Theme Song: 3:15 boasts a great soundtrack of original music that was never issued nor has it been reissued on vinyl despite the fact that soundtracks for movies like Maniac, The Thing, Evil Dead, and Halloween have had their soundtracks reissued over and over and over.
“Out of Control” by Bob Conti and Joe Esposito. Esposito was the vocalist on “You’re The Best” from Karate Kid.
“No Hesitation” by Chris Farren. It looks like Farren did some soundtrack work in the 80s but I can’t find much else about him because there’s a modern “folk-punk” musician with the same name.
“Something’s Gotta Change” by DuBois Daniels and Ruth Daniels with Farren on production. It looks like Farren produced the majority of the soundtrack. All of these songs rule.
Social Context: The “rundown urban high school” is one of the most exaggerated and overwrought tropes to come out of ‘80s-era cinema: Tuff Turf, Teachers, Class of 1984, The Principal, etc. All feature these decrepit, graffiti-covered institutions and are all equally awesome in their depiction of the concrete jungle.
Summary: Hilariously-white Cobras gang member Jeff (Adam Baldwin, Bad Guys) is at odds with his gang leader Cinco. When confronted, Cinco, with the flick of his wrist, manages to throw a single switchblade approximately 8 feet with such force it gets entirely plunged into a rival gang member’s back, even going through a denim jacket! This insane lapse in momentum/gravity/etc. perplexes Jeff so much he leaves the gang and then the movie picks up a year later.
Jeff has now become more straight-laced and white, despite LITERALLY everyone else in the high school being aligned with a gang entirely defined by their race. The Cobras now have an even tighter grip on the school and thoughtfully distribute “drugs” (weed) in, get this, paper envelopes! No plastic! Seems like a victimless crime!
After a police siege, the Cobras get busted for the “drugs” (weed) and Cinco plants the rumor it was Jeff who framed them, despite the fact everyone knows the Cobras distribute the drugs. This sets off a chain of events in which Jeff then gets pressured by the principal to snitch on the the Cobras, despite the fact that everyone knows the Cobras distribute the drugs and they’ve already been busted for aforementioned drugs.
Then Wings Hauser shows up for like 5 minutes during a ridiculously ill-timed love montage in which Jeff falls in love with Sherry (Deborah Foreman, I’m Dancing As Fast As I Can), the only other non-gang member white girl at the school.
Cinco eventually threatens Jeff to a grand showdown at 3:15, which is supposed to be when school ends, but all students and everyone else involved clearly ignores or has no issue with the fact that school is only a half-day on the planned date. So then everyone is just standing around for hours waiting for 3:15.
Worth Mentioning:
– Lots of good supporting cast pops up in this one, though most get limited screen time: Ed Lauter (Youngblood), Mario Van Peebles, John Doe, Gina Gershon.
– Interestingly, this was not released by Cannon. According to IMDb trivia this was filmed in 1984, but shelved until 1986.
– Directed, but not written by, Larry Gross who wrote, but did not direct, 48 Hours. Gross was a frequent Walter Hill collaborator.
– Jeff does a boastful proud stance in front of graffiti that simply says “POOP” for like three minutes.
Poster and Box Art: This movie has a great poster that tells you exactly what the movie is about. Looks to be a photo retouch treatment so bonus points for that.
