Macabre…ish Horror Review: Class of 1999
Class of 1999, 1990/ 1 hr 39 min
In 1999, in a fire free zone, a special area that is so dangerous that police would not go there, but in this zone is Kennedy High. The Department of Education is in partnership with a tech company, creating the Department of Education Defense and they are testing a pilot program and using three former military androids as educators.
The school is reopened to priorly imprisoned delinquents and the teachers get to practice new methods of discipline on them. Cody (Bradley Gregg), member of the Blackhearts gang is attending with his younger brothers, Sonny (Darren E. Barrows) and Angel (Joshua John Miller). He’s decided to lay low and try to stay out of trouble or it’s death for him. Also attending is rival gang, the Razorheads.
The students aren’t just unruly but violent and dangerous and so are their teachers. The students violence is met with very violent discipline. And it is definitely not legal but it is not against school rules.
There is no police but there is special school security and any infraction results in violence, including torture. This school for all intents and purposes is itself a prison.
Cody and his brothers return home and he is disgusted by the state of their mother (Sharon Wyatt). The next day, Cody ends up in a fight in school, trying to stop a rape. Later, he’s roughed up by the P. E. teacher, Coach Bryles (Patrick Kilpatrick) who clearly has it in for him. Another student and Blackheart member, Mohawk (Sean Gregory Sullivan), tries to come to his aid with a weapon and is killed for it.
When Sonny shows up late and high to the next class, his teacher finds the drugs and stuffs them all down his throat, then beats his head into a locker while he chokes to death.
No matter the brutality used on these kids, head of the program, Dr. Forrest (Stacy Keach) always insist it was self defense. It is quickly out of the principal’s, (Dr. Miles Langford-Malcolm McDowell) control and there’s nothing left to do but damage control.
One night during a party, right after Angel is jumped into the Blackhearts, Cody is jumped out. The next day he decides to find evidence with the help of Christie (Traci Lind), the principal’s daughter who has a crush on him, that his brother was killed and not overdosed like they allege. When Cody escapes the 3 educators they plan all out war, starting with Angel.
The program has finally gotten out of hand and Langford attempts to terminate it but Dr. Forrest insists it continues and that they must kill the enemy.
This scifi action directed by Mark L. Lester is graphic and violent for a nonhorror movie. There’s all kinds of violence too bullying, gang violence, child abuse, attempted rape etc. and a variety of kills and most of it is graphic and gory. If you like post apocalyptic hellscape flicks, brutality, cyborgs and aesthetic that only the late 80s would spawn, you might like this movie!
Also on the cast is Pam Grier and uncredited Rose McGowan.