Campus

I wish I didn't have to write 10 lines for inclusion on IMDb, because there isn't too much to say about this movie EXCEPT that I really liked it at the time - it is a good example of mid-80's style - and the actors are very good, some have more recently become well known: John Stockwell is a noted Director now ("Blue Crush"), and he was 'Cougar' in "Top Gun" the same year, 1986. Carey Lowell, Mrs. Richard Gere, went on to "Law & Order" after a role in a bad James Bond movie. So why no DVD??? It was on VHS in the late 80's. One thing I do remember at the time, when Siskel & Ebert reviewed it they noted a strange homo-erotic overtone in many scenes (like in the school gym's locker room). Of course, you could say that about the Top Gun locker room scenes, also. But they had a point, and I think one reason this movie did stand out from the run-of-the-mill Drive In fare was that director Albert Pyun gave it some of these inexplicable, strange tones. And there was one TERRIFIC pun half-way into the movie, but you'll have to watch it to find out for yourself...

Things are going very wrong at the high school attended by crusading newspaper editor Donny Lennox (J. Eddie Peck). There's a student group there named The Sentinels, ostensibly formed to act as something of a security force. But now the group is out of control, and is bent on eliminating any individual whom they deem "undesirable". Now people are actually dying.

Give these filmmakers credit for at least *attempting* to deal with serious subject matter in a reasonably sincere way. Director Albert Pyun works from a script co-written by leading actor John Stockwell. Stockwell ("Christine", "My Science Project") plays unofficial Sentinels leader Randy McDevitt. The movie features some of the trappings of the period, namely, fashions and the hip soundtrack of artists ranging from Robert Palmer to Fine Young Cannibals to The Smithereens. But it's fairly stylish and slick, and not gratuitously gory. The story is entertaining and provocative enough to draw the viewer in, and there is a potent theme about the danger of blindly following somebody's lead.

An array of recognizable faces play roles big and small: Carey Lowell ("Licence to Kill"), Don Michael Paul ("Heart of Dixie"), Bradford Bancroft ("Bachelor Party"), Madison Mason ("Dreamscape"), Thom Mathews and Miguel A. Nunez Jr. from "The Return of the Living Dead", Gerard Christopher ("Tomboy"), Carmen Argenziano ("The Accused"), Dedee Pfeiffer ("Vamp"), Karen Witter ("The Vineyard"), Angel Tompkins ("The Teacher"), and Rosalind Allen ("Ticks"). The performances, much like the movie itself, do earn points for sincerity.

Only a last minute reveal involving the Krooger character genuinely annoyed this viewer. Overall, this is a decent 1980s effort waiting to be discovered or rediscovered.

Seven out of 10.

"Dangerously Close" is one of those silly flicks that are almost enjoyable as it knows how to give us some tension while treating issues revolving safety during high school years. It talks about a troubled prep school that uses of its own student body to enforce laws on reckless students who destroy school property, vandalism and robbery among classmates. But it's a very obvious film where you know exactly where the threat comes from, therefore all the tension required disappears in thin air and you keep on waiting for its end just to confirm your predictions and ease the pain after the painful misery of everything.

One-dimensional characters from the start, which is acceptable to audiences who like those kind of devices. J. Eddie Peck plays the nerd-looking and responsible good guy who is torn apart from his punk rebel friends as he's invited to join the security group formed by John Stockwell character, one of those rich kids who likes to cause controlled mayhem in order to enforce law and order. Truth is that the group runs secret attacks on the "undesireable" students after school hours, late at night, where they make a trial mockery, convicting those rebels and teaching them some hard frightening lessons.

It's not like all students like a fascist kind of security enforcement, there's opposition even from a teacher, and Peck's character (editor of the school paper as well) is used by the others to present a less negative view of the infamous group. Doesn't help much, as their obscure attacks becomes more and more dangerous, and when students start disappearing from view, our hero becomes intrigued.

Everything is so obvious with "Dangerously Close" that it's annoying. While I liked the limited acting of everyone involved, but they're all playing a formula (the good guy is good and without flaws; the bad group is bad but it comes with a redemption; the punk friend is only there to cause riot and bring a humorless humor; and the pretty girl is there to cause a rift between the new buddies). Kudos to Stockwell for picking the most "challenging" of the roles, but he's also one of the screenwriters so he knew what he was doing and it's a nice way to see him outside of "Christine" (1983) or "Top Gun".

But I couldn't stand each and every action and fighting sequence. Abrupt and ugly editing cuts where it's hard to tell why a beaten character is up and without injuries when there's change in the shot, or why they move to a different direction; the head of security (or school director, the movie wasn't clear about his function) can physically assault a student without consequences; the local police was a joke; the series of bizarre things makes it all look weird and slightly funny to follow.

Besides the "entertainment" parts, was there an actual good discourse while dealing with how students can secure their own environment and help themselves and the community? Not really. The adults in the room were so absent in this utopic dream that I guess it only proved that teens shouldn't be allowed to enforce anything but their proms. It was basic a clear case of right versus left, and it's easy to tell apart who's right and who's wrong, and the only thing missing were the uniforms. 4/10.

The Sentinels is a group of self appointed high school monitors at Vista Verde High. Leader Randy McDevitt (John Stockwell) befriends magnet student Danny Lennox (J. Eddie Peck), but may have ulterior motives as the group likes to torment those they feel don't belong in their social circle. This was Albert Pyun's third film and his first of several for Cannon. Probably inspired by The Wave (1981), this shows how fascism and intolerance can quickly grow out of control. The problem here is while you are supposed to hate the jocks, the guy playing Lennox's punk buddy is so annoying that you want to see him killed. One of the more interesting things is Stockwell co-wrote the script and opted to play the bad guy. Perhaps rebelling from his hero status in John Carpenter's Christine (1983)? Also impressive is the soundtrack (featuring the likes of The Smithereens and Depeche Mode) which shows you could get a song cheap back in the day as we all know Golan and Globus wouldn't put out big bucks for those artists (interesting note: this hit theaters the same week Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" featured in the film hit no. 1 on the Billboard charts). Cool cast of co-stars include Miguel Nunez, Don Michael Paul, Bradford Bancroft, Carey Lowell, and Thom Mathews (the last two later appearing in Pyun's better Down Twisted).

Probably the best movie Albert Pyun directed. First rate cinematography and photography (shades of blue and red during the night scenes especially). So-so actors but with a special mention to Mr Stockwell and J. Eddie Peck (whatever happened to him anyway after that movie?).The screenplay is the best on this subject.Most of the time in college/high school movies, the fact of being different is an issue and you end "normal" at the end (She's all that and others very bad stuff). Here, being different is enough to get you killed. This is the most interesting part of the plot : it got an unusual political and sociological issue that is scarier than any Scream movie. Be sure to see the movie til the very last image and you'll know why. Great suspense that makes you think!