Albert Pyun Roulette, Part 5
Dangerously Close -
Plot: Rebel without a cause or a clue at an elite but uptight college discovers some of his classmates have formed an even more elite clique more or less hell-bent on ridding the school, and quite possibly American society, of what they deem to be its undesirables because of ethnicity, politics, etc. Our hero recruits a teacher and some other "less desirable" classmates to undermine the elitists, and, naturally, things get quite violent.
It was 1986 in America and fascism was in the air. Albert Pyun, John Stockwell and company, like many others did in that decade, made a high school thriller to exploit it and they did a pretty good job. While there's a place for fantastical jock vs. freak, rich vs. poor, etc. matchups in cinema, it was nice to see one with a more realistic setup. It may be a minor and/or boring detail to some, but I like that the movie outlines the magnet program that lets those who the SS-like Sentinels and believers in their insidious cause consider undesirable attend their school. The same realistic approach for the bullies in charge also worked for me. In other words, perhaps except for their physiques, they seem like people you might see in your own hometown even today. John Stockwell might as well have gone to the James Spader school of acting for how well he pulls off the duplicitous smarm of an aspiring senator or congressman. As for our hero, J. Eddie Peck does well at making him seem like an innocent and genuinely good guy as well as someone who does not want to be ashamed of his economic status. I also give credit to Pyun for maintaining the giallo-like suspense of who in the Sentinels is taking their job too far, saving the surprises until the best possible moments and for adding visual flair where he could. The multi-flashback moment has to be seen to be believed, and man, do those night scenes at the gym scream atmosphere! There are also some inspired needle drops, especially the Depeche Mode ones, and wow, does Carey Lowell make a debut.
Again, there were a lot of movies like this one in the '80s, this one falling in the middle of the pack. Its attempts at realism work, but it undercuts them by casting the high schoolers much too old. Also, despite the mystery, the climax is disappointingly familiar - I don't think it's a spoiler to mention an abandoned warehouse is involved - and too rushed. It's still worth checking out if you like this kind of thing, especially if you believe that a lot of '80s nostalgia is misplaced and you have only seen John Carpenter's less than favorable assessments of the Reagan years. It also proves than not every movie Roger Ebert awarded zero stars is irredeemable.
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