Yep, it's not a bad little flick at all. It does good job of capturing that early '80s slasher "feel." I was 16 in the summer of 1981 but while I didn't get a chance to see Final Exam then, I did buy and read the film novelization.
An interesting tidbit about Gary S. Scott's score: You can hear it in deleted and alternate scenes from "A Nightmare on Elm Street." The album was used for temp tracks before Charles Bernstein composed his famous Elm Street score. I've liked this movie for decades, and always felt that the unimaginative VHS cover was part of the reason that most horror fans overlooked it. The fact that there's no explanation for the killer makes it pretty unique... but it's also a double-edged sword, since most viewers crave explanations.
Final Exam is exactly the sort of experience that I always hope to have when I track down an early 1980s slasher. Great cinema it is not, but the characters are entertaining, and the pacing is deliberate without being intolerably slow.
So happy you're back Layton! Been missing your videos and so happy you've made it on final exam a movie which I've never heard of before, which makes it even more interesting to learn about!
Yesss I was waiting for this! Such an underrated film! Am currently watching this with a copy of the novelization by my side! Thank you for these awesome videos!
Thank YOU so much for another horror video. I kinda love Final Exam, it's always seemed to me like an alternate universe Halloween II, like a Laurie Strode Goes To College!
Great videos as always, you go so in depth with them, there soo much I learn from the retrospectives I never knew. I have a suggestion if you don't mind? I would like to see you go in depth with the Wing Commander movie from 1999 and the video game series, interested in doing that? I would like to know more info on how the movie was made and how it relates to the video game series. Keep up making great entertaining videos.
Things you learn - This premiered on my 9th birthday in my home town (Dayton, OH). Shame I was not into horror movies at the time, could of had my parents take me to see it as a birthday present. :)
I have to say of all the channels I’m subscribed to (and there aren’t many) Im absolutely smitten with yours. Fascinating, engaging and enjoyable. Thanks for making life a little more interesting
I LOVE THIS CHANNEL! I know I've said it before but it's now my absolute favourite. Please, please, please carry on covering these golden era slashers. For what it's worth, here's my Letterboxd capsule review on Final Exam. I adore it: "Often dismissed as a tedious, bloodless clone of superior classic slashers, Final Exam ticks more than enough boxes to thoroughly entertain. The second act's campus comedy hijinx endears its engaging, amusing characters to me. Radish is a true crime expert prototype for the sub-genre and Wildman a hilarious neanderthal jock stereotype. What it lacks in intense chase sequences and gory deaths, it makes up for with smart use of its eerily spacious college location and a fantastic final act where bodies begin dropping rapidly. I love how it plays its cards (defiantly) close to its chest regarding the killer's motive." Keep up the great work!
This actually came out the year I was born. I really love your presentations, well structured but very relaxed and friendly. I follow a lot of movie channels and well as a few horror-specific channels. I don't actually watch a lot of horror movies, but I watch lots more material on special effects, making of and the cultural impact of horror. This movie and a lot of others worked around limited budgets which limited actors, sets and effects. Yet through passion, hard work and creative solutions, some amazing-looking filmmaking was achieved. Again, I love your channel.
I’d honestly never heard of this one and now I need to see it at some point lmao. Well done! I’d love to see one of these for “House on Sorority Row” (1981)
Welcome back Layton! Thanks for sharing the love of Final Exam. Always thought it was an underrated slasher during the prime years of the genre. It's not perfect, but it's got personality. I think Cinema Snob is the only other person I've seen give this movie its fair due (maybe Brandon Tenold too idk)
This was rather tame to be on the Video Nasties list, even though it was under the "less obscene" Section 3. Apparently released uncut in 1986 in the UK.
It's as basic as slasher movies get, so if you like slow burn 80s horror then you should at least like it, even if it's in a guilty pleasure kind of way.
thanks Layton, hadn't heard of this movie before!! you ever watched Torso (1973) ??? I'm sure you have but if you haven't do be sure to check it out...should be able to find it on youtube if you need a preview. Gonna watch Final Exam now...it's actually on youtube too...!!! woohoo!!
I always thought this movie was weird cause it literally has no premise, the killer has no strange mask, background, or anything, its just some average joe walking around a college campus offing people, perhaps that's the point.
I love this movie. It’s on another level of not great which makes it even greater. The lines from radish’s mouth just scream silly and the delivery is almost laughable but it just adds to the overall charm of this movie. The final girl courtney isn’t too bad but we just to get to see much of her until there is no one else left to kill. We see snippets of her character shine through but not enough to root for her in the third act of the movie. Overall this movie is a little gem that many people still have not seen and really should give it a bash!
I bought this BECAUSE they claimed it was a 'rip-off of Halloween. I've bought numerous movies because somebody claimed that they were in the spirit of some other favorite of mine(usually either Halloween or Friday the 13th)...And I have to say, this was just about the first time that there turned out to be any truth to the statement. Of course, Final Exam is not in the same league as Halloween, but it IS an outstanding slasher movie, which means it's close enough. With all those other movies...I don't know if they deliberately lied, or if they just didn't know what they were talking about. I'm still mad that they got me with Hatchet. They marketed Hatchet to people who loved Friday the 13th. For me, they were light years apart.
It is a pure exploitation film but it had a great musical score, decent killings some good jump scares. This could have been a big hit had the killer had a suprise reveal or a good backstory.
I didn't have time to watch this before leaving for work this morning, but i clicked on the video to save for later. I got the first few seconds with the run in towards the killer and it paused. I expected the Morgan Freeman meme ' it was at this point he knew... he'd F...ked up' but in never came. I'd merely brushed my finger over the pad on my laptop and paused it myself without realising. I found it pretty fun at the time.
Very surprised you did something like this because it was hardly one of the most notable of the hundreds of slashers that came out in this era….Honestly, I caught most of the major slashers around this time (I was twelve when this came out) and I never had even heard of this until I caught it on Streaming a few years ago….thought it was pretty shoddy, to be honest…I guessing this was a guilty pleasure for you? (Kind of like Terror Train and My Bloody Valentine are for me!)
@@LaytonEversaul damnit! The blu ray release for “my best friend is a vampire” has Jimmy in the commentary… have no clue how they were able to reach him
My channel will always likely lean horror, because it's my favorite genre, but I'll definitely be covering other types of films. But it all comes down to what gets me motivated to spend three months on a project, and that's kind of unpredictable I've found.
@@LaytonEversaul I think Jumanji would kind of count, and there are PLENTY of scares in Return to Oz. But if not those, then how about The Fog or Something Wicked This Way Comes?
I have to disagree with everyone calling this film "underrated." It's one of the worst slashers I've ever watched. It's incredibly boring -- which is the worst thing a slasher can be -- with completely flat characters and lame kills. The only interesting scene in the movie is the school shooting, and even that is only memorable because of the state of this country 40 years later.
