benefits from the new HD transfer afforded it. Color saturation is strong an natural looking, the school looks plenty run down and gritty as it should. The black levels are deep and inky and skin tones look authentic without any ruddiness. 

The disc comes with the option to watch with English DTS-HD MA 2.0 and DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. Not surprisingly the surround mix is pretty front-centric with discreet effects and the Lalo Schifrin score providing some additional ambiance through the surround. 

Onto the extras we begin with the Blood And Blackboards Featurette ported over from the Anchor Bay DVD as is the audio commentary with director Mark Lester and Anchor Bay DVD Producer Perry Martin. Scream have stuffed this one with over an hour of new interviews with Director Mark Lester, Composer Lalo Schifrin, Actors Lisa Langlois And Erin Noble and an expansive forty-seven minute career retrospective with star Perry King who speaks about lessons learned from his father and the various directors and actors he's had the privilege to work with through the years, plus condemning a TV Guide reporter who once wrote an article that portrayed him as being ashamed of playing a gay character in a film before going on to discuss his turn in the TV series Riptide. 

The still very cute Lisa Langois speaks of wanting to be cast against type as the fatalistic punk rock chic and of being nearly beat down by the extras at the punk show. Unfortunately the Erin Noble interview is marred by some inferior audio making it sound boxy and clippy. Leading man Perry King covers most if not all of his films including is turn on the '80s TV series Riptide of which I was a huge fan as a kid.  

The disc extras are capped off the original trailer, a few TV spots and a still gallery featuring promotional still, poster art and VHS covers. As with all the Scream Factory Collector Edition Blu-rays this one comes with a slipcase with new artwork by graphic designer Justin Osbourne, which is also features on the sleeve of reversible artwork.

Special Features
- NEW High-Definition Transfer Of The Film From The Interpositive
- NEW The Girl Next Door - Interviews with Actors Lisa Langlois And Erin Noble (16 Mins) 
- NEW History Repeats Itself - Interviews with Director Mark Lester and Composer Lalo Schifrin (21 Mins)
- NEW Do What You Love Career Retrospective Interview With Perry King (47 Mins)
- Audio Commentary With Mark Lester and Perry Martin
- Blood And Blackboards Featurette – Featuring Interviews With Director Mark Lester, - Actors Perry King And Merrie Lynn Ross (36 Mins)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2 Mins)
- TV Spots(1 Mins)
- Still Gallery (56 Images) 

Class of 1984 (1982) manages to hold-up surprisingly well after thirty plus years, and it  actually turned out to be a somewhat prophetic vision of classroom violence and urban decay that is not too far removed from the sad reality nowadays. A classic slice of '80s violent classroom cinema and the Scream Factory Blu-ray gets a gold star for offering up brand-new hi-def transfer with a wealth of satisfying new extras, a high recommend for both fans and newcomers. 

Blu-ray Review: PSYCHO II (1983) Collector's Edition

PSYCHO II (1983) 

Collector's Edition Blu-ray 

Label: Shout! Factory / Scream Factory

Region Code: A

Rating: R

Duration: 113 Minutes

Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles

Video: 1080p Widescreen (1.85:1) 

Director: Richard Franklin

Cast: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Meg Tilly, Robert Loggia, Dinnis Franz

Tagline: It's 22 Years Later and Norman Bates is Coming Home...

Wow, a sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) ...the size of the fucking balls on Universal Studios in 1983 and just a few years after the Master of Suspense's death, you just know they would never have done it while he was still drawing breath. I cannot even imagine what that pitch was like, then again I can't believe Universal greenlit Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot remake of it in 1999 either, that was just a bad idea from the ground up. In '83 it was decades before the remake craze possessed Hollywood, shit now they're remaking John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) and it won't be long until Jaws (1975) gets the re imagining treatment, like there just haven't been enough Jaws rip-offs over the years, huh? 

Anyway, I remember seeing this one in the video store shelves ages ago and watching it, even as a kid I scoffed at the idea of a sequel to Psycho (1960) but I just had to know what they'd done to besmirch the original, call it a morbid curiosity. truly, I was expecting something quite awful but oddly enough I was wrong. Directed by Australian filmmaker Richard Franklin who had previously directed the neat ozploitation oddity Patrick (1978) about a comatose patient with telekinetic powers and the road trip slasher film Road Games (1981) starring Stacey Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis, he didn't seem like the obvious choice, makes me wonder who turned down the job beforehand. The script was written by a young writer named Tom Holland who would go on to direct Fright Night (1985) and it was lensed by cinematographer Dean Cundey fresh of Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) and John Carpenter's The Thing (1982), on just talent alone this is actually starting to sound pretty good on paper 

Onto the cast we have Anthony Perkins reprising his iconic role as Norman Bates, also returning is Vera Miles as Lila Loomis, the sister of shower victim Marion Crane. The cast is filled out with Meg Tilly (Body Snatchers) as Norman's co-worker Mary, Robert Loggia (Lost Highway) as Norman's psychiatrist Dr. Raymond and Dennis Franz (Blow Out) playing what he seemed to do best in the 80's, a sleazeball. Perkins snaps right back into the mindset of Norman Bates, it's a scary good performance and he picks it up just fine after 22 years, it's creepy good. Robert Loggia definitely plays against type in a role that's pretty reserved compared to what I know him from, he's a pretty compassionate guy here. Vera Miles reprising her role as Lila Loomis is a nice touch, she's quite upset that after 22 years her sister's murderer is released from the loony bin, it sets her off. Tilly is also quite good as the naive good girl with a twist, I won't spoil it but this is a pretty crafty and deft script, loved the twists and turns, it's a fun 80's slasher with quite a pedigree. 

Alright, a great creative team and a  committed cast, this is starting to sound pretty damn good, and on top of that Richard Franklin and Tom Holland turn out to be quite devoted student of Hitchcock, you can feel his presence in nearly every frame, there's a lot of tense atmosphere and suspense, Holland's script is superb and Franklin's direction is top notch. I think it's probably his best work but I do have quite a soft spot for the kid friendly spy caper Cloak and Dagger (1984), also penned by Holland. 

Watching this again on Blu-ray I think I enjoyed it even more than on previous watches, my appreciation for how Frankilin and Holland were able to channel the Hitchcock vibe so true it would give Brian De Palma cinematic envy, it really works for me on every level. It arrived in cinema's at the end of the slasher-cycle it helped birth, where Hitchcock was more refined in terms of on-screen carnage this one goes right for throat with more gratuitous violence than you might expect and I just loved it from start to finish.

Blu-ray: Psycho II (1983) arrives on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and it looks fantastic, way better than my 2007 Universal DVD beginning with a nice layer of fine film grain which offers up some very nice fine detail. The colors are crisp and vibrant, black levels are deep and there's a wonderful clarity which gives the image some depth, was pleasantly surprised how nice Psycho II (1983) looks in 1080p. 

Audio options include English language DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and 5.1, the newly minted 5.1 one is effective with some spatial ambiance even if the surrounds aren't overly active. Dialogue is always clear, effects are clean and Jerry Goldsmith's score sounds great. 

Special features include an Audio Commentary with Screenwriter Tom Holland moderated by Rob Galluzzo, writer/director of the The Psycho Legacy, Holland's a pretty talkative guy and has a lot to offer from the perspective of a young, up and coming writer in Hollywood, mentioning alternate casting choices (Carrie Fisher) and some fun anecdotes about he cast including friction between stars Anthony Perkins and Meg Tilly. Also included is a vintage Universal Electronic Press Kit which is a weird hodgepodge of clips and interviews with the cast including some vintage footage of Hitchcock, a decent time waster. 

Finishing-up the extras are a selection of audio interviews with the cast and crew, trailers, TV Spots and a still image gallery with 81 images of behind-the-scenes pics, production stills, and poster art.  

Special Features: 
- All-new Audio Commentary with Screenwriter Tom Holland
- Vintage interviews with cast and crew including Anthony Perkins and director Richard Franklin (35:21)
- Vintage audio interviews with cast and crew
- TV Spots (2:01)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (3:43) 
- Stills Gallery (6:37) 

Verdict: Sure, a sequel to Psycho (1960) just seems like the worst idea ever but director Richard Franklin and writer Tom Holland handle the material with a lot of respect and with a few fun winks and nods, plus it's a damn fine film on it's own. I quite enjoyed this sequel and Scream Factory's transfer and extras are top notch, you may be a doubter but I strongly suggest a viewing, particularly for you slasher fans, this is fun stuff. 3.5 Outta 5 

Blu-ray Review: FRIGHT NIGHT (1985)

FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) Blu-ray

Label: Twilight Time
Region Code: Region FREE
Rating: R
Duration: 106mins
Video: 1080p 16:9 Widescereen (2.35:1)
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA
Director: Tom Holland
Cast: Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Stephen Geoffreys, Roddy McDowell

I was all of twelve years old when I caught director Tom Holland's FRIGHT NIGHT in the cinema in 1985, some might think this young but I think twelve was a very appropriate age for one to properly enjoy this awesome 80's vampyric tale of young sexuality. At that age I definitely had an interest in girls but I also still had one foot firmly planted in adolescence. For example, at that age I would still sprint home after school to catch the latest episode of the THUNDERCATS, even though I was pretty rapt by the sci-fi action adventures of Lion-O an his battles on Third Earth against the ultimate evil of Mumm-Ra I would also run to window for a sneaky-peak of a pretty neighbor girl by the name of Heidi O'Claire when I would hear her voice outside. This was just the beginning of what would become many unrequited teen crushes and these cursory pangs of sexual curiosity put me in nearly the right frame of mind to understand the character of Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale, TV's HERMAN'S HEAD), a pretty average teenager with a love of Hammer-esque Gothic horror films which he views during the late-night showings of the TV program Fright Night hosted by washed-up b-movie actor Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowell, THE PLANET OF THE APES). It's up in his room with Fright Night on in the background that Charley's making out with girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse, TV's MARRIED WITH CHILDREN) who's right on the verge of giving into Charley's demands for sex that he becomes distacted by the arrival of his new nextdoor neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon, THE PRINCESS BRIDE) and his live-in carpenter Billy Cole (Jonathan Stark, HOUSE II) who seem to be moving a coffin into the basement. This bit of oddness proves too much for young Charley to ignore and he forgoes losing his virginity to spy on the neighbors instead, WTF? Sure, Amanda Bearse may not the most stunning beauty the 80's had to offer but what the fuck is he thinking? Apparently Amy doesn't think much of this deflowering snub either as she storms outta his room and the next day at school smashes a burger into his face, and rightfully so,  much to the delight of Charley's pal Evil Ed (Stephen Geoffrey's, 976-EVIL) who cracks one of his classic catch phrases, "You're so cool Brewster, I can't stand it!". Geoffrey's plays the awkward, social misfit looking for acceptance so well here, it's definitely a stand-out performance from a young man who would soon go onto to takes lead roles in gay porno like GUYS WHO CRAVE BIG COCK ...I wonder what that one's about?

Later that night Charley hears a blood curdling scream come from next door after witnessing a memorably gorgeous woman enter the home and the next day when he catches a news report about a murdered prostitute he realizes its the same woman. It's the following evening while peeping the neighbors  REAR WINDOWN style that Charley actually witness's Jerry about to exsanguinate a woman with his fangs and eerily long fingers on full display. Alarmed at the prospect that a vampire is living next door Charlie attempts to tell his mother who attributes the incident to an overactive imagination spurred by too many horror films and a lack of sleep. When he tells Amy she thinks it's a ploy to win her back, which flatters her and when he goes to Evil Ed the misfit thinks he's surely flipped his wig but is only too happy to offer some vampyric folklore in exchange for a few dollars. At his ropes end Charley resorts to calling the authorities to report that Dandrige may be behind the recent spate of prostitute murders. However, when he accompanies  Det. Lennox (Art Evans, DIE HARD 2) to confront Jerry he loses all credibility once he mentions the "sleep of the undead" and the embarrassed officer can't leave the premises soon enough.

A bad situation gets even worse when Charley shockingly discovers that his own mother has invited Jerry over for drinks despite his warnings, and we all know that a vampire can't enter your house without permission. With that layer of protection now gone the already nervous teen breaks into a flop sweat and really starts to lose it. His worst fears are realized when Jerry pays him a visit later that night threatening the teen to forget about what he' seen but Charley outright refuses and drives a wooden pencil into the vamps hand, the injury reveals Dandrige's true hideous self and he flees but swears vengeance upon the meddling teen.

With no where else to go Charley contacts the local horror-host Peter Vincent played with perfection by Roddy McDowell who summons equal parts Peter Cushing and the the theatrics of Vincent Price, it's a brilliant portrayal and a loving nod to horror-hosts and Hammer films, it's really is a large part of why I'm so enamoured with this film. Like those before him Vincent sends the boy away, believing that he'sa rather unfortunate nut case. When Evil Ed and Amy discover Charley plans to murder his neighbor it's they whom finally convince the actor to help if only to appease their delusional friend. Eventually all four end up on the doorsteps of the vamp's home which is drenched in a creepy fog, with Charlie the only one not knowing this is a staged event Jerry only too willingly drinks the "Holy Water" and though he passes this ultimate test Charley still refuses to believe, he protests but is told to leave before he further embarrasses himself or any further harm comes to his friends, but when Peter Vincent takes out a cigarette case for a smoke he sees in it's mirror that Dandrige casts no reflection. He quickly makes for the front door trying not to attract attention but is obviously quite shaken, which does not go unnoticed by Charley or Dandrige. Once outside Charley demands to know what he saw and Vincent begrudgingly confesses just before speeding off.

Walking home that night the trio of friends discuss the incident amongst themselves, Ed, still a non-believer, chooses to take a shortcut through an alley alone, all the while mocking Charley's fears,  but he finds himself cornered by Dandridge and succumbs to the vampire willingly when offered the life without ridicule he so craves. With Ed now among the vampire's acolytes Dandridge turns his attention to Amy, chasing the two teens into an 80's discotheque where he abducts Amy after glammering her. Jerry Dandridge is truly one of the most suave 80's vampires ever, the guy is just super-smooth, great hair, a great dancer, rocks a sweater and is an apple snackin' maniac which just tickles me for some reason. It's set-up early on that Amy bares a striking resemblance to one of Jerry's former lovers and he plans to turn her into a blood-sucker and deflower the young virgin, much to the chagrin of Charley who I have to say had his chance earlier.

Desperate and without an alternative Charlie once again enlists the help of the frightened Peter Vincent in an attempt to rescue Amy from the vampire Dandrige. It's here that we get one of my favorite scenes in the entire film with Peter Vincent facing off against Evil Ed now a shape-shifting vampire who takes the form of a wolf which leaps towards the horror-host just as Vincent thrusts a stake through his chest, the dying beast crawls under a stairwell and gruesomely transforms from a snarling beast into a pathetic looking creature then into the innocent looking Ed, all the while emitting an unnatural and unnerving wail as a sympathetics Peter  Vincent looks on with tears tears streaming from his eyes, pained by the tragic death of a young person.

Pretty typical of my favorite 80's films the special effects are mostly in-camera and practical done by a couple of guys who know a thing or two about cool special effects; Richard Edlund (GHOSTBUSTERS) and Randall Cook (LORD OF THE RINGS). Their work here is something wonderful and even under the scrutiny of 1080p still look pretty awesome. The final battle with Dandridge does reveal some cheesy effects work in my opinion but on the whole it's a pretty top notch production.


Blu-ray: Twillight Time's transfer of the film is very nice, presented in 16:9 enhanced widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio with an English 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio track with optional English (SDH) subtitles. The image comes from a near pristine print and is quite pleasing to the eye easily offering better contrast, deeper black levels, and way more fine detail than the standard definition DVD, it's pretty sharp and is surely the best presentation the film is likely ever to see. The 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio option is very impressive with Brad Fiedel's score getting some sweet surround sound action, it's a very nice audio presentation.

Special features are few but appreciated beginning with an isolated score track featuring the film's excellent score from Brad Friedel, two theatrical trailers and an eight-page booklet with an essay on the film by Julie Kirgo which is a pretty great read on it's own. In lieu of commentary it's noted in the booklet that you can download commentaries for the film by Robert Galluzo and Tim Sullivan at http://www.iconsoffright.com/

Special Features:
- Isolated Score Track
- Original Theatrical Trailers (2:48)
- 8 Page Booklet with essay by Julie Kirgo

Verdict: FRIGHT NIGHT remains not just one of the best vampire films of the 80's but one of the best horror films that decade had to offer, a film that attains it's humor smartly without resorting to lame-brained boner jokes and is just horrific enough to keep he horror fans rapt with some impressive effects work. It's great to see the film make the jump to Blu-ray even in such a limited quantity, it's hard to believe that Columbia Pictures haven't thought to give the film a wider Blu-ray release, there's surely demand for this title so I give it up to Twilight Time for their great taste and superior attention to detail. 4.5 outta 5

Note: Sadly, by the time I was able to review this wonderful release the very limited edition run of 3,000 had sold out completely and is currently available, though at super inflated prices, through Amazon and on Ebay. I was quite impressed with the quality of the presentation and I encourage you check out Twilight Time's other titles which includes a Blu-ray of the Ray Harryhausen film THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961) which is also available in a limited run of 3,000 editions so grab it quick, available exclusively through http://www.screenarchives.com/

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