American high school films were a dime a dozen at the local video shop back in the day.

John Hughes had the monopoly on the teen angst market, and for those who preferred smut over senior proms, there was always sex comedies like Porky’s and its two sequels. Occasionally though, there were films from this genre which, having slipping through the net theatrically, were ripe for rediscovery amongst the other titles which sat on those red bulky display shelves.

1987’s Three O’Clock High was (and still is) one such example for me, and it also proved to be an interesting departure from the standard high school films of that time, even prompting executive producer Steven Spielberg to take his name off the credits (presumably because he felt it didn’t fit in with his series of Amblin-produced family friendly features).

Casey Siemaszko (a gang member in two iconic films of the period – Back to the Future and Stand by Me) stars here as straight A-student Jerry Mitchell. Unbeknownst to him, he’s assigned (via his best friend) to write a welcoming profile in the school paper of new arrival Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson), to help dispel the exaggerated whispers of the newcomer’s violent behaviour and exclusion from other schools. As it turns out, Revell is every bit the psychopathic he was rumoured to be, and when Jerry has an awkward first encounter with him (in the school toilets of all places!), it results in the bully challenging the decidedly unthreatening Jerry to a fight in the school car park (sorry, parking lot) when the bell rings at 3pm. Gulp!

The unusual archetypes found in the genre (including the beautiful, unattainable dream girl, the geeky best friend and the younger, insightful sibling) are all present and correct here, but unusually for a school teen comedy of that time, the film has much darker and slightly surreal edge. Helped in part from yet another brooding score from 80’s favourites Tangerine Dream, proceeding grow increasingly darker and distorted as Jerry does everything he can to avoid the inevitable showdown, even if it means abandoning his principals, morals and dignity. He steals from the till of the school’s stationary shop where he works, with the intention of paying Revell off, and even goes as far as trying to get expelled from his English class, as a way of escaping before the end of the day. As expected, all attempts end up going disastrously wrong, and in the case of trying to ruffle the feathers of his repressed English teacher, things take an unexpected erotic detour. Throughout these questionable actions you really root for Siemaszko, partly because of his underserved fate, and also due to the person he is up against.

The character of Buddy Revell is a truly fearful creation and Tyson, who (according to IMDB) was 27 at the time and, looking every bit the decade older than his character is actually meant to be (a common contrivance for actors in teen film back then), is a credible and scary screen presence. Monosyllabic to the extreme, his leather jacket and greaser persona resembles The Terminator crossed with that rebel with a detention fetish, John Bender.

The film’s title deliberately brings to mind the idea of the western showdown, but instead of the usual townsfolk cowering in the corner of a general store or saloon off the main street, what we get here is the entire school population gathered round, bubbling with excitement and wild anticipation, expecting to see some kind of real-life David and Goliath faceoff. I won’t reveal the ending for those who haven’t seen it, but suffice to say, it’s a memorable battle, where even the teachers and the school’s head of security all fail miserably in trying to intervene and stop the physically imposed Revell.

Three O’Clock High was the directorial debut of Phil Joanou who went on the helm the U2 “rockumentary” Rattle and Hum and the underrated Irish-American gangster yarn State of Grace. With the exception of a recent Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson drama vehicle (The Gridiron Gang), Joanou’s productivity seems to have all but dried up. It’s a shame, as this film has clearly been made by someone who has a real confidence with storytelling, and a good visual grasp of the medium. A steadycam shot near the beginning, which follows the travelling conversations of a number of kids walking into school (all of whom are embellishing the tales of Buddy they’ve heard), would make Scorsese proud. In fact, stylistically, the film that this bares for most resemble to is Scorsese’s own feature from the mid-eighties, After Hours.

Coming from a time when it seemed like you either got the light, fluffy slice of high school life, or the more serious, bleak outlook (River’s Edge springs to mind), Three O’Clock High successfully treads the line between light and dark.

Whatever you do though, don’t touch Buddy!

Three O’Clock High is only available on Region 1 DVD (please don’t pick a fight with me because of this!).