Out of Control

Eight graduating seniors prepare for the party of a lifetime as they head to an island owned by the family of rich boy prom king Keith (Martin Hewitt). Trouble arises when their plane goes down in a storm and they end up stranded on a remote island. It is soon lots of bickering until some nasty drug dealers show up. This was the sophomore feature for Allan Holzman after the fun Forbidden World (1982) and that premise sounds like it should be can't miss. But it misses by miles. You know you are in trouble when it opens with the annoying fat guy character (played by Andrew J. Lederer) talking to the camera and setting up the scenario for the audience. And this guy is reaaaaaally annoying, maybe top five all-time for me (he also sporadically offers voice over narration where he pines he can't get laid). Once they land on the island things flip from boring (let's wander to get wood) to bizarre (an extended drunken spin the bottle episode) to nasty (the drug dealers trying to rape the women). The whole thing just seems sloppy and off.

This flick is hilarious to watch today. The bad outfits, the bad hair, the gratuitous nudity! It's everything a teen wanted. Sure the plot is not in Oscar contention, but this is entertaining bad TV and eye candy. There is also one (at least!) editing screw up of note: when you get your one and only overhead shot of the entire deserted island, the picture is taken from a mountain on a nearby island (or more likely the mainland). You can see branches at the bottom of the screen! Oops.

This movie stars Martin Hewitt (Endless Love) and Betsy Russell(Private School)as boyfriend and girlfriend who with a group of friends are traveling to Hewitt's father's island in the Pacific Northwest for a party after their high school graduation.The movie is slow and has a rather weak plot. Their plane crashes and leaves the kids stranded on an island. They swim, play "Games" and do what every teenager would do if they were stranded on an island with beautiful women. Then they discover that a group of smugglers are trying to kill them so they must fight them off and try to get off the island. A corny movie but if you like beautiful women and great scenery, then this movie is for you.

Eight high school seniors in Seattle leave the Prom and take a seaplane to a private island in order to celebrate, but they end up at a deserted isle where they may or may not bond, not to mention face serious challenges. Will they survive?

Released in 1984-1985, "Out of Control" is an obscure youth adventure that starts off like the future "The Edge" (1997), but has more in common with "April Fool's Day" (1986) since both flicks involve a group of youths on an island in (or near) Puget Sound. While there's no slasher angle to this one, there's still a serious threat to the students, which I'm not gonna give away.

A well-done spin-the-bottle sequence is reminiscent of the opening playing-in-the-mud sequence in "Village of the Giants" (1965), as well as the ensuing 'dancing giants' piece. But "Out of Control" is a serious adventure compared to that somewhat goofy flick.

What happens to the teens on the island is a microcosm of what is to come for them as adults: Fun times, unforeseen challenges, sudden death, enthusiastic partying, romances, unfaithfulness, fights, making up, unexpected evils, teamwork and survival. Sure, something happens in the last act that's thoroughly unbelievable, but "Where Eagles Dare" (1968) did the same thing and no one blinked an eye.

As far as the cast goes, Martin Hewitt (Keith) and Jim Youngs (Cowboy) are entertaining as the warring male protagonists. Meanwhile the flick is exceptional on the female front with Betsy Russell (Chrissie), Claudia Udy (Tina), Sherilyn Fenn (Katie) and Cindi Dietrich (Robin), all beautiful in their unique ways, and all tastefully caught on film in the physical prime of their lives. Both Sherilyn Fenn and Betsy Russell went on to have decent second-tier acting careers. Be sure to look for Sherilyn in "Zombie High" (1987), "Two Moon Junction" (1988) and "Of Mice and Men" (1992).

At the end of the day this is a low-budget coming-of-age drama/adventure/thriller that's thoroughly comic booky, but works for what it is because it wisely checks all the staples and doesn't overstay its welcome.

The full-length version runs about 1 hour, 28 minutes, but there's also a cut version that's around 10 minutes shorter (which I suggest avoiding). As far as the locations go, it was shot in the USA with second unit work done in Yugoslavia. I can't find any more detailed data, unfortunately.

GRADE: B-/B.

Fairly entertaining low-budget teen action pic, set on a deserted (almost....) island. Rather amateurishly made, but it has some surprisingly tender moments. The characters are stereotypical, but also believable. Best thing about it: the catchy title theme that is SO wonderfully mid-1980s. ** out of 4.