Giochi fatali

Tough training is suddenly the least of the problems for seven Olympic hopefuls at the Falcon Academy of Athletics. Seems a masked killer is running around an impaling folks with a javelin, a weapon so cumbersome it truly shows the killer's dedication to their rage. I'm a pretty good student of the slasher films, but this one always escaped me. This was the only directorial feature for co-writer/director Michael Elliot and you can see why given how bland everything is. There is some fun to be had by bad acting, poor dialogue and an amazing "Eye of the TIger"-esque theme song (sample lyrics: "Winning isn't everything, winning is the only thing!" and "Remember this and you'll never fall, the winner always takes all!"). You'll probably guess the killer early on, but there is a funny reveal towards the end. The last 20 minutes is pretty fast paced (even with one character having his leg in a cast) and the end fight on a scaffold is good (you'll laugh at how they shoehorned in setting up the scaffold earlier). The script was co-written by Rafael Buñuel, son of Luis. According to Variety, this went into production in the spring of '83 and Luis died in July. Coincidence?

Yet another slasher movie from the 80's. This one is set in a sports academy and has the novelty of the killer using a somewhat unorthodox weapon - a javelin. But that novelty wears off after a while. There is not much suspense, no real clues to the "mystery" part, and the ending - especially the motivation of the killer - is absurd. There is also a rather laughable scene where the killer enters a pool in full scuba gear, javelin in hand, and his/her soon-to-be-victim fails to notice anything and keeps on swimming! On the plus side, there is ample nudity, a few well-done gore effects, the two main girls are cute, and most of the character interactions sound genuine. Enough good points to get this movie 4 stars out of 10.

...Fatal Games would be their campy offspring!

Students attending an athlete academy are getting speared by a mad javelin thrower!

Other than the clever choice of weapon, Fatal Games doesn't add anything new to the slasher genre. It follows a very routine plot, which at times becomes quite repetitious and the cast is pretty weak. It has a completely dated 80's style - the cast even wears leg warmers! The javelin murders (hah, good alternate title!) are fairly gore-free and I dare say darkly funny at times. The revelation of the killer's identity is surprising though the motive is pretty silly. There's also plenty of female nudity on display though, if that's how you get your kicks.

Over all, clichés and cheese abound but it's still not the worst of its kind.

* 1/2 out of ****

Low-keyed 80's slasher with one tiny little difference compared to the rest of them. The irritating victims all go to a school for sport athletes instead to an ordinary high school. Hardly original, is it? Whilst the girls and boys preparing for the Olympics and the doctors pump them full of steroids, some demented loser is practicing his/her javelin techniques on student targets. It's a rather interesting modus operandi for an 80's killer, resulting in some nicely gory – albeit very cheesy – sequences. I don't know whether you're meant to guess along for the killer's identity, because the given clues are lame and very implausible, but it's a fun enough movie without intellectual red herrings and numerous plot twists. I was in an undemanding mood today, anyway! The humor doesn't really work, there's absolutely no tension or atmosphere and the acting performances are – as to be expected – pretty damn terrible. Oh well, at least "Olympic Nightmare" is never really boring and, since athletes need to take showers regularly, there's also quite a lot of gratuitous nudity. The denouement is a real hoot!

"Fatal Games" is standard slasher fluff only with a lower-than-usual production value. It's about a killer wielding a javelin who begins picking off the athletes at the Falcon Academy of Athletics one by one.

Unfortunately, the low budget shines through on most occasions. The supposed "Academy" is obviously just some high school, and the acting is truly terrible. Slasher movies aren't known to have good scripts and excellent acting, but contrary to popular belief most of them were actually very well made with healthy budgets. "Fatal Games" obviously was not, which is probably the reason it never got a theatrical release. Of course the only exception is Sally Kirkland, an underrated actress who was nominated for an Oscar in 1987 but here has little to do.

Another thing that sets "Fatal Games" apart from the other slashers in terms of quality is the sleaziness. The film has little gore, but TONS of nudity. I think almost every female cast member strips down to the bare at one point. (Though somewhat hilariously, in a desperate attempt not to show ANY male nudity, the guys wear jock straps while taking their showers!)

That said and done, "Fatal Games" is actually minor fun if you catch it in the right mood. It's certainly better than junk like "Graduation Day" (which this film is often compared to since both slasher films have sports themes) There are plenty of cheesy moments -- most of the highlights occurring during the last twenty minutes when the killer is revealed. Obviously I wouldn't dream of giving it away but I will say that he/she has one of the dumbest, most unbelievable motives EVER!!!

Oh, and there's also a cool theme song! :)