Class of 1999 (1990)

Tagline: “It’s the last lesson you’ll ever learn”

Duration: 99 minutes

Film Quality: 2.5/5
Gore Content: 3.5/5
Entertainment Value:4/5
Originality: 2/5

Introduction

Having shown himself to be a competent director of action and genre films with the Schwarzenegger vehicle ‘Commando’ and King adaptation ‘Firestarter’, Mark L. Lester returned to his most notorious feature. ‘Class of 1984’ caused no little controversy upon its release, particularly in the UK where it was heavily cut for cinema release and then refused a video certificate, not seeing a release until the next century. Its raw social commentary was too much for some so he had another go, this time injecting an element of fun, his ‘Evil Dead 2’ to its troublesome older brother if you like!

In a nutshell

“The year is 1999…and there is no law” screams the opening robotic monologue where society has crumbled and police have abandoned certain areas as lawless ‘free fire zones’. As a pilot project, government cyborgs have been introduced to schools to help restore order, coinciding with the release of some of the less troubled criminals from prison…if they break the terms of their release, which includes school attendance, they’re back inside. The trouble is that the cyborgs think this is a war, and there are always casualties in war!

So what’s good about it?

It’s one of those films that you know is crap whilst you’re watching however, give it its due, it is HUGELY entertaining! Lester displays some very taught direction and paces the film excellently, rarely letting a moment go by without a violent attack, chase or explosion which, in the main, are executed pretty well. The budget was fairly modest at close to $6million and it does retain an element of grittiness, particularly in the gangland scenes which genuinely look like areas you wouldn’t want to stray into. Highlights include the battle between rival gangs the Black Hearts and Razor Heads in the middle of the film, the opening car chase and an excellent confrontation between Black Hearts leader Cody and Mr Bryles in the gym.

Lester managed to recruit some pretty impressive acting talent, somehow persuading Malcolm McDowell to give up two days of his life to the production – to be fair he looks a little bored during most of it. He was originally considered for the role of Bob Forrest, which eventually went to Stacey Keach, who looks like he’s having a ball playing the amoral albino agent, delighted that he’s secured a contract worth millions and not at all bothered by the collateral damage. Pam Grier is suitably dangerous as the seductive Miss Connors, Bradley Gregg puts in a solid shift as the partly reformed Cody Culp, Patrick Kilpatrick is excellent as the unhinged Mr Bryles but it’s John P. Ryan’s wild-eyed performance as the psychotic Mr Hardin (above) who steals the show. Whether it’s hamming it up, force feeding a drug overdose to an addict with a cheesy grin, or a dead eyed stare delivering corporal punishment in front a group of stunned students, he sets the tone for the gleeful violence that always stays the right side of playful.

A quick word on the mixed bag that is the special effects. It’s frustratingly erratic but the gore effects are actually really very good. My personal favourite is the moment Hardin’s hardware splits its way through his arm and propels forwards to force his, now redundant, hand across the room revealing a clawed metal appendage that contains a drill, subsequently thrust through a student’s head. All three ‘teachers’ undergo a gruesome transformation, whether it’s ripping off an arm, ‘Terminator 2’ style (the comparison ends there!), to reveal a rocket launcher or opening up a rib cage to unleash a flame thrower, it’s never short of entertaining.

The second half of the 80s and early 90s featured a huge number of ‘Terminator’ rip offs, within which ‘Class of 1999’ certainly qualifies, before Cameron blew them all away with his own mega-bucks sequel. Many of them were a horrendous, boring mess that looked like they were filmed on a rubbish dump. For me this is where ‘Class of 1999’ stands out from the crowd, it abandons the social commentary that made ‘Class of 1984’ such a powerful film, and adopts much of what made ‘Commando’ so memorable. It’s such great fun that you can forgive it for its flaws…well…most of them!

What about the bad?

These cyborgs were meant to be reprogrammed war machines that have malfunctioned and reverted back to their original programming. But they’re clearly relishing the murder and mayhem, laughing, smiling and even wise-cracking their way throughout the second half of the movie (“Time for a little driver’s ed?”). You could argue that it adds to the movie’s sense of fun but any attempts at making a serious point of an over-reliance on technology as security and the level and troublesome nature of gang violence is reduced to cartoonish silliness.

I mentioned earlier that the special effects are variable. The gore effects are pretty good but it’s plainly obvious that they ran out of money towards the end. The ‘Terminator’ style robotic effects are beyond terrible and, coming as they do, towards the end of the film, really do dampen the effect of the climax. Again, this is partly saved by the slightly camp and jovial atmosphere but I think this is more luck than judgement. By and large, the production values of the film are pretty good but the shot of the completely robotic Bryles walking down the corridor must rank alongside the worst effects of its kind. Shame really although the film, by this point, has descended into the realms of silly pastiche as it looks like it tried desperately to replicate the ending of Cameron’s iconic film.

It also falls into the trap that a lot of futuristic films do by setting a date for itself. One of the reasons ‘Mad Max’ has not dated quite so horribly as others is that it is set ‘A few years from now…’. ‘Class of 1999’ kind of looked out of date within about three weeks of its release and, being set what is now 18 years ago doesn’t help suspension of disbelief. The fashions, cars, music, hairstyles, pretty much everything is so rooted in the late 80s that it’s dated more than most.

The logic, actions and decisions taken by the characters relies on pretty much every single belief you hold to be suspended. Our female lead Christie is quite happy to team up with the guys who tried to rape her earlier in the film. Also, they figure out what’s going on in two sentences with a simple “Why would Hector go to school if he didn’t have to?”…”Jesus, it’s the teachers!”. That’s without the complete lack of self-awareness that they’ve ALL been dutifully going to school when they didn’t have to! So may flaws…so little time!!!

Any themes?

There’s an attempt to comment on the gang culture permeating US society in the 80s and its associated drug problem. The emergence of Cocaine and its distribution from the Columbian cartels to the US market had contributed to a growing culture of gang violence. ‘Class of 1999’ reflects this view of society and runs with that timeline to see where it would end up with two rival gangs fighting it out whilst high on ‘Edge’. Rather than tackle the issue though, the film has fun with the universe it has created and doesn’t pretend to do otherwise, presenting it as a backdrop to the action.

Release History

The theatrical release was delayed by nearly a year due to the folding of Vestron, eventually coming out courtesy of Taurus. The film suffered from some censorship in the UK to several scenes, including reducing the number of ‘elbow to the chest’ blows and the neck break from the violent attack in the gym and the drill through the head scene. It also lost a couple of other neck breaks and some knife play, a total of 15 seconds from the Vestron and Cinema Club VHS releases. The Columbia and Lionsgate DVD releases saw all cuts waived with the ‘Full Uncut Version’ emblazoned proudly across the top.

Cultural Impact

None, although it did spawn a dreadful sequel of its own with one of the worst titles in direct to video history…’Class of 1999 2: The Substitute’.

Final thoughts

Let’s be honest, it’s a popcorn flick, and a highly enjoyable one at that, but it really isn’t a good film. I remember watching it when a friend recorded it from SKY TV in the early 90s after becoming intrigued by the trailer. I’ve always had a soft spot for it since then because it did what any sci-fi/horror/action hybrid should do and that is completely hold my interest for a full 90 minutes. I very much doubt it’s in anyone’s top ten list but if you haven’t at the very least enjoyed it, for all of its faults rather than despite them, then you have a very dark soul indeed!

Memorable Quotes

Cody: “I’m going in there to waste some teachers, who’s with me?”

Cody: “It’s like a f@cked up, George Jetson nightmare.”

Langford: “They’ve been waging war with my students.”
Forrest: “But isn’t that what all teachers do?”

Cody: (After destroying the Chemistry lab) “Well I guess I blew that class.”

Hardin: (Before drilling a hole in a student’s head) “I like to mould young minds.”

You’ll like this if you enjoyed…

‘Robocop’, ‘Chopping Mall’, ‘C.H.U.D.’, ‘Class of Nuke ‘em High’