A college campus dart gun game gets deadly when one student takes it too far in Nick Castle’s 1982 comedy-action-noir-horror (yeah a lot but it works) TAG: The Assassination Game. Now on Blu-ray from Synapse.
It’s the early 1980s. Linda Hamilton is fighting for her life. She’s found the body of a friend and realizes she’s being stalked by a man with a gun. He can’t be bargained with. He can’t be reasoned with. What the hell is a Terminator? Nah, fool. I’m talking about Nick Castle’s Tag: The Assassination Game from 1982. This semi-forgotten comedy-action-slightly-horror-something (so the sort of niche thing boutique labels lovingly bring back to us) comes ot Blu-ray via Synapse this month. It’s a fun curio, very entertaining, with a ton of before-they-were-famous faces (and an already established Robert Carradine).
At some point in the commentary, Castle states, “No way could they still do this game in schools anymore.” You know, thanks to the violence. Sorry, Mr. Castle, don’t don your old Michael Myers mask and come after me, but they still do. Not with the dart guns that this college game uses. Or is supposed to use until one student decides to up his game and win with real bullets. As a teacher, I know many high schools still use a form of it. Students get other students’ profiles, find them, and “shoot them” (in my experience, it’s literally tagging with a shoulder tap), then get their next until only one student remains.
That’s the plot of the film, plus a little more for TAG. That and Robert Carradine’s journalist tries to get in with game player Linda Hamilton. So there’s a bit of campus comedy and a bit of romance added on. TAG falls under my oft-given label (that I actually haven’t used in a bit) of fifth-pick flick: the fifth film grabbed at the mom-and-pop video store to round out the 5-for-five-buck deal. The random pickup that seems slightly weird, maybe a forgotten gem, a relic at the store that gets everything. And yeah, it works on that level. I highly enjoyed watching this. TAG is funny, bouncy, with good characters and with an all around sense of fun. Castle leans into the influences: noir, action, campus comedy, and a slight bit of horror. It’s clear how much he’s enjoying this on his first time behind the camera. And that comes to the audience too, having a blast.
And look at that cast that’ll make lovers of the 80s and horror films’ ears perk. The recently established Robert Carradine was ten years in (and from a dynasty, so ready), but it was just before his big campus hit, Revenge of the Nerds. This is one of Linda Hamilton’s first movies, with Children of the Corn and Terminator about to one-two-punch her to stardom. Michael Winslow does his schtick just before Police Academy, Xander Berkley of Candyman gets an early scene, and hell yes, Bruce Abbott of Re-Animator! Blink, and you’ll miss him, but Forrest Whitaker stops by on his way to Ridgemont High! The rest of the cast, such as Kristine DeBell and Charlene Nelson, might ring a bell for 80s character actors, and Scott Dunlop did a few things over the years before making Real Housewives.
Many of these folks show up again two years later in The Last Starfighter. Not a surprise, as that was Nick Castle’s next film.
Not in front of the camera this time, OG Michael Myers Castle directs well, using his work with Carpenter to get great set-ups and an understanding of tension (as best for something with a wry smile in the talk moment). This was his first film, and it shows his promise. He ended up doing a lot of mid stuff that does well enough, like Dennis the Menace and Major Payne, so it’s a shame a big career didn’t really take off (did you know he wrote the first draft of Hook?)
TAG: The Assassination game is a solid B-picture, getting laughs and thrills with a fun concept and a slew of up-and-comer actors. Like I said, great Fifth Pick Flick. Does what it needs to do well. Finally, dig the Bond-inspired credits.
The Packaging
Synapse puts TAG on a single-disc Blu-ray. The disc image has the title and a drawing of a dart stuck to a jeaned butt (yeah, 80s college comedy). This was one of the original posters. The clear Blu-ray case has a single-sided sleeve with one of the other original posters. Inside is Synapses 2026’s product catalog. This is the 2nd edition of TAG this year, a slightly simpler version of the February limited edition.
The Presentation
Synapses restores in 2k from the 35mm original. And despite the cheap, quick, and dirty nature of the production, it looks pretty damned good. Castles uses night scenes well and gives a sense of the locations using space. Details pop, darkness is worked, and yeah. Good look.
The Features
This edition doesn’t continue the physical additions of an O-sleeve with new art, a poster card, and liner notes.
Commentary
Nick Castle is joined by Robert Carradine in a chat moderated by Horror’s Hallowed Ground’s Sean Clark. It’s a fine commentary, with a jovial mood between them. Clark is a guy who knows his stuff, and Castle and Carradine both have long histories in film with decades of experience to draw on. They have fun reminiscing, talking about this movie’s development and their careers before and after.
Trailer
Final Notes
TAG: The Assassination game is a fun curio in many folks’ careers with a sense of humor, horror, noir, and action from writer-director Nick Castle. It looks surprisingly good, and the commentary is solid. Check it out from Synsapse.