Randy McDevitt (John Stockwell) has all the makings of a future politician. He speaks in a measured way, presents himself neatly, and has a skill for making fascistic ideas seem palatable to those around him. As the head of The Sentinels, a group at an elitist high school with the goal of “cleaning up” the place—painting over graffiti or scaring those they deem to be out of line—Randy ensures that fellow students and teachers buy into his line of thinking.
The Sentinels’ tactics are extreme, sometimes Most Dangerous Game–style: chasing someone through the woods, stringing him up, pointing a gun at his head. And it is no coincidence that their targets are kids that lack their wealth and social standing. What starts as an elaborate, cruel prank turns deadly; someone has stayed behind to finish the job.
Donny Lennox (J. Eddie Peck) is the editor of the school paper with a promising future. He is curious about the group, suspicious of their intent but also somewhat dazzled by the lifestyle. He is, after all, Randy’s “pool boy,” so an invitation into the sprawling house proves hard for him to resist. Randy is courting Donny, bringing him VIP-style into a nightclub, laying on the charm in the hopes that the paper will dial down its criticism of the group. Krooger, Donny’s Dead Kennedys–loving friend is unimpressed, correctly detecting an air of white supremacy about The Sentinels.
One of director Albert Pyun’s few features lacking sci-fi or fantasy elements, Dangerously Close (1986) was the first feature that he made with The Cannon Group—the six that followed include Cyborg (1989), an early role for Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Captain America (1990). Though it lacks the cult status of similar high-school exploitation films such as Class of 1984 (1982) and River’s Edge (1986), its kinetic style choices and timeless theme of fascist tactics motivated by class dynamics make it worthy of inclusion in the canon. Pyun often made magic with meager budgets—his craft is always evident, even if the sum total of a particular movie doesn’t work. There are a couple of twilight scenes in Dangerously Close that are rather breathtaking, and nighttime scenes that play impressively with fog and light. The movie was criticized as being an elaborate music video, with a couple of sequences set to Depeche Mode songs. Over thirty years later, that kind of criticism is more of a recommendation.
Dangerously Close screens tonight, November 9, at Nitehawk Prospect Park on 35mm as part of the series “The Outskirts,” co-presented by Screen Slate. Our members get $5 off admission.
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