Class of 1999

Cyborgs and punks in a classroom exploitation action flick helmed by the director of Commando and Showdown in Little Tokyo – in this case, the satisfaction of trash connoisseurs is guaranteed. Class of 1999 is an absurd companion to Lester’s older classroom exploitation movie Class of 1984. Both films are based on the same premise, which is the tabloid exaggeration of youth violence in schools and zero respect for the authorities. In the older film, the hooligans were the story’s villains, legitimising the violent retribution in the style of Death Wish. This time, Lester, a truly unscrupulous purveyor of trash, turned with the ideological weather vane in the interest of contemporary trends in the late 1980s and early ‘90s and showed the just fight of the members of youth gangs against cybernetic teachers who represent the tabloidish stereotypes of sadistic and pedantic educators. In other words, whereas eight years earlier Lester targeted adult audiences at obscure cinemas, in 1990 he enthusiastically swindled adolescents out of their cash at video rental shops. But as a true craftsman, he did all he could in both cases and lived up to expectations. (2013-05-11)

A decadent post-apocalypse, where society has completely degenerated and the future young generation has totally no future. To bring order to high school, you need teachers who have no mercy. I was just a bit confused as to what they really were – they talk about cyborgs for a while, then about androids. I'm leaning towards androids in the end, because they're completely robotic. Positive characters are hard to find, so it's up to everyone who they end up rooting for. Great cinematography, great action scenes and real fire. The mechanical effects are wonderful too, at times naturally, and perhaps deliberately, recall Terminator, especially the gym teacher. And Pam is very good here. The conquest of the school is not to be missed, with motorbikes jumping through windows, a bus... There's even some proper gore. Rough and bloody. I had to raise the original 3* a to full score. Oh, and the credits include “Come The Day”, sung by Midge Ure (Ultravox), which is the icing on a well-baked cake. (2024-08-11)