Just when you think you’ve seen every 1980s slasher flick, Vinegar Syndrome humbles you by unearthing yet another low-budget horror film lost in time and space, this time with 1984’s Fatal Games (originally titled The Killing Touch).
Fatal Games is the story of Olympic-hopeful medalists being systematically picked off one-by-one at the Falcon Academy, the main setting for the film’s events. Each time one of the characters has been nixed, the killer scratches out their likeness from a group photo containing the academy’s pool of victims.
If you think this sounds similar to 1981’s Graduation Day, you would be on the right track. Director Michael Elliot, who also stars in his film as Dr. Jordine, builds onto the foundation of Graduation Day to create his own ’80s horror film. In between the killings, we are treated to some detailed character development storylines including the trials and tribulations of being a young athlete, a couple’s romantic interludes, a coach-student same sex relationship, and experimental performance-enhancing drug use endorsed by the academy’s staff! Elliot certainly packs a lot into the run of the mill slasher formula.
The actual horror elements are pretty well done. While Freddy has his bladed glove, Jason has his machete and Michael has his butcher knife, the Fatal Games villain sports a javelin used for every kill. The javelin as the purposefully selected weapon of choice is definitely a first for this genre, and might sound mundane on paper, but the javelin executions are both effective for the story’s purposes and become more inventive as the film progresses.
Another great horror aspect is that the killer’s identity is hidden until the last few minutes. You will see the killer during the running time, but their presence is seemingly influenced by giallo–with their face hidden under a hooded outfit combined with extreme backlighting, making it impossible to identify the murderer. Not to mention that the proceedings instantly become a red herring-palooza where almost everyone seems to have a viable motive to be the culprit. So there’s a high mystery component here, and who doesn’t enjoy a good ol’ fashioned whodunit?
The horror keeps the viewer engaged, but the film unfortunately struggles with some lows. While the attempt to add depth to the characters instead of turning them into forgettable fodder is admirable, the multiple storylines mentioned above do affect the film’s pacing. There are long stretches of the film that do not even so much as reference the main slasher plotline, which might cause you to forget that you are watching a horror movie and are engrossed in a youth drama instead. This is a legitimate gripe that is even mentioned by one of the actors in the disc’s special features. He discusses being the sole participant in an incredibly long sequence of scenes in which he was told was only being filmed to pad out the film’s running time.
Speaking of actors, the only recognizable name in the cast list is Sally Kirkland (JFK, Bruce Almighty, Best of the Best) who plays nurse Diane Paine in a significantly large role. Kirkland is a pretty remarkable talent to have been cast in a low budget ’80s horror production, due to her extensive resume. She even went onto become a Best Actress Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee for her role in Anna, a mere three years after this film’s release.
It should also be noted that the actors playing our star young athletes either already had a background or received training needed to perform their own Olympic sports demonstrations. So when you see their characters doing their stunts, it is actually the actors handling those duties. That is pretty impressive if you think about it since realistically performing those types of maneuvers is not an easy feat to pull off. This was not a big budget film where actors could be sent to train with professionals on these sports for a year before production started.
The 1980s cheese factor runs in high gear. For example, the opening credits theme song, Take It All the Way, is both catchy for ‘80s standards and guaranteed to be stuck in your head for hours after you’re finished watching the film. Add in some sketchy dialogue delivery and questionable fashion choices and you’ll see more cheese than what you’d find in a lasagna.
The killer’s big reveal feels like it can be a polarizing one. You will either appreciate it for what it is as it pertains to this body of work or your brain is just going to flat out reject it. Either way, you most certainly are going to feel…something. Part of the fun is the surprise factor so don’t go spoiling the ending for yourself ahead of time. The filmmaker really went for something unique for the villain, so the less said about this here, the better.
Most standard ’80s horror film tropes are present and accounted for: decent body count, questionable acting, lots of female nudity, dudes in tighty whities, suspenseful victim chases, clueless characters, and a final girl. If all that checks your boxes and whets your appetite for enjoying a fun cheesy ’80s slasher experience, then you should definitely check out Fatal Games–indulging in the fun parts and enduring the flaws.
Moving on to the aesthetics, you might be wondering how the film actually looks. As far as film quality goes, there are some scenes that look better than others due to unavoidable film grain, but Fatal Games has not seen the light of day since being released on VHS over 40 years ago. This is the film’s debut on any next gen format, skipping DVD and going straight to 4k restoration. Taking all those factors into consideration, the Vin Syn craftmasters worked their usual magic to provide a more than watchable visual output. They even provide an unexpected amount of extras, including recent interviews with the actors and more.
There is one more big “reveal” to Fatal Games besides the killer in the film. If you were lucky, or enthusiastic, enough to purchase the $10 April Fool’s gag gift from Vinegar Syndrome last Spring, then you were provided with a special Nintendo-inspired slipcover in your Black Friday order to commemorate the disc’s release. The normal slipcover artwork is certainly amazing, but the creativity in the concept for this bonus slipcover is truly phenomenal.
Fatal Games is now available on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.
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