A Hora das Sombras

"Final Exam" is a pretty unknown flasher film from 1981 that at the moment has the totally undeserved overall rating of 4.7/10, and I can't understand why! Sure, the acting isn't always top-notch and maybe the killer isn't really something we haven't seen before. But the movie still has some great things about it. Let's get to my positives.

I do really like that this movie actually focuses on its characters more than most slasher films because that makes some death scenes a little emotional. Speaking of the death scenes, "Final Exam" isn't really that blood-focused at all. It focuses more on the presence of this killer and the building tension before the killer strikes, which I really did like. I would say that it's bloodier than the movie "Halloween" (of course talking about the 1978 original), but not the same level as any of the "Friday the 13th" movies. The film also has some scenes in the first 40 minutes or so that nicely ties in to the third act and when people start getting killed, which I think the movie should get more credit for doing.

Also, when we watch slashers we want a good and scary killer. And for the most part, this one has all of that. He reminds me of an unmasked Michael Myers. But this movie isn't perfect, so let's get into some of my issues with it.

I'll be quick to get these out of the way: The acting isn't all that great, the Killer is good for the most part but I feel like he would have been scarier with a more detailed look (like a mask and a vest etc), some scenes during the first 30 minutes or so can be pretty boring & finally; Ralph Brown as Wildman can be pretty annoying.

I did have a good time watching "Final Exam" and I think that any Slasher fan should give it a chance. It's a fairly solid slasher flick from the 80s and if you can get a copy of the Scream Factory release then I highly recommend it because it's worth your money.

Horror: B- (Some Suspenseful Scenes and Good Scares Throughout)

Entertainment: B- (A lot of 80s Charm and fun Collage Pranks)

Acting: D+ (Not That Great, Although Some Were Pretty Decent)

Suspense: C+ (Good Build-ups for Scares, but the First act Lacks it)

Characters: B- (Better Than Average)

Script/Story: C+ (Pretty Basic)

Overall Rating: 7.4/10

Final Exam (1981)

* (out of 4)

Downright horrid slasher has an unknown maniac showing up on a college campus and going on a killing spree as many of the students are preparing for their final exams.

You know, when I watch really bad movies like FINAL EXAM it can't help but make me more impressive with certain movies in the Friday THE 13TH series or even THE BURNING. It's really amazing when you go back and see how many slashers were made in this period but what's even more shocking is how many of them are downright awful like this one. I finished the movie just minutes before writing this and I'm still in shock at how stupid this movie was. Umm...was there a motivation for anything we just saw? How about a motive? A backstory? Anything?

What's even more shocking is that we're given a murder in the opening sequence but the next one doesn't happen until around the 55 minute mark. I'm a little confused but had the filmmakers noticed that in slasher movies you need dead bodies? So we get about fifty minutes worth of character development, which is actually zero development and instead we just see a bunch of dumb characters doing dumb things that really don't add up to anything. The characters are all extremely annoying and it's impossible to care what happens to any of them. You get the typical stereotypes (the hunk, the dork, the good girl) but all of them are just boring.

The death scenes are also pretty boring with most of the bloodshed just a little aftermath stuff with blood coming from mouths and so on. Even the murder weapon is just a butcher knife and not much is done with it. Then there are the performances that range from poor to downright bad. The music score is a cheap knock-off of Carpenter's HALLOWEEN and there's no question that this movie is trying to be like that one in many ways. FINAL EXAM is a really horrid little movie that has very little going for it.

the first 5 minutes of the film are great, but then there is no action for the next hour. a psycho going around killing college kids, no motive what so ever wich i think is cool cause it's more scary like that. the one thing the movie tried to do is character developement. not that it's a bad thing to do, but they did overkill in it. the other problem is there were too many kills mixed in, too much too fast, though not a bad slasher at all, it's just that the first hour is kind of a waste but if you're a true horror fan like me you will see the greatness in the movie. i give it 6/10. decent suspense and maybe a few scares.

Nobody but Hitchcock fans watch thrillers for the art. Everyone else is looking for actual thrills. The slasher cycle began with Halloween, and John Carpenter provided the blueprint for the imitations that followed - suspense, jump scares, false frights that turn out to be nothing, doom-laden musical notes... The mechanics of the low-budget thriller are familiar and easily achieved.

Final Exam borrows a few tried and true items from Halloween's box of tools. The killer is shot from the waist down or partially screened by trees to appear remote and menacing. Bright light glints off a bloody blade on an otherwise dark night. But the little here fails to actually generate suspense. The viewer is merely reminded that suspense-building is a necessary element of the process. The problem is that the building blocks of a slasher film are too thinly spread and separated by long stretches of time spent among poorly drawn and uninteresting characters. This is a common fault in slasher movies but one which can be at least partially offset by lively pacing and occasional action. Unfortunately, the film's pace is leaden and what little action occurs is so poorly staged that it fails to excite a viewer perpetually starved for distraction.

This is Final Exam's fatal fault. Nobody renting a slasher movie is expecting character interest on the level of The Big Chill or the epic sweep of The Godfather. The viewer's expectations are already modest. But providing more stimulation than what is minimally required to keep the viewer awake should not represent undue hardship for a slasher movie's creator.

No thriller worth the name should be this boring. Cinematic entertainment needs to be entertaining. Writer-director Jimmy Huston clearly slept through the lesson in film school that emphasized keeping things moving along.

Certainly one of the most wretched slasher movies ever made.

Timothy Raynor as the killer could not be worse.

The real blame for this turkey must be attributed to Jimmy Huston.

There is no gore, no suspense and no intelligence.

And it is slower than paint drying.