And you thought your high school was scary: 'Deadly Class' review

Deadly Class is full of trained assassins and you thought your high school years were rough! It’s time to go back to the 80’s with SyFy’s new series.

Deadly Class gives new meaning to the phrase, “High school is hell.” It is safe to say that MOST people’s high school experiences aren’t that great. You make some good friends and learn some stuff but overall teenagers are mean and it doesn’t help when you’re a teenager yourself.

Some teenage experiences are better than others, but adolescence is hard (adulthood ain’t any easier, kids) and growing up is an experience. If that isn’t difficult enough, let’s add in some trained assassins, access to tons of murder weapons AND puberty with the children of some of the most powerful people in the world and you have a hell soup in the form of Deadly Class. Hold on to your butts because it’s about to get bloody.

Deadly Class is a brand new show on SyFy. Created by Miles Orion Feldsott and Rick Remender, it stars Benjamin Wadsworth as Marcus with Siobhan Williams as Brandy, Taylor Hickson as Petra and Jack Gillette as Lex. Rounding out the cast with Michel Duval as Chico, Maria Gabriela de Faria as Maria and Sean Depner as Viktor. Also featured are Liam James as Billy, Lana Condor as Saya, Luke Tennie as Willie, Henry Rollins as Jurgen and Benedict Wong as Master Lin.

The series is set in 1987 during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. His mental health funding cut has inadvertently left Marcus an orphan and after the boys home he lives at burns to the ground, killing many of the kids, he is homeless and hunted by the police for setting the fire. Due to his murderous actions, he is recruited by the secret private school teeming with the children of the most powerful people in the world and a few unaffiliated “rats.”

They are taught to be dangerous and extremely deadly. He must navigate the ruthless students, the elitist cliques and his own past to make it through the classes and survive.

Photo by Allen Fraser/Syfy

SyFy shows in the last year have changed from what we are used to. While I was always a huge fan of Z Nation, I was used to their goofy and slapstick style shows but with the release of Nightflyers, they showed their chops in terms of serious and quality shows.

Deadly Class, while not as serious as Nightflyers, is a different kind of program than I have seen from the channel. The show is filmed dark with pops of color and a heavy comic book influence. Flashbacks of Marcus’s past are shown colorful and animated which I LOVED. It is reminiscent of what Repo! The Genetic Opera did with it’s flashback sequences and it’s something special.

The show is based in the 80’s but it doesn’t shove it in your face. Sometimes period shows will make a caricature of the decade but at times when I watched this, I forgot it was supposed to be in the 80’s. The fashion is subtle and the easiest way to keep the the time period in the back of your mind is the music.

The soundtrack to this show is AWESOME. I will say the audio is a bit off and seems like it would benefit you to watch with surround sound. The talking is so quiet while the environmental sounds seem loud, so if you are watching it on your phone or mobile device, keep in mind that headphones are best.

And you thought your high school was scary: Deadly Class review

By Devin Shea | Jan 17, 2019

Deadly Class is full of trained assassins and you thought your high school years were rough! It’s time to go back to the 80’s with SyFy’s new series.