‘Some may pass the test… God help the rest.’
Final Exam is a 1981 American slasher horror film written and directed by Jimmy Huston (My Best Friend is a Vampire) who apparently wanted to go against the norm and decided to feature little on-screen graphic violence. The MPM movie stars Cecile Bagdadi, Joel S. Rice and Ralph Brown.
Plot:
Late at night, two college students (Carol Capka and Shannon Norfleet) are busy making out in a parked convertible. Ignoring the girl’s frequent objections, her boyfriend pushes on. Outside, a shadowy man jumps on top of the car, slicing his way through the fabric roof. Reaching inside, the lunatic grabs the young man and pulls him up and out onto the car’s hood. Brandishing a blade, the killer stabs the young man to death.
Sleepy Lanier College is nearing the end of Final Exam week: a frenzied semester cap time of grades, goodbyes, and pranks. As the students prepare for their tests as well as the coming vacation break, little do they suspect a murderer is stalking them one by one. Plain but amiable Courtney (Cecile Bagdadi) is completing her exams and studying hard. Averse to hitting the books, her roommate Lisa (DeAnna Robbins) is busy packing and getting back to the city.
Meanwhile, Gamma Delta fraternity pledge Gary (Terry W. Farren) has pinned his girlfriend Janet (Sherry Willis-Burch)… and paid for it by being treed by his brothers, stripped to his briefs, awash in shaving cream and ice cubes shoved down his underwear.
As night falls on Lanier, a freezing Gary hopes his beloved Janet will free him from his humiliation. Untied from the tree by an unknown figure, Gary is relieved but is stabbed to death by the man that killed the couple in the convertible…
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com
Trailer:
Free on YouTube:
Background:
Release:
The US theatrical release was on June 5, 1981. Following VHS releases, Final Exam was released on DVD in 2008 and has been available on Blu-ray since May 2014 via Shout! Factory.
Cast and characters:
Cecile Bagdadi … Courtney
Joel S. Rice … Radish – Christine
Ralph Brown … Wildman
DeAnna Robbins … Lisa
Sherry Willis-Burch … Janet
John Fallon … Mark
Terry W. Farren … Pledge
Timothy L. Raynor … Killer
Sam Kilman … Sheriff
Don Hepner … Doctor Reynolds
Mary Ellen Withers … Elizabeth
Elijah Christopher Perry [as Jerry Rushing] … Coach
Shannon Norfleet … Student in Car
Carol Capka … Student in Car
R.C. Nanney … Mitch
Filming locations:
Boiling Springs, Gaffney, Shelby and Spindale, North Carolina
Film Facts:
Final Exam is referenced in Scream 2 along with other college-themed slasher films such as The House on Sorority Row, Graduation Day, The Dorm That Dripped Blood and Splatter University.
