Review of Class of 1984

I kinda hated this film when it first came out, thinking that it was unrealistic and ultra-violent, what with the metal detectors at the entrances to the high schools and depictions of punks, etc...little did I know. This film, a kind of update of "Blackboard Jungle" by way of "Clockwork Orange" and "Death Wish" is a fascinating look at an urban high school controlled by punk gang leader Stegman (Timothy Van Patten). Perry King plays the new music teacher, and he gives a decent performance. Roddy McDowell steals the show as the biology instructor. His best scene -- pointing a gun at his students and threatening to kill them if they get the wrong answer to a science question! This film is extremely well made, a classic b-movie that is first rate compared to junk like "The Faculty" or any of the other awful "I Know What you Did Last Summer" type of teen flicks out these days...