Class of 1999 (1990) Revisited – Horror Movie Review

Sometimes when I make a video on one of my favorite movies, I find something a little extra upon further viewing. Obviously, there is some research that goes into it as I like to look up what else the writer, director, or actors did or even what possible sequels there are. Class of 1984 is one of my favorite horror adjacent titles out there from the script by Tom Holland and great performances from Roddy McDowell, Perry King, and all of the main gang members. It shows the very real fears of what teachers in bad areas could potentially deal with, only with the knob turned all the way to 11 and it’s immensely rewatchable. While I had heard that there were sequels to the movie, I wrote them off as cash-ins, especially since they were quite a bit after, and the movie was fine as a standalone. Then I saw it had the same director and a hell of a cast. What I discovered is that Class of 1999 is a schlocky piece of grilled cheese with all the elements you could want in a sci-fi action flick.

There is a third movie in the series called Class of 1999 II: The Substitute but I haven’t watched that one yet. I use yet with emphatic certainty because not only does it sound like they just mixed two 90s movie series together and have a cover that looks like they are selling a new entry in the Terminator franchise, but it is also a mid-90s direct to video flick directed by a renowned stuntman. That checks all kinds of boxes for me. Class of 1999 though was actually in the works for a while from director Mark Lester and writer C Courtney Joyner but it took them a bit to get it off the ground and find studio funding. Lester had a great run from 82 to 91 where he was the director for Class of 1984, Commando, Firestarter (taking over from John Carpenter), Armed and Dangerous, Class of 1999, and Showdown in Little Tokyo. Apart from those he worked consistently into the 2010s and does have a couple films in development. While Nightmare on Elm Street 5 story creator John Skipp goes uncredited as writer but added some things to it, C Courtney Joyner gets the screenplay nod and apparently even though it was in development for a while, much of the original script remained and only the ending was altered.

While Joyner directed a couple 90s gems with both Trancers III and Lurking Fear, he is primarily known as a hired gun writer. He is responsible for hours and hours of entertainment starting with Prison and From a Whisper to a Scream in 1987. After that he would go on to write Puppet Master 3 and Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys, Mandroid, Dr. Mordrid, and dozens of other straight to video goodness. The studio that ended up picking it up was Vestron, which is the same place you can get the Blu-ray with the must have Vestron Video series, but Vestron had to sell it as they were having a lot of financial troubles. They sold it to Taurus Entertainment and the movie flopped, becoming one of the last that Taurus released theatrically. It was made for 5.2 million, something we will call out later, and yet only made 2.4 back which was probably due to being pushed back and the release schedule. This also probably led to the name being used as a third movie for straight to video release as that had nothing to do with Vestron or the original creators.

The movie is fun. The cast includes Stacey Keach, Malcolm McDowell, Pam Grier, hall of fame name Patrick Kilpatrick, and John P Ryan. The lead teens are played by Joshua Miller from Near Dark, Traci Lind, and Bradley Gregg. Gregg had his only staring roll in Class of 1999 but showed up in everything from Stand by Me and Fire in the Sky to Nightmare on Elm Street 3 with one of the series best deaths. Traci Lind would quit acting in 1997 but have a fun run with Fright Night Part 2, Bugsy, and My Boyfriend’s Back. The teen heroes are fine, but the adults bring the cheese to the sandwich here. Stacey Keach, always down to have fun, decided that his villainous scientist should be an albino villain and so we get how he looks. I mean look at him! Malcolm McDowell only shot for 2 days but most of the time you get a workman, almost Christopher Lee performance out of him regardless of how long you have him, and the three teachers are great.

The first movie consisted of a teacher who is pushed to his limits and finally has to act in the most terrifying ways, killing teenagers. This movie decides to put that premise on its head and have two Seattle high school gangs go head-to-head with android teachers who are equal parts Westworld rejects, I promise I will get to the original Westworld movie one of these days, and at times, Terminators. The movie opens with a very loving and tongue firmly in cheek homage to Escape from New York where it is explained to us that gangs all over the country have taken over schools and major cities. This is a natural progression from the first movie where the gangs are more powerful at the schools than the teachers or any form of security. Seattle is chosen to be a test site where the CIA takes 3 former military robots and decides to slightly reprogram them to be teachers. I joked that the opening is like Escape from New York but really this is Lester’s Escape from LA to Class of 1984’s Escape from New York. Bigger budget, a few bigger name actors, and Lester was really let off the leash in terms of doing what he wanted.

The two main gangs in the Seattle area that are vying for control are the Blackhearts and Razorheads. Cody is a member of the Blackhearts, and he goes to Kennedy High School which is where Megatech big boss Bob Forrest is set up to monitor his three android teachers. Cody is done with the Blackhearts, but his brother is being initiated and at home his mother and brother are both drug addicts now. He falls for the principle’s daughter after saving her from a member of the rival to his former gang but of course the principal, played by Malcolm McDowell, doesn’t approve. The teachers begin their class assignments and it’s fun to see their terminator vision in action where they decide what action to take against any of the kids that are acting out. At first, it’s just smart remarks but it then moves to corporal punishment where they literally bend them over the knee and spank them. Dr. Bob, again played by the villainous and hilarious looking Stacey Keach, decides that it’s appropriate from the control room which is very similar to Westworld or Jurassic Park.

Things escalate quickly as during gym glass one of the android teachers beats up Cody before getting held at gunpoint by another student. The android has options but decides to use lethal force which is kind of a jump from spanking. The gym teacher Mr. Bryles is played by Patrick Kilpatrick, and this was kind of his early exploitation stage in his career. He started out with a role in The Toxic Avenger but then moved on to stuff like The Presidio, Death Warrant, Remo Williams, The Cellar, Last Man Standing, and continues to work into 2025. He’s great here, as are all of the androids. Cody and Christie end up investigating where the teachers live and find tons of WD40 and other things humans wouldn’t have stocked up in an apartment. While it’s meant to be taken seriously it’s also really funny how its set up and looks on screen. The teachers catch up to them and a chase ensues that ends up with the teacher’s car in the water while Cody and Christie escape. It was so cold while shooting that not only did the three adult actors wear wet suits under their clothes but there was a standby hot tub to soak in after each take.

Hardin is seemingly the lead android, and he hatches a plan to cause a gang war that will eliminate as many of the teens as possible. Hardin is played by character actor extraordinaire John P Ryan who I have liked in everything I’ve seen him in. He played parts in serious stuff like The Postman Always Rings Twice and Five Easy Pieces but also gave us stuff like Buzz Bronski in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and the first two It’s Alive movies which I think he gives amazing performances in. Even while she is fairly underused and in the middle of a career lull, Pam Grier is great as the third android especially after she gets some battle damage that forces her to use built in weapons, but I’m getting ahead of myself. The Coffy actress hadn’t revitalized herself yet in Jackie Brown, but this movie calls back to her Blaxploitation and Exploitation days so it’s still fitting.

Their plan works and most of the gangs kill each other off or are eliminated by the teachers and a showdown takes place at the school after the principal becomes collateral damage. In a reverse of the first movie, the gangs, as the good guys challenge the teachers who are the bad guys, and we then get where most of the budget went to. Even though he is kind of the leader, Hardin is the first to go but not before we get his weapons transformation. Like bosses in video games, after these droids are shot, they have a phase two. Hardin has an awesome drill claw, Bryles has a minigun that he rips off the skin of his hand for, and Connors has a sweet flamethrower. Hardin almost has the drop on Cody, but he gets machine gunned through the chrome dome and then Connors is tricked into blowing herself up in a science room. With just Bryles left, he is hit with a truck before becoming a battle-damaged action figure. It’s a fun final showdown in the machine shop where all loose ends are tied up. Dr. Bob is killed off and Bryles is ripped apart by a chain and forklift. I really can’t undersell how cool the android effects are with their weapons and especially death scenes. Cody and Christie exit the school – boy, what a lawsuit that’s gonna be with that many dead teens – and we get an amazing end credits theme song.

Class of 1999 isn’t as well respected as Class of 1984 but boy if it isn’t more fun. It’s kinda dumb in the best possible way and doesn’t take itself too seriously. For the longest time you could only get it in a weird pack of 8 movies on DVD but now that its available on a solo Blu-ray with some special features, there’s no better time to take this elective and cross the movie off your black sheep list. In a series that probably shouldn’t have been a series at all, Class of 1999 may just be the head of its class.

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