{"id":54714,"date":"2026-09-02T15:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T19:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=54714"},"modified":"2026-08-29T23:58:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T03:58:00","slug":"tag-1982","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/02\/tag-1982\/","title":{"rendered":"TAG [1982] [Synapse Films Blu-ray]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>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.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the early 1980s. Linda Hamilton<\/a> is fighting for her life. She\u2019s found the body of a friend and realizes she\u2019s being stalked by a man with a gun. He can\u2019t be bargained with. He can\u2019t be reasoned with.\u00a0 What the hell is a Terminator<\/a>? Nah, fool. I\u2019m talking about Nick Castle\u2019<\/a>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\u2019s a fun curio, very entertaining, with a ton of before-they-were-famous faces (and an already established Robert Carradine<\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At some point in the commentary, Castle states, \u201cNo way could they still do this game in schools anymore.\u201d You know, thanks to the violence. Sorry, Mr. Castle, don\u2019t don your old Michael Myers<\/a> 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 \u201cshoot them\u201d (in my experience, it\u2019s literally tagging with a shoulder tap), then get their next until only one student remains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the plot of the film, plus a little more for TAG. That and Robert Carradine\u2019s journalist tries to get in with game player Linda Hamilton. So there\u2019s 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. <\/span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n

And look at that cast that\u2019ll make lovers of the 80s and horror films\u2019 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<\/a>. This is one of Linda Hamilton<\/a>\u2019s first movies, with Children of the Corn<\/a> and Terminator<\/a> about to one-two-punch her to stardom. Michael Winslow<\/a> does his schtick just before Police Academy<\/a>, Xander Berkley of Candyman<\/a> gets an early scene, and hell yes, Bruce Abbott of Re-Animator<\/a>! Blink, and you\u2019ll 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of these folks show up again two years later in The Last Starfighter.<\/a> Not a surprise, as that was Nick Castle\u2019s next film.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Not 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\u2019s a shame a big career didn\u2019t really take off (did you know he wrote the first draft of Hook?)<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Packaging<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019s product catalog. This is the 2nd edition of TAG this year, a slightly simpler version of the February limited edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Presentation<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Features<\/strong><\/p>\n

This edition doesn\u2019t continue the physical additions of an O-sleeve with new art, a poster card, and liner notes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Commentary<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nick Castle is joined by Robert Carradine in a chat moderated by Horror\u2019s Hallowed Ground\u2019s Sean Clark. It\u2019s 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\u2019s development and their careers before and after.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trailer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Final Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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