Dangerously Close (1986) User Reviews

Get "Dangerously Close" to renting this classic tonight!

[tarbosh22000 · 5/10 · 14 May 2010]

Donny Lennox (J. Eddie Peck) is a kid who is so poor, he can't afford a new fish bowl for his fish which is too big for the current bowl. Luckily, his journalism abilities have given him a chance to go to the upscale high school for rich kids called "Vista Verde" in the magnet program. He is on the school newspaper.

You know Vista Verde is a spoiled school for the upper class because they have a salad bowl in the cafeteria where kids can just take from.

Donny is friends with Krooger Raines (Bancroft star of "Damned River" (1989) and "Time To Die" a crude dude with an attitude.

He has a mohawk haircut and a Knight Rider-type car. His license plate says "Beast" and everyone in town knows him as the "Kroog-Warrior". He listens to punk and ska music and he has a brash personality.

The only problem is that there is a group of teenagers at Vista Verde known as the Sentinels. They go around hazing and terrorizing their enemies and sometimes they end up dead. Krooger defies them and they get into a punch-up in the Café, and in the scuffle they knock over the precious salad bowl. Then they to try to lynch Krooger, but he just might be too wily for them.

The leader of the Sentinels is McDevitt (Stockwell of "Born To Ride" fame). As the Sentinels ramp up their criminal activities, one of the followers, Brian (Thom Matthews) feels it is going too far, so he ends up on the hit-list. McDevitt is abusive to his girlfriend Julie (Lowell) so she teams up with Donny to get to the truth. As it turns out The Sentinels have a hideout with a command center with lasers, monitors and VCRs and they tape all their dastardly deeds. Whose side is harderned 'Nam vet Principal Corrigan really on? In the tradition of 80s high school movies such as: "Pump Up The Volume", "The New Kids", "Class Of 1984",and most notably "Heathers", "Close" is a lackluster mélange of all the above. If you put the aforementioned movies in a blender and dump the results in a sewer, the end result might resemble "Dangerously Close". Even Lowell's out-of-the-pool introduction is an echo of "Fast Times As Ridgemont High". This movie was ahead of its time in three ways: The banter of the rich, spoiled high schoolers in the L.A. presages "The Hills" (yuck and ugh) and the fact that the Sentinels filmed their pranks predates Youtube. Thirdly, the 45-year-old "high schoolers" predates "Beverly Hills 90210" One of the odd touches in the film is a road sign that states: "Vista Verde 3km" What is this? Europe? Despite the fact that it comes to an anti-climatic conclusion, one of the bright spots is the killer 80's soundtrack which is proudly announced on the VHS box in type bigger than the actor's names. I know if I saw this movie contained the hit song "Addicted To Love" by Robert Palmer I would be renting it immediately.

Get "Dangerously Close" to renting this classic tonight!

Comeuppance Review by: Ty & Brett

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"We are here to help all of you."

[lost-in-limbo · 5/10 · 11 July 2011]

Standard bubblegum high school thriller in the vein of "Massacre at Central High", "Wolfpack" and having a touch of "The Most Dangerous Game". This little, gritty b-grade outing from Cannon productions and low-budget filmmaker Albert Pyun is a true time capsule of the 80s period, where a whole bunch of films of a similar ilk flooded the screens. However these exploitative teen revenge films ("Savage Streets", "Class of 1984", "The New Kids", "3:15" and such) acted on its nastiness. However Pyun's film while it can be unpleasant, actually felt a little more thoughtful (despite formulaic and simple minded) in its narrative and struck up a mystery angle (even though predictably done) that added another element to it. This probably took away a bit of mindless fun, by upping the talkative nature; sticking with a grim air and deliberately letting the pace mellow out. As our protagonists (J. Eddie Peck and Carey Lowell) try to put the dots together, but we the audience are always ahead of them to the very final frame. There it pulls out a twist in an anticlimactic finale, only to top that one with another freeze frame closing. Foreseeable, but nonetheless bleak. The plot follows that of a group of students known as "The Sentinels", who combat the vandalism occurring in their school. However it's what they do outside of school, as this deputised group has turned into a violent neo-fascist army who pick out the kids that don't fit in. School newspaper editor Danny Lennox finds himself caught in the thick of it, as his best friend Krooger is a trouble-maker, but the "The Sentinels" leader Randy wants to get Danny of his side. It's a promising set-up, but not as exciting as it could have been. It feels all build-up and it takes a while to really get into it, so when it comes to it there's little in the way of a pay-off. Pyun presents some impulsively atmospheric scenes, especially when the "The Sentinels" are toying around with their victims. These guys really do love their school. But for most part it never gets out of first-gear. The performances are acceptably done (although there are some unconvincing looking high school students). John Stockwell (who also co-wrote the story) is fitting as Randy, who underneath that cool persona boils a menacing edge. J. Eddie Peck and Carey Lowell are agreeably likable in their parts. Bradford Bancroft (who was in "3:15") adds some defiant energy. Also for "Return of the Living Dead" fans; Thom Mathews (one of "The Sentinels" who begins to have second thoughts) and Miguel A Nuriez Jr. (one of their victims) add to the curiosity. A bubbly Dedee Pfeiffer also pops up. Then there's game support by Carmen Argenziano, Madison Mason, Anthony De Longis, Greg Finley and Karen Witter. Then we got this pumping rock / punk soundtrack, which have some notable tracks - namely Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love".

Nothing we haven't already seen before, but in its abuse of power it has its moments and a capable cast to boot.

"What an arsenal."

Interesting Cannon effort from Pyun

[udar55 · 6/10 · 2 April 2022]

The Sentinels is a group of self appointed high school monitors at Vista Verde High. Leader Randy McDevitt (John Stockwell) befriends magnet student Danny Lennox (J. Eddie Peck), but may have ulterior motives as the group likes to torment those they feel don't belong in their social circle. This was Albert Pyun's third film and his first of several for Cannon. Probably inspired by The Wave (1981), this shows how fascism and intolerance can quickly grow out of control. The problem here is while you are supposed to hate the jocks, the guy playing Lennox's punk buddy is so annoying that you want to see him killed. One of the more interesting things is Stockwell co-wrote the script and opted to play the bad guy. Perhaps rebelling from his hero status in John Carpenter's Christine (1983)? Also impressive is the soundtrack (featuring the likes of The Smithereens and Depeche Mode) which shows you could get a song cheap back in the day as we all know Golan and Globus wouldn't put out big bucks for those artists (interesting note: this hit theaters the same week Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" featured in the film hit no. 1 on the Billboard charts). Cool cast of co-stars include Miguel Nunez, Don Michael Paul, Bradford Bancroft, Carey Lowell, and Thom Mathews (the last two later appearing in Pyun's better Down Twisted).

Terrible Ending Ruins An Okay Flick

[sundialpictures-01657 · 19 August 2017]

I don't audibly boo the screen very often and so when I caught myself jeering the final scene of this flick I knew I had just seen something truly awful. It wasn't the climactic moment of the film that had me screaming, "What a cop out!" but the denouement. There's a character that goes absent about halfway through the movie and he returns out of nowhere; it makes absolutely zero sense and totally ruins whatever impact this film's mystery had. In fact, I'd dare say it makes the whole movie pointless. Wow, John Stockwell, I can't believe you actually wrote this flick. No wonder you choked and dropped out of Top Gun! (for those who are wondering, the writer/star of the film played Cougar in the movie Top Gun).

It's not the worst movie...

[joerebk · 1/10 · 3 August 2021]

It's not the worst movie ever made. However it is "Dangerously Close."

One of the more interesting titles produced by Cannon.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 21 March 2015]

Things are going very wrong at the high school attended by crusading newspaper editor Donny Lennox (J. Eddie Peck). There's a student group there named The Sentinels, ostensibly formed to act as something of a security force. But now the group is out of control, and is bent on eliminating any individual whom they deem "undesirable". Now people are actually dying.

Give these filmmakers credit for at least *attempting* to deal with serious subject matter in a reasonably sincere way. Director Albert Pyun works from a script co-written by leading actor John Stockwell. Stockwell ("Christine", "My Science Project") plays unofficial Sentinels leader Randy McDevitt. The movie features some of the trappings of the period, namely, fashions and the hip soundtrack of artists ranging from Robert Palmer to Fine Young Cannibals to The Smithereens. But it's fairly stylish and slick, and not gratuitously gory. The story is entertaining and provocative enough to draw the viewer in, and there is a potent theme about the danger of blindly following somebody's lead.

An array of recognizable faces play roles big and small: Carey Lowell ("Licence to Kill"), Don Michael Paul ("Heart of Dixie"), Bradford Bancroft ("Bachelor Party"), Madison Mason ("Dreamscape"), Thom Mathews and Miguel A. Nunez Jr. from "The Return of the Living Dead", Gerard Christopher ("Tomboy"), Carmen Argenziano ("The Accused"), Dedee Pfeiffer ("Vamp"), Karen Witter ("The Vineyard"), Angel Tompkins ("The Teacher"), and Rosalind Allen ("Ticks"). The performances, much like the movie itself, do earn points for sincerity.

Only a last minute reveal involving the Krooger character genuinely annoyed this viewer. Overall, this is a decent 1980s effort waiting to be discovered or rediscovered.

Seven out of 10.

Style to spare but story?

[jellopuke · 5/10 · 20 March 2023]

School newspaper editor and pool boy living in a warehouse with his drunk dad gets recruited by the cool kids to join their vigilante group called The Sentinels. His pal Kruger, a punk metal head smells trouble but he doesn't listen and things get ugly with bodies and fights and smashed cars.

This movie looked great, had a great 80s soundtrack, and was nearly great, but the story is mangled and the ending rushed as heck. There could have been some real drama and suspense but it was just sort of bungled into a rapid stop. One part most dangerous game, one part High school movie starring people who all looked 30. But the style was on point!

This is a good flick!

[willandcharlenebrown · 7/10 · 13 June 2022]

Has all the elements of a good 80's teenage flick. Forget that all the students look 27 years old. Still worth watching. A few familiar faces that will eventually be in some bigger tv hits like Weird Science. Check this one out.

Preppy Exclusive Boys Club

[saint_brett · 4/10 · 29 April 2024]

The movie starts out with a scene ripped right off 'The Lost Boys' as Gorgon is being chased by vampires and tracked in the fashion of Van Damme's 'Hard Target.' It's part of a "Magnet Project" where worthy victims are selected from a yearbook and hunted.

None other than the Night Slasher from 'Cobra' shows up and kills the Gorgon demon.

A scene is then dedicated to Doc E. Brown's clocks, introducing a David Dahmer lookalike who hooks up with that horrible actor Whitey from '3:15,' but plays Krooger in this. He's an extremely annoying character who's deprived of attention and sadly makes it all the way through the movie. You could call him the Dewey of 'Scream' you wished would be killed in the first movie but keeps turning up defying logic.

Is that Tommy Jarvis from 'Jason Lives?' He looks a bit like Michael Dudikoff.

The same Alpha Elite thugs from 'The Next Karate Kid' patrol the hallways and grounds of Vista Verde High School and are led by Randy. Wasn't he Cougar from 'Top Gun?'

Once again, we got 25-year-old adults playing the roles of high school students, which isn't believable.

20 minutes in, and I'm still dangling my bait for a bite as no hooks have snagged any stability yet.

If it's trying to be 'Less Than Zero' it's way off the mark. And here I was under the impression that this would be similar to 'Red Dawn.'

Someone just mentioned the tiny town of Loleta, which is situated up in Humboldt County near the Silver Shamrock factory, but this is strange as later on in the movie a dude tells the David Dahmer lookalike that Krooger headed up to Napa Valley for a wine sipping festival, so I don't know what part of Northern California we're really in. Let's take this moment to speak out in dedication to the crumbling and condemned Silver Shamrock factory as of typing.

The movie's about a bunch of exclusive students, all brimming with scholarship vibrancy and beyond entitled and privileged, but having a gig on the side where they secretly hunt humans for fun.

I'm not so sure about using Fine Young Cannibals in your movie if you want to be taken seriously. 'The Wraith' already used Robert Palmer's song at the roadside diner, so there's another negative.

The Alpha Elite exclusive thugs try to induct the David Dahmer lookalike into their clique for some reason, even though he doesn't belong.

Who's buying for one second that this Cougar thug is #1 with a gun on the streets? He was a scout master by the time he was 5. And excelled in band camp by 8.

This is like watching up-and-coming bank CEOs act like they're hood thugs protecting their set.

Imagine being beat and terrorized by the likes of Mark-Paul Gosselaar if he were to become a gangster among freshmen.

The Alpha Elite thug squad do a number on '3:15's' Krooger, and you only wished they had erased him with this hanging scene. I'm sad to say that's not the case.

How convenient for the movie that Cougar's girlfriend develops feelings for the David Dahmer lookalike. I love how he ditches his glasses whenever a scene of bravado is called upon. I love the wavey fades in his hair, too, looking every bit like the NSYNC boy band member.

What makes these baddies not believable is that they're country thugs but acting like big city wigs controlling country people from the Eel River districts of Loleta.

Why are all these people from 'The Twilight Zone?' They're eerie weirdos, like robots being controlled by a religious cult or Scientology. Are they the offspring of that Stepford mob?

Not once were they actually in class.

I know what doesn't make sense in this movie! It's supposed to be high school, but the Alpha Elite thug squad is acting like they're in college. Bingo! They were in a bar earlier, getting wasted on booze, so how can high school students enter an over-21 premises? The movie needed to eliminate the high school part and go for college dorms instead.

Can you imagine being beat up by Ned Bigby in high school? Just try and picture for one moment Ned Bigby controlling operations in an East Los Angeles high school. That's how absurd these villains are.

Is that Ron Grady from 'Freddy 2?'

With the Tommy Jarvis character being in the movie, he obviously had a sway to allow his buddy, Cort, from 'Jason Lives' to land a role, but I never picked up on his character once.

So, the David Dahmer lookalike and Cougar's girlfriend hook-up, and it becomes about an investigation to find evidence linking the preppy thug squad to all the murders.

A VHS is the undoing of all parties.

Allegiances are tested at the end, and double-crossers turn coats, and the big movie reveal is that a trusted faculty member was murdering twits to fuel his passion for old battlefield memories. Is that Pieter Vorstedt again? He always plays a baddie.

The ending seemed ultra-rushed, like a half-baked conclusion, as Cougar probably had to make a deadline for his cameo appearance in 'Top Gun.'

A (superior) Massacre at Central High

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 14 September 2023]

An underprivileged teen (J. Eddie Peck) attends an upper-class school near the coast in SoCal where a group of students, organized by a teacher who's a Vietnam vet, guard the school from thuggish behavior. The leader of the Sentinels (John Stockwell) tries to woo him into his increasingly arrogant group.

"Dangerously Close" (1986) had the same producer as "Massacre at Central High" from ten years prior. I point this out because the plots & settings are similar, albeit this one doesn't have the awkward twist of the second half of "Massacre" and is an all-around improvement. It's similar to "Tuff Turf" from the previous year, but more focused ("Tuff Turf" is entertaining, but tried to be too many things). There are also bits reminiscent of "Eddie and the Cruisers," minus the band angle.

The soundtrack is a highlight, featuring 80's pop rock and new wave bands, with notable songs like "Stripped" by Depeche Mode and "Blood and Roses" by The Smithereens.

Carey Lowell is serviceable on the female front, as are Dedee Pfeiffer and Karen Lorre, but not enough is done with them. On the other side of the spectrum, Don Michael Paul is effective as a member of the Sentinels marked by "toxic masculinity."

If you like similar 80's teen movies like "Valley Girl" and "The Karate Kid," you should appreciate this undeservedly obscure one. It influenced "Some Kind of Wonderful," which came out the next year, but focuses on the intense clash of the male students rather than romance.

The film runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in the greater Los Angeles area, including Glendale (high school), Malibu Creek State Park in Calabasas, Marina del Rey and Redondo Beach.

GRADE: B+

Yes! Cannon Films produced very good movies. This is one.

[Superwonderscope · 9/10 · 27 October 1999]

Probably the best movie Albert Pyun directed. First rate cinematography and photography (shades of blue and red during the night scenes especially). So-so actors but with a special mention to Mr Stockwell and J. Eddie Peck (whatever happened to him anyway after that movie?).The screenplay is the best on this subject.Most of the time in college/high school movies, the fact of being different is an issue and you end "normal" at the end (She's all that and others very bad stuff). Here, being different is enough to get you killed. This is the most interesting part of the plot : it got an unusual political and sociological issue that is scarier than any Scream movie. Be sure to see the movie til the very last image and you'll know why. Great suspense that makes you think!

Of our times before our times

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 19 March 2022]

Is it strange how much Dangerously Close feels like the last few years of life? I mean, life is high school, right? And aren't The Sentinels, the far right student villains of this movie, pretty much anyone that does their own research and demands to know why they can't have white history month? Man, between this movie and Avenging Force, Cannon was hitting this subject head on while also getting to roll around in the muck, which is how all good exploitation must behave.

Written by Scott Fields (who also wrote Under Cover), John Stockwell (who stars in this and yes, also wrote Under Cover and directed it too) and Marty Ross (who was one of the New Monkees a year later and that fries my brain) and directed by Albert Pyun, who would make Cyborg, Alien from L. A. and Down Twisted for Cannon, Dangerously Close is the kind of weird movie I get obsessed by.

I mean, Roger Ebert said that the Pyun "devoted a great deal of time and thought to how his movie looked, and almost no time at all to what, or who, it was about."

That's my jam.

At the private school Vista Verde -- a nightmare for me, as my parents frequently debated sending me to a school just like this -- The Sentinels have gone from a student group to a military unit that assaults the undesirables of the student population thanks to the leadership of Randy McDermott (Stockwell).

I'd like to think that I'd have been Donny Lennox (J. Eddie Peck, who was Kevin "Blade" Laird in Lambada), a poor kid who got in because he knew how to write. He and punk rocker Krooger Raines (Branford Bancroft, 3:15, Bachelor Party) are just two of the kids who don't fit in and they're soon joined by Brian (Thom Matthews, Tommy Jarvis himself), who has left behind the group after they go too far and McDevitt's ex-girlfriend Julie (Carey Lowell, Law & Order), who splits from the group leader after she screams at him that all he cares about is using her mouth and wow, that language is shocking exploitation dialogue even years after this was made.

Let me tell you, I love this movie. It's so odd because the town where it takes place is perfect and yet has more fog than any place in California other than the Sunset Strip. It's got a cast that includes Debra Berger, Angel Tompkins (The Teacher playing a teacher?), Dedee Pfeiffer (making this a mini-The Allnighter cast meet-up with Bancroft, who played Bartender Joe in that Susanna Hoffs vehicle), March 1982 Playboy Playmate of the Month Karen Lorre, Miguel A. Núñez Jr. (making this a Return of the Living Dead reunion with Matthews), Don Michael Paul (who would go on to direct so many direct-to-video sequels like Kindergarten Cop 2, Death Race: Beyond Anarchy, The Scorpion King: Book of Souls and Tremors: Shrieker Island) and Gerard Christopher (the syndicated Superboy). Everybody in that group is way too attractive to play high school students and teachers. And it has a wild soundtrack, with everything from T. S. O. L., The Lords of the New Church, Lone Justice, Fine Young Cannibals, Depeche Mode and The Smithereens, whose "Blood and Roses" is nearly the theme song for the film.

Also, the Keanu Reeves and Kiefer Sutherland made-for-TV movie Brotherhood of Justice is strangely the exact same story and also has Don Michael Paul in it.

More people should be talking about this movie.

Similar to Brotherhood of Justice. Coincidence or not?

[vertigo_14 · 29 February 2004]

Reading the synopsis to this film, I was reminded of movies like Skulls and Disturbing Behavior, where a small, tightly protected group of richies form an underground society to target unwanted classmates.

This movie, written in part by actor John Stockwell who portrays the unofficial leader of the Sentinels, Verde High's fascist secret society formed to "serve and protect", is nearly identical to a made-for-tv movie released the same year called Brotherhood of Justice. Brotherhood was based on a true story of a secret society formed at a Texas high school that eventually went from theft and vandalism prevention to goals of extreme violence. So, I wonder if the writers of Dangerously Close were inspired by the same events.

The major differences between the two, however, are that Brotherhood of Justice is primarily told from the viewpoint of one of the leaders of the gang, while Dangerously Close is seen from the viewpoint of one of their prospective victims. And, secondly, in Dangerously Close, the high school principal, sponsor of the gang, was the pivotal force behind the murders. The Sentinels were only supposed to rough up a few of their targets. The Texas High School events which Brotherhood is based on, left out the involvement that the gym coach had in the secret society. That is why I think both films were inspired by the same events.

It was alright. I've always enjoyed John Stockwell, or at least his earlier appearances and behind-the-camera work. It was also nice seeing Robert Russler, though only briefly. I thought it was a pretty good B-rated thriller.

John Stockwell, Carey Lowell, and some others...

[daniel-kyle · 8/10 · 30 July 2008]

I wish I didn't have to write 10 lines for inclusion on IMDb, because there isn't too much to say about this movie EXCEPT that I really liked it at the time - it is a good example of mid-80's style - and the actors are very good, some have more recently become well known: John Stockwell is a noted Director now ("Blue Crush"), and he was 'Cougar' in "Top Gun" the same year, 1986. Carey Lowell, Mrs. Richard Gere, went on to "Law & Order" after a role in a bad James Bond movie. So why no DVD??? It was on VHS in the late 80's. One thing I do remember at the time, when Siskel & Ebert reviewed it they noted a strange homo-erotic overtone in many scenes (like in the school gym's locker room). Of course, you could say that about the Top Gun locker room scenes, also. But they had a point, and I think one reason this movie did stand out from the run-of-the-mill Drive In fare was that director Albert Pyun gave it some of these inexplicable, strange tones. And there was one TERRIFIC pun half-way into the movie, but you'll have to watch it to find out for yourself...

dangerously dull...

[mcfly-31 · 6 August 2002]

Not a good movie. Not a bad movie. Kind of a non-movie. Had to give it a shot being from the 80s. First up we get some nearly inaudible exchange between a father and son at a kitchen table, then some hot rod punker blazes his way to school in a loud car, then some panty waist talks about the dangers of something or other, then there's a shooting at a party, then I stopped the tape. Plotless, cheaply photographed, surprised even a head honcho at Canon read this script and said "Yeah, this is up to our standards". C'mon, guys, you made much better "junk" like "American Ninja" and "Invasion USA". Film also features the oldest looking high school students in film history. Not even the fast forward button can save you here.

The 1980s teen films in 95 minutes.

[amesmonde · 11 June 2022]

A group of right wing jingoism students terrorise the lower class classmates.

Director Albert Pyun (known for sci-fi and fantasy films) in a wave of 1980s teen delinquent films offers a teenage murder yarn in the vain of The Brotherhood of Justice and 3:15 The Moment of Truth (1986) also released the same year.

It befits from a seemingly on location small town shoot. At times stylishly filmed (with that MTV feel, flashbacks, cars, beaches and VHS shenanigans) but it's slow paced, meandering and plodding along in the adolescent world where our clever lead can't figure out what's really going on with his class mates. It heats up a little in the heavy handled last act.

It has a notable staple soundtrack including Robert Palmer, Depeche Mode and more. Pyun offers wall to wall 1980s nostalgia, with a load of familiar faces including John Stockwell (Christine, Top Gun), Carey Lowell (Licence to Kill), Tom Mathews (Return of the Living Dead) Dede Pfeiffer to name few.

Overall, worth watching if you're a 80s nostalgia hound.