Terror Squad (1988) Online

This is a tremendously bad thriller from the late 80s, and the dating shows. The bad guys are cartoon caricatures of Libyans. They cross the US-Canadian border into Indiana (think about it) and immediately fail to blow up a nuclear reactor in Kokomo. What follows is the longest sustained car chase I know of (35 minutes), with old cars, abandoned factories, and other unwanted props getting blown to hell with rocket launchers. Finally, they take over a high school during detention hours (described by one terrorist as a "steenky place!"). It's "Breakfast Club" meets "Die Hard" then, as jocks and nerds band together to defeat the baddies. Meanwhile, the police and SWAT teams led by Chuck Conners surround the school and proceed to do nothing, even when the terrorists' numbers are reduced to two and clear headshots present themselves repeatedly. Finally, it's a mad dash for freedom as the terrorists and their pretty-girl hostage board a Ford Bluebird school bus and head for the airport. But is it a big Bluebird after all? The final set of exciting stunts wouldn't work with a full-size bus, so it miraculously (and VERY clearly) transforms into a Hoekstra minibus halfway through the chase.

I've said enough -- this is an overlooked classic.

Terrorists from Libya come to the United States - Kokomo, Indiana, to be precise, because they have an eye on the Blackriver Nuclear Plant. Presumably they want to blow it up in an act of terror. But not on Chief Rawlings' (Connors) watch. Along with his right-hand man Dep. Brown (Foree), they chase the baddies all over town, until, for a reason that still isn't entirely clear, they end up at Hoosier High School and break into the detention room.

Staying after school that day is a textbook (no pun intended) array of high school stereotypes: The cool dude, Johnny Dylan (Calvert), the cheerleader, Jennifer (Wall), the jock, the nerd, the "regular girl", Larissa (Lisa Beth Ross), and the "space case". Along with the teacher, Mr. Nero (the interestingly-named Budge Threlkeld), of course. What follows is your standard hostage drama as Connors and one of the terrorists battle over negotiations while the audience can't tell what distance they are from each other. Will the bad guys leave Kokomo alive? What's fascinating about collecting VHS tapes from the golden age of the video store are the random remnants of history you'll find. For example, on the back of the box for Terror Squad (released by Forum Home Video in 1988), is the following headline: "A Terrorist Attack in the United States - They Said it Could Never Happen...They Were Wrong." In this post-9/11 world, where we all live with the threat of terror on a daily basis, and we're constantly hearing about foiled (and, sadly, sometimes not foiled) terror attacks, this headline is of particular note. As if that wasn't enough, the first sentence of the description goes thus: "The threats of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi become a bloody reality in this explosive film of terrorist action." It's like it was ripped from the headlines! If only old Muammar had seen Terror Squad, his fate might have been different...

Continuing with the treasure trove that is the back of the VHS box, there's a quote: "While Terror Squad owes much to Red Dawn (1984) and Invasion U.S.A. (1985)., it's actually far superior to either". This according to the N.Y. Daily News, apparently. Assuming this quote is real and not taken out of context, whoever wrote it is as wrong as a doornail. Yeah, that's the ticket. What this movie really is, is a cross between The Breakfast Club (1985) and the later Dolph vehicle Detention (2003). And the fact that there's an extremely long, drawn out car chase in the middle recalls The Big Sweat (1991). The reason the chase is so long is because the movie, with its one-dimensional characters and wafer-thin plot that adds nothing new to the hostage drama genre, can't fill out its 90 minute running time.

As far as some of the characters go, Johnny and the school janitor, Gus, have jam sessions on guitar in the janitor's basement (with a crudely painted sign declaring it "Gus's Headquarters", as if it's some kind of cool club). As they both play unlistenable simultaneous solos (which sound like a keyboard, as their finger movements don't even come close to matching during this cacophony) - there's actually a crowd of students watching this! And when they're done, they clap! I know this happens at school all the time, but Johnny Dylan is one rockin' dude with a bad attitude. As far as the nerd character (not sure of his official name, possibly "Dinkle"), he's s not just your classic glasses-wearing, voice-cracking, technology-having dork. He only uses his smarts to see leotard-wearing women work out on various computer screens. Thus making him the time-honored pervert nerd, or, "Perv-Nerd" we've all come to expect in 80's movies.

As if all these stereotypes weren't enough (did we mention the football player looks like he should be named "Ox"?), at the beginning of the movie, set in Libya, there's a crowd of America-hating protesters, with signs like "Death to the great Satan", and "Death to the American Dogs" - they're standing outside Qaddafi's palace - and Qaddafi HIMSELF makes an appearance! It's amazing! Back in America, it's always great to see Chuck Connors. We love him. We also love Ken Foree, so that pair as the good guys really works. During the endless chases, shooting, rocket launchers, silly destruction, dumbness, and possibly an exploding helicopter, it's nice to have these guys anchoring it. There's even some bizarre humor in some scenes, which doesn't really work overall in a movie supposedly about Islamic terror. There are even some glaring errors, such as a school bus that in one part of a scene is standard length, then magically becomes a "short bus". Did they think the audience wouldn't notice? While this movie does wear out its welcome after a while (director Peter Maris was just then beginning on his career producing mediocre action movies), Terror Squad isn't without its moments, and it does provide an interesting glimpse into the past. If you're willing to forgive all its odd mistakes, it might be worth a one-time watch.

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I lived in Kokomo when this was filmed. Yes the Temporary short bus was a classic. But let's not forget the others: The ever-full LAWS rocket, launching from inside the car(no damage to the inside of the junker).

and, during the wild shooting spree on courthouse square, the bullets bouncing off the comic book store sign's Superman Picture!!!

But, for such a LOW budget, the carnage of the courthouse shootings was very realistic(real world-not Hollyworld). Also, during the LONG car chase, the streets reported over the police radio during the chase match the locations on the screen.

This production ran out of money for FX for the last few explosions, so they recruited help from a local gun store to blow things up.

Four Arab terrorists, probably Libyans, sneak into the US through the Canadian border. They badly botch an attempt to blow up a nuclear power plant in Indiana. The four that survive are badly pursued by the police, who mostly crash their cars. The terrorists shoot up a town's main street and run down an old man with their car. The pursuing police chief then runs over the old man (a bad dummy).

Meanwhile, a bunch of actors apparently in their twenties are portraying high school students. One of them plays guitar with the janitor, except that on the soundtrack is bad synthesizer music, the same kind of bad synthesizer music that is on the soundtrack. Later, a bunch of the students are in detention. The guitarist plays some more synthesizer music in detention, even though he doesn't have an amp. A jock makes farting sounds with his armpit, except that it sounds more like a synthesizer playing fart sounds.

The now two surviving terrorists, apparently having evaded the police, burst into the detention room. Thus the stereotypical Arabs meet the stereotypical high school students. The police and SWAT surround the school, and miss dozens of opportunities to get into the school and/or shoot the terrorists. The students and their teacher frequently do things to make the terrorists nervous and angry (and one of them is quick to anger anyway), which only results in getting themselves injured or killed.

As others have noted, when the terrorists leave the school in a bus, they are very clearly in a full-length bus. At some point while the police are following them to the airport, it clearly turns into a short half-length bus. I'm at a loss to explain how the filmmakers thought they could get away with that, especially since there are lengthy shots of the bus both when it is long and when it is short.

Wonderful, amazing schlock with a surprising gritty feel and some amazing stunts and effects. Surprisingly, nearly every security officer and cop in this movie isn't portrayed as a dolt, and there's a 30 minute stretch from minutes 15 through 46 that has one of the best, most exciting car chases ever - it has everything except a boat chase. The story is unimportant but, aside from the nerd's choice towards the end, and the finale action sequence, everybody's character arcs feel like they make sense and fit within the framework presented.

If you want cheese, schlock, silliness, action, shooting, and just plain ol' 1980s B-movie fun, you need to watch Terror Squad.

For a low-budget regional production, they certainly managed to do a lot, particularly the endless action scene in the middle of the movie where an unbelievable amount of carnage is enacted. (Though the sluggish pacing at times makes the scene come across as too long, unfortunately.) The premise - terrorists in Indiana - is a hoot, and it helps to partially counteract the slow pacing, thin characters, and questionable writing at times. And there's a big laugh from how the school bus at the end of the movie keeps changing sizes! Not a great movie, but you can't help but admire what the filmmakers accomplished for so little. May very well have inspired the Dolph Lundgren movie DETENTION.

As a citizen of the great city of Kokomo, Indiana, I found this film{?} to be more enjoyable as a travelogue of Kokomo in the 80's than as one of Chuck Connors better efforts. It is truly abysmal, but as the previous reviewer stated, in a good way. One of my favorite moments--check out Chuck Connor's reaction when he runs over a pedestrian downtown! Incidentally, Chuck's first scene was filmed at my cousin's drive in--The Cone Palace--but don't hold that against them: their burgers are the best in Kokomo, while this movie, is, well, something else...View this film with plenty of beer, and the knowledge that Citizen Kane it ain't! Too bad Mystery Science Theater 3000 is out of production--this would have been a prime candidate for their show. Enjoy, (but with plenty of beer)!

What can I say except that I am from Kokomo, Indiana, where this movie was filmed and I am a fan of the movie. I am only a fan because I was a T-Com student at Purdue and i like the movie for the way it exhibits all that is wrong with movie making.

First things first, don't watch this movie unless you are a film/T-Com student in search of what not to do when filming a movie. If you can suspend your disbelief then you well likely enjoy this movie. I know there are a lot of things wrong with this film but if you view it as a student film then you are cool. You just have to realize it is an attempt to show cool explosions on screen and get some recognition for a bunch of backwards rednecks in Kokomo, Indiana. ironically it is the Kokomo Police Department that does the best acting job as a SWAT team in the SWAT preparation sequence. I happen to know a couple fo the cops from the local police force that are in that scene and they too it as just a day at the office in filming it. it is the most realistic scene in the movie.

I guess the #1 obvious reason I like this movie is because I am from the town it was filmed it. it makes it an interesting study in continuity because if you are from Kokomo you know the obvious did not edit the shots together with where they are. None of the roads they edit the shots with follow each other as they jump all over town in each shot of the chase scene. I also find it amusing that they don't even bother to worry about continuity with the obvious end chase long bus/short bus scene.

In conclusion, this is a good movie if you want to just get drunk and laugh at a serious attempt to make a movie. One final note, in the "extremes of movie making" category, the main actor, Bill Calvert appears in the first Spiderman movie as a fireman. check his IMCD profile. Talk about going from one end of the spectrum to another.

I remember catching this on some nondescript cable channel not long after it was made. Wasn't really looking for this movie, or anything in particular, and this caught me and my friends by surprise with its low budget ridiculousness and awesome badness. (You can tell it's low budget because they destroy the same 1971 Pontiac Le Mans about three times: once by crashing it, once by shooting it, then crashing it, and once by firing a rocket at it and blowing it up.)

First of all, the premise at its core is ridiculous. To wit, bad guy terrorists attack Indiana by sneaking over the Canadian border. Say what? And they pass by juicier targets to attack East Dirt, Indiana?

The endless chase scene is in fact a sight to behold. I do remember, some 20 years later, the scene after the chase is over, where the stone-faced Chuck Connors gets out of his police car, surveying the landscape of destruction that has just been wrought, and muttering with all the gravitas he can possibly muster, "Dear Jesus."

It seems like everybody and his uncle thought they could make an action movie in the Eighties, and this movie is the proof. Just get a few generic Arab terrorists (what country are they from? Who cares! They're dirty, and evil and unshaven! That's all the matters!), some blank ammunition, several tons of explosives, and a number of old sedans painted to look like police cars that can be wrecked/crashed/raced/chased/blown up. I guess they couldn't throw the police cars down the side of mountain while exploding, in a classic movie gambit, because they were in Indiana where the topography was completely flat.

The fact that they throw the classroom full of stereotyped high school students into the mix, in an effort to mix The Breakfast Club and Red Dawn together with the usual action movie shenanigans and explosions that makes this film oh so sublimely, transcendently BAD! Plus the fact they disappear for like HALF AN HOUR of the movie for the longest chase scene this side of the original Gone in Sixty Seconds, where we are treated to the destruction of the economically depressed downtown of Kokomo, Indiana (but my question is, how can you tell? It's like the old joke: terrorists attacked downtown Kokomo, Indiana today, causing 10 million dollars of improvements).

This may not be The Best Worst Movie, but it's getting close. The makers of Troll 2, acclaimed as probably the most sublime Badfilm of the 1990's, at least had an excuse: they couldn't speak English! What's the problem with the people who made this movie? They weren't aware that Indiana is not on the Canadian border? They had no problem with showing the good guy cop running over the corpse of a dead old man? They had to alternate comic relief with gratuitous violence (town drunk stumbling along downtown street avoids getting shot, then guy in phone booth gets his brains splattered all over the glass a second later).

Yes, this is prime Badfilm. Recommended to all Mystery Science Theater 3000 devotees. I've gotta get a VHS of this sucker! Or, check on the internet, you might just find a copy of it on there somewhere.

When looking at some films that a friend of mine had picked up,i saw the cover to what looked like a fun 80s action movie.Sadly when the end credits started,I felt very disappointed,

The Plot:

A group of terrorists try to blow up a nuclear power plant in Indiana.But when they fail to blow it up,they end up running to a near-by high school,where the only people their are a teacher and a group of teens are doing detention.

The terrorists decide to take all of the students as hostages,and demand a bus and a privet jet,so that they can get home.Sadly for the terrorists some of the teens are going to do their best,to make sure they don't get away.

View on the film:

Screenplay:

The screenplay is by Chuck Rose has a good idea at how to mix different types of films,by doing a Commando-style action movie,with Breakfast Club style teens being involved.Sadly, Rose's mix is let down by the very poor direction.

Direction:

Director Peter Maris sadly seems to be on a mission to kill any sense of fun that the film could have,with the main centre of the movie being a plodding forty minute(!) car chase,that I can easily say is one of the most boring and slowest chase scenes that I have ever seen in a film.

Final view on the film:

A clever,fun plot that's let down by a terrible director.

the year was 1990 and it was in the summer time.my dad was watching TV like always when he wasn't working and i happened to see this movie on.it was on the movie channel and i asked him what it was and he said it was terror squad.i was watching it with him and when the bad guys blew up a water tower he left the couch and i watched the rest.now i heard that they were four baddies but when i was watching it one baddie died by a explosive in a barn.and the other two died at the end.i thought this movie was violent the baddies go around killing.they shot a boy and shot a man on a moped and he burns but lives i assume.and at the end they go to a school where they holds high schoolers hostage and yes i remember where they shot the janitor.and they try to escape on a bus.

If you're making a low-budget film, and care about what you're doing, it shows. Peter Maris' low-budget shoot-em-up, on the other hand, shows just how bad the mixture of lack of money and total lack of interest in the quality of the finished product can be. If you enjoy watching movies for the sake of nit-picking, you can entertain yourself pretty well...there are enough goofy geographical errors alone to keep you busy. Never mind the just-plain-silly bits like the infamous shrinking school bus and the disappearing/reappearing windshield. If you can watch it through more than once, there might be some MST3K potential, but that's the only reason I can give you for watching this movie. Definitely a 1 on a 1-to-10-scale.

I bought this movie because I wanted to see Ken Foree in another movie other than "Dawn of the Dead". What I discovered was pure hilarity! There are so many flaws in this film that it's impossible to recall them all. The movie opens in what's supposed to be Libya with a small, concentrated crowd of 20 arab stereotypes gathered in front of a podium holding up signs that read "DEATH TO THE GREAT SATAN" and "DOWN WITH AMERICA" as if that's what Libyans do all day is walk around with signs like that. You get the gist that they're sending over some terrorists to mess up the USA because that's what Libyans do according to this film. Then we're greeted to the teenage stereotypes that were a child's rendering of the "Breakfast Club" crowd in anytown,USA. The jock walks the halls in a letterman jacket holding a football, the geek is obsessed with sex and walks around with electronic implements, the cheerleadrer is aloof and too-good, but best of all is the rebel that hangs out with Sam, the old black janitor in the boiler room where they jam on their electric guitars (the rebel walks the hall with his guitar, of course). Then the terrorists begin their killing spree, packing themselves into a car and cruising around shooting people. They attack a nuclear power plant and liberally use a rocket launcher in doing so, blasting the chain off the lock of the gate and then blasting the gaurd tower without having to reload it. The gaurds at the plant are spraying the car with bullets at close range but somehow seem to miss. And it gets more fake as the plot goes on. I wont go into it. The part my roommate and I had to keep rewinding over and over was when ol' Sam the janitor haplessly wanders into the detention hall playing his harmonica and is immediatly shot by the spooked terrorists. It was just so silly. The whole movie was silly. And well worth watching if you're in for a good laugh. And don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for the magic bus scene!!!