TAG: The Assassination Game

An obscure part of the John Carpenter multiverse, 1982’s Tag: The Assassination Game was written and directed by Carpenter collaborator Nick Castle, who also had the honor of playing “The Shape” in the original Halloween. And, despite being marketed as an ‘80s college comedy, it’s obvious Castle picked up a trick or two from his proximity to the famous slasher franchise as TAG is a surprisingly effective thriller that aims for Hitchcockian suspense way more often than laughs.

A reporter on the school paper, Alex (Robert Carradine) proposes a feature on the campus “assassination” game in hopes of scoring with one of its star players, Susan (Linda Hamilton). But while they’re busy firing rubber darts, one competitor is really playing to win, racking up a body count not just on paper…but hidden in the back of his closet!

Lifting several crew members from his Halloween days, Castle does a terrific job balancing the copious film noir references, relatively tame kill sequences and co-ed romance. And his cast is stacked with familiar faces, not just Hamilton, who makes for a smokeshow Lauren Bacall impersonator and even does a dry run on The Terminator’s Tech-Noir club scene. Human beat box Michael Winslow from Police Academy and Bruce Abbott from Re-Animator also make the hit list.

A regular on pay-cable in the early ‘80s, Castle’s film has aged better than many of its contemporaries. Shot on location on UCLA’s campus, there’s a tight professionalism to the script and performances that makes it timeless and Craig Safan’s score bumps up the production values even more. Carradine might not be the first name you’d pitch for a love interest (he’d stick around campus for Revenge of the Nerds a couple years later), but he takes the role as seriously as the movie itself. Clever, fast-paced and disarmingly cute, TAG is an overlooked genre hybrid worth skipping that 8am class for.

Making its HD world premiere on a limited-edition Blu-ray a few months back, Synapse Films has now released a mass market edition with the same 2K transfer. Working from the original 35mm elements, it looks great…but not too great. No dirt, debris or scratches; just a lovely cinematic presentation that isn’t afraid to leave the original film grain in place. Extras includes a commentary from Castle and the late Robert Carradine, who died from complications of a suicide attempt in February. That being the case, the track hits a little harder than most, with Castle breaking down the onscreen and offscreen FAQs, even the letter Carpenter wrote to producers that helped him get the job. It’s all here, even that misguided theatrical trailer.



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