Dangerously Close

9/14/2023

**_A (superior) Massacre at Central High_** An underprivileged teen (J. Eddie Peck) attends an upper-class school near the coast in SoCal where a group of students, organized by a teacher who’s a Vietnam vet, guard the school from thuggish behavior. The leader of the Sentinels (John Stockwell) tries to woo him into his increasingly arrogant group. “Dangerously Close” (1986) had the same producer as "Massacre at Central High" from ten years prior. I point this out because the plots & settings are similar, albeit this one doesn’t have the awkward twist of the second half of “Massacre” and is an all-around improvement. It’s similar to "Tuff Turf" from the previous year, but more focused (“Tuff Turf” is entertaining, but tried to be too many things). There are also bits reminiscent of "