Blu-ray Review – Tag: The Assassination Game

For many people, the game “Assassin” or “Senior Assassin” was a rite of passage in school. Gameplay involved organized chaos, sending players into the world with dart guns, aiming to “kill” targets using spy game wits and dedication to the spirit of the competition. Of course, the idea of young people tearing around a college campus carrying realistic-looking guns seems a little strange today, but the 1980s were a different time, and writer/director Nick Castle uses the organized specifics of the era to inspire 1982’s “TAG: The Assassination Game,” which follows the exploits of players trying to take down their targets in the middle of a college year. Castle (who makes his helming debut with the endeavor, eventually going on to oversee such efforts as “The Last Starfighter” and “Major Payne”) isn’t making a cold-blooded thriller with “TAG: The Assassination Game,” going the semi-comedic route instead, aiming to turn a tale of toy pistol elimination into a film noir tribute/spoof, blending silliness with some degree of severity as dead bodies begin to pile up in the story. It’s a big swing from the production, which is more effective as a modest tale of campus pursuit than a pulse-pounding detective tale. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com