Tag: The Assassination Game

1982 "This time the butler didn't do it!"
5.8| 1h30m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 20 April 1982 Released
Producted By: The Antria Group (TAG)
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Pretending to do research for his newspaper, college student Alex Marsh teams up with the somewhat older Susan Swayze, who he long admired from afar. Susan participates in The Assassination Game, in which every player tries to shoot another with a toy dart gun, until only one remains. While doing his best to win her over, and helping her finding her targets, Alex discovers that this year the Game may be more serious than most contenders realize...

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Reviews

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.
Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Scarecrow-88 Odd blend of comedy and thriller has a writer for a college paper, Alex Marsh(Robert Carradine)deciding to follow a student(in psychology, no less), Susan Swayze(Linda Hamilton)as she plays a popular game, TAG, where opponents are pitted against each other, on campus, with guns that shoot rubber darts. One of the players, Loren Gersh(Bruce Abbott, REANIMATOR), has been champion for four years running, and when actually "killed", he doesn't take defeat very well..something snaps and Gersh loads his gun with real bullets and starts actually killing those on his game's hit-list. Talk about a sore loser! Anyway, Susan is quite a skilled "assassin", and a threat to Gersh's reign so that puts her life in grave danger. Marsh falls in love with Susan and even helps her at times when she runs out of darts and her gun is useless. Once student bodies start going missing, Gersh begins a transformation, cleaning himself up, even wearing a suit and tie, and eventually Susan will be his next target.While not in it much, Kristine DeBell has some nice work as Hamilton's pal Nancy, unfortunately a fellow TAG player who winds up on Gersh's hit-list. This also features an early performance from "human sound effects machine" Michael Winslow who is fortunately on Susan's hit-list and spared the fate of those targeted by Gersh.Abbott is quite effective as the psychopath who never appears very stable to begin with, obsessed with the TAG game maybe because it's the only thing that gives his life meaning. Hamilton is stunning, the camera worshiping her as much as Carradine's reporter. I've always been a fan of Carradine's and this film doesn't change my opinion of him, chomping on a cigar, just head over heels(as I was)for Hamilton, his character is one of those unlikely Hitchcockian heroes who saves the day in the nick of time, just because his reporter stumbles upon a novel idea for a story based on his infatuation for a girl who entered his room to avoid being "shot" by an "assassin" at the beginning of the movie.I think the film benefits from this great cast, but, gosh, this premise is pretty disturbing if you think about it. For instance, there's that one scene where Gersh walks underneath the bleachers as his victim is watching a potential boyfriend preparing for his run on the track, shooting her as the coach fires his pistol for the boys to take off. The potency of the murders is the very fact that Gersh doesn't play fair and his victims never stand a chance. The main problem I imagine others will have with this film, besides the idea that college students could commit to their studies and play this demanding game, is that the outcome will not be a surprise. I think a movie hinges on the suspense of the premise, but I figure, if you were like me, no one will be convinced that Hamilton won't be rescued by Carradine. Still, I thought TAG:THE ASSASSINATION GAME was a nice surprise, because I had never heard of it. And, when I noticed that Carradine and Hamilton were both in it, as well as Abbott, I was more than excited to see what might come of it. Lots of nice homages to classic film noir, and the score is very bluesy, appropriate for what inspires Carradine(this includes a loving nod to TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT where Hamilton gets to run that famous line from Lauren Bacall and steals Carradine's heart in the process). I got a kick at how Carradine's eyes would go puppy-doggish, as if entranced by Hamilton, when around her..he wasn't the only one. From the director of THE LAST STARFIGHTER, and John Carpenter associate, Nick Castle.
acidburn-10 Tag - The Assassination Game is yet another one of those unknown slashers from the 1980's, but has a few famous stars in it Linda Hamilton (The Terminator 1&2) as the final girl and Bruce Abbott (The Re-Animator) as the deranged killer (not a dead give away it's revealed very early on).To be honest you can't really call this movie a slasher as the killer doesn't use any sharp instruments just a gun as he takes the game of tag quite literally, with fast descent into madness. Especially when Linda Hamilton becomes his latest victim then we get the classic killer and final girl showdown. Tag is a very entertaining movie in my opinion especially loved the cheesy starting where it looks more like a 70's TV show than a horror/thriller movie. I also liked romance angle between Hamilton and the reporter- when they get all lovey-dovey the soundtrack turns to mush, all sax solos and dinner lounge piano. The acting is pretty good and the cast is likable, especially from the main leads. But the only drawback that this movie is that it's a little bland at times with no suspense. But all in all an OK movie.
poe426 The late '70's and early '80's saw the release of some truly entertaining films that seem to have since vanished from all Earthly ken. Why this has happened remains a mystery. One of the more entertaining entries happens to have been T.A.G. Well-written and flawlessly crafted from start to finish, this one boasted a superb cast and a film noir sensibility that elevated it head and shoulders above the then-current run-of-the-mill murder movies. There are enough in-jokes to keep John Carpenter and Nick Castle fans satisfied, and the overall look and feel of this film makes it a must-see for students of the art.
Lornsorrow Jaded viewers imposing current film standards and expectations may want to look elsewhere, but if one has an appreciation for 80's movies and other movies of this type and pace, then it's clear that Tag has aged well for what it is. Tag is a dark comedy-thriller that takes place on a college campus during the 1980's. Think of something along the lines of Terror Train (1980 with Jamie Lee Curtis), except with comedy and a tongue in cheek quality to it, at least in the films first half.TAG, The Assassination Game (1982) is a great little film that has gained a strong, though seemingly small fan following over the years. I've watched it many times since I discovered it in the early 80's (after which I got a few people together in my high school so we could hunt each other down with rubber band guns –not recommended). A lot of people simply don't appear to know much about this dark comedy/thriller. Most people who've seen this film give it decent reviews, but the reviews themselves are few and far between. So, here is a little more information about this great flick. The plot is simple. At a college campus the latest pastime is a game called TAG. TAG players are given lists of targets (consisting of other players in the TAG group) that they chase after all over the large college campus with fake plastic suction tipped dart guns. The last man or woman who hasn't been hunted down and successfully tagged in the end, wins. There are a few rules to this campus game (game play stops at 12:00 midnight, etc.), but that's about it. It's all a fun pastime with a chance to meet new people. That is, until things go wrong.The reigning champion (played wonderfully by Bruce Abbott in his first film role) gets so upset over getting tagged and losing that he decides to use real bullets instead and continue on with the game. The movie is a decent paced 80's film with a noir like tongue in cheek quality to it that develops into the dark and serious, contains a fair amount of suspense, and pulls it all off with nice style for a little film. Its ending is serious, but with a wink, and an homage to those noir films of yesteryear. It also shows that gore, tons of violence, etc., is not necessary to make a good thriller. Though I've never seen anything else really like TAG, there are a few other movies that one might like if they like it, such as Silver Streak (1976), and Foul Play (1978). I hope some day TAG gets remastered to DVD. Till then, I guess its out of print VHS tapes. TAG, was written and Directed by Nick Castle. Castle was involved in helping his friend, Director John Carpenter write Escape From New York, and TAG was Castle's first Directing project. Castle would later go on to direct more commercially honed films (for that time period) such as The Last Starfighter, The Boy Who Could Fly, and others. He's still working today. He was also the original man behind the mask in Halloween.Having already been in a number of films before TAG, (most notable to me is The Big Red One as a cigar smoking writer named Pvt. Zab), Robert Carradine appears in Tag as a dashing cigar smoking journalist who falls in love with the movies heroine. After TAG, Carradine went on to do Revenge of the Nerds in 1984 as Lewis Skolnick. He's still active in his long career.Aside from a couple of TV roles and minor work, TAG is Linda Hamilton's first real film. Her role as Sarah Connor in Terminator (1984) was still two years away. One can tell from watching her in TAG that she already had a good grip on her craft. She's beautiful here, and thankfully we would see a lot more of her skill and beauty in the years to come, and still do. (Incidentally, Bruce Abbott apparently did "get" Linda Hamilton in the end after all, in reality that is. They were married from December 19, 1982 till they were divorced in 1989. They had one son together Born October 4, 1989, Dalton Abbott.)