Tag: The Assassination Game (1982)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Nick Castle

Writer:

Nick Castle (writer)

Release Date:

28 April 1982 (France)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

This time the butler didn't do it!

Plot:

College assassination game turns deadly as someone starts playing for real.

Plot Keywords:

College | Gotcha | Fetish | Role Playing Game | Based On Game

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Robert Carradine	...	Alex Marsh
Linda Hamilton	...	Susan Swayze
Kristine DeBell	...	Nancy McCauley
Perry Lang	...	Frank English
John Mengatti	...	Randy Simonetti
Michael Winslow	...	Gowdy
Frazer Smith	...	Nick Carpenter
Bruce Abbott	...	Loren Gersh
Xander Berkeley	...	Connally
Ivan Bonar	...	Patterson
Scott Dunlop	...	Wallace
Jim Greenleaf	...	Swanson
Charlene Nelson	...	Charlene
Steven Peterman	...	Schooster
Jack Baker	...	Gowdy's Aide (as John Anthony Bailey)

Also Known As:

Everybody Gets It in the End (USA)
Kiss Me, Kill Me
T.A.G.: The Assassination Game

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-12 | Netherlands:12 | USA:PG

Company:

The Antria Group (TAG)

Trivia:

Forest Whitaker's movie debut.

Quotes:

Nick Carpenter: You're going to have to be quicker than that if you want to play T.A.G.

Movie Connections:

References To Trap a Spy (1964)

Soundtrack:

Rebel To The Rescue

Forgotten 80's horror gem

Considering that every bad 80's slasher movie ever made seems to have a cult following these days (including, God help us all, the Sleepaway Camp trilogy), I find it highly ironic that a well-made, suspenseful, and entertaining film like this is now virtually forgotten. TAG has a great premise. It has some great b-movie talent including Robert Carradine, Bruce Abbot, erstwhile porn starlet Kristine DeBell, and a young Linda Hamilton. It was even directed by Nick Kastle, the man who played the Shape in the original Halloween. The problem with this movie, no doubt, was that, much like the original Halloween, it contained little blood and gore. After Friday the 13th in 1980 this was just not permissible (Halloween itself probably would have sunk like a stone had it been released five years later). So this great little movie is forgotten today while pointless dreck like Sleepaway Camp lingers like an unflushed turd in a poorly ventilated bathroom. There's just no justice in the world.