Final Exam (film)

Final Exam

Promotional film poster
Directed by Jimmy Huston
Produced by James McNamara
Perry Katz
Written by Jimmy Huston
Starring Cecile Bagdadi
Joel S. Rice
DeAnna Robbins
Sherry Willis-Burch
Ralph Brown
John Fallon
Timothy Raynor
Music by Gary S. Scott
Cinematography Darrell Catchart
Edited by John A. O'Connor
Distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures
Motion Picture Marketing
Release dates
  • June 5, 1981
Running time
 89 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $60,000

Final Exam is a 1981 slasher film that stars Cecile Bagdadi, Joel S. Rice & Timothy L. Raynor. The film is notable for focusing on establishing its characters and solid pacing. Director Jimmy Huston, also wanted to go against the norm with the film and decided to feature little on-screen graphic violence. Still, like most slasher films of the 1980s, it was battered by critics and received only a brief theatrical run. The film has over time built a small fan base among fans of the slasher genre and was released to DVD for the first time in 2008.

It is referenced in Scream 2 along with other college themed slasher films such as: The House on Sorority Row, Graduation Day, The Dorm That Dripped Blood and Splatter University

Plot

Late at night, two college students (Carol Capka and Shannon Norfleet) are busy making out in a parked convertible. Ignoring the girl's frequent objections, her boyfriend pushes on. Outside, a shadowy man jumps on top of the car, slicing his way through the fabric roof. Reaching inside, the lunatic grabs the young man and pulls him up and out onto the car's hood. Brandishing a blade, the killer stabs the man to death.

Sleepy Lanier College is nearing the end of Final Exam week: a frenzied semester cap time of grades, goodbyes, and pranks. As the students prepare for their tests as well as the coming vacation break, little do they suspect a murderer is stalking them one by one. Plain but amiable Courtney (Cecile Bagdadi) is completing her exams and studying hard. Averse to hitting the books, her roommate Lisa (DeAnna Robbins) is busy packing and getting back to the city.

Meanwhile, Gamma Delta fraternity pledge Gary (Terry W. Farren) has pinned his girlfriend Janet (Sherry Willis-Burch)...and paid for it by being treed by his brothers, stripped to his briefs, awash in shaving cream and ice cubes shoved down his underwear. As night falls on Lanier, a freezing Gary hopes his beloved Janet will free him from his humiliation. Untied from the tree by an unknown figure, Gary is relieved, but is stabbed to death by the man that killed the couple in the convertible.

Better late than never, a playful Janet comes to rescue her man, but discovers no Gary. Seeing a dark figure nearby, Janet mistakes the killer for Gary and runs to meet him. The murderer grabs the girl into the shadows. Energetic but dim witted Gamma brother Wildman (Ralph Brown) is on the prowl for pain pills his frat can sell on the open market, a search that's led him to the darkened campus gymnasium. Having scored the booty, Wildman heads home. But before he can leave, the hulking killer confronts the defenseless Wildman and corners him in the school weight room, where he is strangled in a weight machine.

Soon enough, Mark (John Fallon) finds Wildman dead in the locker room, Wildman's body was stuffed inside a locker. But the killer isn't far behind and chases Mark to the school's electrical building. Surprising Mark from inside an empty barrel, the slasher stabs the student repeatedly. Radish (Joel S. Rice) is Lanier's uncontested nerd, a book smart twerp fascinated by serial killers, mass murderers...and Courtney. This night, as he sets about on a thorough inventory of the campus gym equipment, he discovers Mark's bloodied body and immediately calls the police. But due to ongoing pranks from the Gamma house, the authorities are disbelieving.

Radish runs back to Courtney's dorm, where the killer is waiting for him. Shortly thereafter, Courtney returns to her dorm where she finds Radish's bloodied body hanging through her broken door. Frightened, Courtney tries to rouse help from a now abandoned dorm, but the campus is now desolate.

Meanwhile, waiting for her lover Charlie in the conservatory, Lisa plays the piano. The killer enters the room and stabs Lisa to death. Courtney has now made her way to the conservatory and hears music from the piano room. But opening the door reveals the killer; Courtney runs for her life straight to the cafeteria. There, she grabs a knife and tries to call the police. No luck. Using the automatic food chute, the killer locates Courtney in the kitchen. She briefly manages to lock the psycho in the kitchen storage room, but forgets to lock a second door. The chase then continues throughout the school.

Outside in the quad, Courtney wanders frantically before finally seeking refuge in the campus tower. But the killer isn't far behind. Inside, the two climb story after story. Lanier's sport coach (Jerry Rushing) has arrived for a hunting date with campus security guard Mitch (R.C Nanney). Courtney screams for help from the tower window.

The coach arrives and (armed with a bow) shoots the killer with an arrow. Brazenly, the killer grabs the arrow and returns it to the coach's chest, killing him. Now alone, Courtney and the killer must battle for survival. The killer returns to kill Courtney but she stabs him to death. After committing this murder, Courtney sits out on the steps and cries over her lost friends.

Cast

Soundtrack

A soundtrack was released on LP by American Entertainment Industries in 1981. All tracks were composed by Gary S. Scott.

1. Main Title
2. On The Prowl
3. Love Theme
4. Stealing The Exam
5. Mighty House Of Gamma
6. Art In The Dark
7. Sweet Young Girls
8. The Wrong Answer
9. The Executioner's Song
10. The Massacre
11. Courtney & Radish
12. The Chase
13. End Title

Critical reception

AllMovie called it "a hybrid of frat-boy comedy and slasher-thriller exploitation which features no slashing, no humor and fails to exploit anything".[1]

Home Video Release

BCI released the film on DVD in September 2008, which is now out of print.

Scorpion Releasing also released the film on DVD on September 20, 2011 as part of the label's "Katarina's Nightmare Theatre" series.

Shout! Factory's Scream Factory label will release the film on Blu-ray on May 13, 2014.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Binion, Cavett. "Final Exam - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast - AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 20 July 2012.

External links