Final Exam (1981 film)
A nameless killer stalks college students before summer break.
Final Exam is a 1981 American slasher film written and directed by Jimmy Huston. It stars Cecile Bagdadi and Joel S. Rice. The story centers on an unnamed killer who hunts down a small group of students still on a college campus just before summer break begins. The film was shot in North Carolina and South Carolina, using a cast made up mostly of actors from Los Angeles. It was released by Motion Picture Marketing in March 1981 and received mixed reviews.
The plot begins with a young couple making out in a parked car at March College, where an unseen attacker slices open the vehicle’s roof and murders them. Meanwhile, at nearby Lanier College, a fraternity stages a fake shooting on campus to give students extra time to study for a chemistry final. The prank works, leaving only a handful of students on campus until the next day’s exam. The killer from March College arrives in a van and begins stalking them.
Bookish student Courtney studies hard, while her wealthy roommate Lisa prepares to leave for New York City and carries on an affair with Professor Reynolds. Fraternity pledge Gary is tied to a tree as a prank; the killer unties him, jumps down, and cuts his throat. Gary’s girlfriend Janet sees a silhouette on a rooftop and follows it, thinking it’s Gary, but the killer grabs and murders her. Another fraternity member, Wildman, is lured into a darkened gym while trying to steal prescription drugs; the killer overpowers him, beats him, and garrotes him with a weight-lifting machine. Student Mark discovers Wildman’s body and is chased into an electrical building, where the killer jumps from a barrel and stabs him to death. Nerdy student Radish finds the carnage and calls the police, but they dismiss him as a prankster. He rushes to warn Courtney, but the killer, already inside her room, murders him.
Courtney returns to her dorm and finds Radish’s body pinned to her door. Terrified, she tries to alert others, but everyone has left for break. Lisa waits for Dr. Reynolds in the conservatory, but the killer enters and stabs her to death. Courtney arrives, sees the body, and is pursued. She grabs a kitchen knife and hides in the campus clock tower. A coach hears her screams and shoots an arrow at the killer, who catches it and impales it into his own chest.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Jimmy Huston
- Producer
- John L. Chambliss / Myron Meisel
- Starring
- Cecile Bagdadi / Joel S. Rice
- Music
- Gary S. Scott
- Cinematography
- Darrell Catchart
- Editing
- John A. O'Connor
- Distributor
- Motion Picture Marketing
- Released
- 27 February 1981
- Runtime
- 90 minutes
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Budget
- $363,000
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Final Exam was filmed over six weeks from September 15, 1980, to October 25, 1980, at E.O. Studios in Shelby, North Carolina, with additional photography at Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina, and Isothermal Community College in Spindale, North Carolina. The cast consisted largely of Los Angeles-based stage actors, with lead Cecile Bagdadi cast after being seen in a production of Faces on the Wall at the Coronet Theatre. The film's budget was approximately $363,000.
The plot centers on a nameless killer who murders a couple at March College before arriving at Lanier College, where a fraternity has staged a fake shooting to delay final exams. The killer stalks and murders the remaining students one by one, including Gary, Janet, Wildman, Mark, Radish, and Lisa. The final confrontation occurs in a clock tower, where Courtney, the final girl, stabs the killer 12 times with his own knife after he grabs her ankle.
The film received mixed reviews upon release. Hal Lipper of the Dayton Daily News compared it positively to Halloween (1978), calling it 'slicker' and 'better acted,' while Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune deemed it a 'rip-off' of Halloween. TV Guide called the film 'dull' and 'virtually bloodless,' and The Courier-Journal's Gregg Swem noted it 'reeks of cheapness' but conceded it 'succeeds at scaring.'
Reader's Guide
Final Exam is notable for its arbitrary, nameless villain who has no connection to his victims, no history, and no motive—a feature that film scholar Jim Harper in Legacy of Blood: A Comprehensive Guide to Slasher Movies describes as taking 'the autonomous face of the slasher movie killer to the extreme.' The film has received a modern reevaluation for its focus on character development rather than gore and shock value. The character Radish served as partial inspiration for Randy Meeks in Wes Craven's Scream (1996).
Despite its low budget and mixed critical reception, the film was a minor commercial success, grossing $1.3 million in the United States and ranking number 7 at the U.S. box office per a June 26 Variety report. The film's legacy includes a novelization by Geoffrey Meyer published by Pinnacle Books in 1981, which expands on character backstories and hints at the killer's motivation. On Rotten Tomatoes, 13% of 8 critics' reviews are positive. The film has been released on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray, with the Blu-ray debut by Scream Factory on May 13, 2014.
Did You Know?
- The film was shot over six weeks from September 15, 1980, to October 25, 1980, at locations in North Carolina and South Carolina.
- A mass market paperback novelization by Geoffrey Meyer was published by Pinnacle Books in 1981.
- The film's trailer appeared in the 2020 compilation film AGFA Horror Trailer Show.
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