REVIEW – Class of 1999 II: The Substitute

Published on: 20th January, 2010

REVIEW - Class of 1999 II: The Substitute  | read this item

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Whilst Class of 1999 was less of an official sequel and more of a continuation of themes previously explored in Class of 1984, Class of 1999 II: The Substitute would eventually appear in 1994, rounding off the loose trilogy of movies that began with a stylish and intelligent exploitation thriller and came to a conclusion with an over-the-top and shallow action flick. With resident director Mark L. Lester bowing out, the final instalment would be handed over to stuntman Spiro Razatos, whose prior work had been as a stuntman on Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment, The Return of the Living Dead and the Maniac Cop series. Without any of the characters returning from Class of 1999, The Substitute hardly feels like a true sequel, aside from the inclusion of various flashbacks and references to its predecessor.

Having dispatched of the real substitute teacher, John Bolen (Sasha Mitchell) arrives at a high school on a mission to enforce discipline on the disrespectful and uneducated students. Immediately dispensing with thugs and even the principal, who disapproved of his extreme methods, Bolen makes his way to class and begins to single out those whom he feels are disruptive and have no interest in being educated. But he soon makes the acquaintance of fellow teacher Jenna McKenzie (Caitlin Dulany), who has become the target of a gang lead by the psychotic Sanders (Gregory West), a student she is due to testify against after claiming that she saw him shoot another kid. On the trail of Dr. Forrest’s last remaining cyborg, Rick Hill (G.D. Ash) is convinced that the killer has taken the role of a teacher at the school but is unsure of its identity.

Class of 1999 II: The Substitute has a significantly lower budget than the last film and consequently feels more like a made-for-TV movie than a theatrical feature. There are no real special effects and the majority of the violence merely shows Bolen snapping the necks of his victims (something achieved merely by adding a sound effect), so those hoping for more Terminator-style robots will be disappointed. Although Lester lacked a distinct style, with both of his films looking and feeling separate from one another, The Substitute suffers from his absence, with Razatos’ direction appearing more generic and uninspired. There is little in the way of action sequences, with the paintball match that closes the movie being the highlight.

The characters are less interesting this time around, with Dulany (previously seen in Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence, which would mark the Substitute as her second collaboration with Razatos) lacking the charisma that Class of 1999’s hero boasted, and her character feeling more like an afterthought. Nick Cassavetes, as her lover Emmett, offers strong support, but is let down by Hill, who fails to live up to the promise of hunter. The one standout performance, however, comes from Mitchell, who remains suitably emotionless and vacant through the movie, aside from what appears to be a sexual attraction towards Jenna. Despite his character being a ruthless killer, he plays the role with an element of innocence, refusing to allow Bolen to simply become the villain and instead making him almost likeable. It is a shame that his victims lack any kind of character development and are added purely to be killed off soon afterwards.

The script, written by b-movie regular Mark Sevi (who would later pen such ‘classics’ as Ghoulies IV and Scanner Cop II), attempts to add a few interesting ideas but is constantly weighed down by irritating one-liners, usually after Bolen has killed again. An interesting twist keeps the story from becoming too predictable, but the material is run-of-the-mill and without Mitchell’s performance it would fail to hold the viewer’s attention for a little over eighty minutes. It is amusing that baby-faced Mitchell appears younger than many of the students he is supposed to be disciplining, with the actor being a mere twenty-six when he took the role. But without support from such veterans as Roddy McDowall or Malcolm McDowell (who had appeared in the first and second movie, respectively), Mitchell is left to carry the film by himself.

For all its flaws, Class of 1999 II: The Substitute is still entertaining in a ‘guilty pleasure’ kind of way and it is fun to watch Bolen punish the obnoxious kids with his own brand of outlaw justice. Sevi at least tries to develop both Bolen’s character and his relationship with Jenna, instead of portraying him as a simple, cold-blooded killing machine. The film may lack the social commentary or depth of Class of 1984, or the fast-paced action and humour of Class of 1999, but there are far worse sequels around and at least it has a few highlights. The final reveal seems a little out of place but at least the filmmakers attempted to surprise their audience, even if they were not entirely successful. By no means a great film, or even a good one for that matter, The Substitute is still watchable.

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