Robert J. Maxwell Perry King is a music teacher in the kind of school found mostly in movies. Not that high school kids treat the physical plant or the teachers with any respect, but the kids here aren't just noisy, inattentive, and largely absent. They're demonic. There is a gang led by Timothy Van Patten. They dress in black leather adorned with chrome knobs and plates and they've spray painted every available surface with graffiti. On top of that, they're arrogant, use swear words in class, mock ordinary students, hang out in louche dives, and wear white after Labor Day. Perry King has a tough job ahead of him. He objects to their behavior, complains to the principle and the police. Even when he sees the naughty kids burn his car, there's nothing the authorities can do. He's helpless. They beat the crap out of King several times and frame him for assault, but it isn't until they gang bang and kidnap his wife that he gets really annoyed. What happens next shouldn't happen to the most impudent sophomore.

Discogodfather9622 Exploitation films are my favorite genre. What's not to love? You got all the ingredients that make an entertaining movie, sex, Violence, drug use and sex. All of which are in full force with the cult classic, Class Of 1984. The generically named Lincoln High is the worst school in America, drug use, graffiti from head to toe and even prostitution. The sadistic, violence prone student, Peter Stegman, runs the school with his colorful gang of cronies that look like cast rejects from The Warriors. This school is run like a prison. Enter the naïve new music teacher, Mr. Norris. Norris believes he can reach out to these troublemakers by the power of teaching, something Stegman slowly points out that he doesn't want. When one of Norris prized students is prison shanked in the school cafeteria (a pre Family Ties, Michael J. Fox) and with no help from the facility or law, Norris takes matters into his own hands. Director Mark Lester (Commando) intentions were for this film to be a provocative think piece or "message" movie, now it's simply a fun, throw it on late at night with your friends while drunk… movie, and that's fine by me.

Adam Peters (53%) An 80's sleaze picture with more brains and decent acting than usual with these movies. A main draw to this now is to see Michael (no J at this point) Fox in an early role in which he does have quite a bit of screen time, and looks very young, particularly compared to his school mates, and it is no wonder why he played a 17 year old whilst in his twenties for his most famous role yet to come. The movie still is somewhat shocking, mainly because metal detectors in schools and the like have now become widespread in certain parts of the world, which is a little sad. The flick really is more of a drama than anything else so don't expect too much horror (although the wood work room death is a grisly highlight) or action for that matter, and for that much alone it's still worth tracking down, and even if the opening and closing theme song from Alice Cooper is pretty awful, and overall the movie is far from great. But it's still worth a look mainly for fans of these hard-edged 80's films, or those that want to see Fox in an early gritty move before he became a world wide star.

Scott LeBrun "Class of 1984" has quite a bit of resonance not just for being a potent and entertaining trashy revenge flick but for also being more than a little prophetic. Its premise may have seemed far out at the time, but it would barely bat an eye nowadays. It's gripping stuff, well played by all involved, and certainly gets the blood boiling. The protagonists are reasonably sympathetic and the antagonists are a great deal of fun in their swaggering malevolence.Perry King ("Mandingo") stars as Andy Norris, the new music teacher at Lincoln High. Lincoln is overrun by gangs, crime, and graffiti, and people have to pass through a metal detector on their way inside the building. Andy learns soon enough that his biggest problem is a group led by the creepy Peter Stegman (a constantly amusing Timothy Van Patten). He refuses to put up with their garbage, leading to a battle of wills that climaxes in an intense and graphic bit of retribution while a band concert is going on.This is far and away one of the best films, if not the best, of director Mark Lesters' career. You really get interested in and hooked by these characters and this situation. Stegman and gang certainly go out of their way to show how rotten they are (rabbit lovers beware). Andy isn't perfect, and does let his anger cloud his judgment, which makes *him* more effective as a lead. Art direction is perfect, and the stunt work is impressive. Lalo Schifrin supplies the music score, the film includes a performance by the band Teenage Head, and the soundtrack includes tunes by Fear and a theme song belted out by Alice Cooper.King is an engaging presence in the lead, with Merrie Lynn Ross doing fine as his loving and concerned wife. Van Patten is very good as the bad guy, revealing himself as a true talent with his "concerto" sequence. Appearances are also made by Keith Knight ("My Bloody Valentine"), Lisa Langlois ("Happy Birthday to Me"), Stefan Arngrim ("Fear No Evil"), a pre-stardom Michael J. Fox as a dorky little wise guy (he's billed here without the middle initial), Canadian legend Al Waxman ('King of Kensington', 'Cagney and Lacey') as an ineffectual detective, and Erin Noble ("Incubus"). Old pro Roddy McDowall offers the standout performance as a harried biology teacher who despairs over his inability to inspire his students, and in the films' best scene, forces them to answer biology questions at gunpoint.This is must viewing for any lover of B cinema and / or the concept of punks on film. Followed by two sequels.At one point Stegman watches the 1977 Lester-directed drive-in picture "Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw" on TV.Eight out of 10.