Hostage High

Really a good piece of work. The director should have focused more on Jason's experiences that led up to his siege of the high school. I think the scariest sequence was when Jason had all of the bullets lined up on his desk at home. That was really the point that caught my attention. It pulled me into the story right away with just that little scene. It shows that he actually means to go through with his plan. One moment I thought might ruin the movie was when Jason took off his shirt and came down with the object behind his back. I thought it might be the cell phone and that they might shoot him. If that would have happened, the movie would have been worthless. But it might have been better than him waiting for his time to be up.

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Some parts in this movie confused me... for one it was hard to believe that someone would be so deranged that they come back to their high school and try to kill the teachers who flunked them. But then again, I guess you could do anything if you are a psycho. Then I didn't understand why Jason (Rick Shroder) shot at the students? I mean why not just kill the teachers he came for, the students weren't even there and had nothing to do with him leaving school. And I felt there wasn't enough sub plots, like we didn't really deal with anyone's backgrounds besides Jason's, which only consisted of him failing and taking care of a sick mother and holding down numerous jobs. I felt besides Shroder and Winkler, the acting was pretty flat. I mean Rick is great as a paranoid amateur criminal (I say amateur because he took most of his demands from the students and didn't know what he was doing half the time). And the Fonze suprisingly plays a good cop. I have no idea how Freddie Prinze Jr got cast and he's horrible. What's worse is that you'd think since this was only his third film, he'd get better with time, but his movies are still disappointing and the characters are still one dimensional. The two characters played by Shroder and Winkler are really the only reasons to watch. Some parts were funny to me like how he wanted 15 pizzas as opposed to a plane or a bus, that made me laugh. At the end of the film, I actually felt bad for Jason, which I think was the point. I just couldn't not like someone who was confused and scared and played by such a great actor.

Ok I know this is a Old 1997 TV FILM. But as a TV Film it is Fantastic. Ricky Schroder was Crazy Gun Man. Freddie a Newer Younger Actor Back then was Really Good in this Film. Pretty much saving alot of Teens Lives bye working with the Gun man's head how. Just doing simple things. What I really Loved in this Film was The FONZ He was the MAIN POLICE MAN IN CHARGE. He was really good at the Job just keeping the Gun Man. calmed down. Tricking him to let out some of the Teens. This was one of my Favorite TV Film's of the 90s. Great cast and the Film kept you on your seat. But that Kid Named Freddie I really think it was great for his career. Actually alot of Teens in this Film were really good. Oh I am a Ricky Schroder Fan Big Time in this Film all Dirty Messed up. He looked like a Slim Ball even his T-shirt was Filthy. His Hair was all greasy and long and slimmy. He looked like he didn't shower in months. I Love it when a Actor just gets into Carator. He even just ate junk food Lol. He would not even eat Pizza.

I watched this film because of Rick Schroeder. He does a good job here. However, some of the actors seem like amateurs. They say their lines in odd ways. Henry Winkler is in this film. The way he says his lines it makes it hard to believe he graduated from Yale.

SPOILER This is a really good movie, great acting all around. It deals with a school shooting back in the early nineties with a guy who looks an awful lot like Kurt Cobain. The hostage negotiator had to talk him down and make him believe he would only get 4 years. It is all very sad when we see that he was put on death row. That makes the ending a bit of a downer.

This was filmed at my high school right before they tore it down. It gives me some sadness when I watch it as I know it's gone forever and the story was based on actual events. Never was much into made for TV movies but this one was done well. I always liked Ricky Schroeder & Henry Winkler, they both performed well here. I miss my old Jordan High. Beetdigger forever.

I was a senior at Lindhurst High School the day of the shooting in 1992, and this movie, which the story was based, has done its homework. There is not a day that goes by that I am not, in some way, reminded or affected by the horrific events of that May 1 day. I was 19 at the time of the shooting when I lost my first period teacher, which this film portrays. He was more like a lifelong family friend than just my Civics Instructor. He was a true mentor to me and an inspiration to everyone who knew him. He will continue to be missed and never forgotten. This true-to-life epic recaptures the raw terror and horror of the siege. I very highly recommend this movie to everyone.

I caught this TV movie thriller under the title TARGET FOR RAGE. It's a rather safe, occasionally bland re-run of the American high school shootings craze, based on a true story and fictionalised somewhat. The story is given the usual TV movie treatment so there's a definite emphasis on melodrama and mannered acting, as well as lots of padding involving police investigation and the like. The cast is nothing special here, featuring Freddie Prinze Jr. just before he got famous in I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, and Henry Winkler as one of the cops. The classroom scenes are certainly dramatic but compared to other hostage movies (like THE NEGOTIATOR) this is nothing special.

I have seen this movie and it is about 15% true.. Why I say that is because my wife is the ex-girlfriend to Eric Houston the one portrayed in the original release. She was there and she knows the truth. If your gonna make a movie about something or someone tell the truth don't embellish it! The 15% that was true was the fact that he did murder a teach and a lot of students but that's it. The lies are how he did it and what really took place inside the school and his personal life. Also what drove him to do it was never really told. Tell the truth people stop covering up the truth!!! Stop protecting those who fail our kids in the school system!! Stop make villains into hero's and hero's into villains!! I am in no way excusing Eric's behavior that awful day but let's be honest if nothing else! My heart goes out to the families of those poor kids that were murdered that horrible day.... God be with you!!!!

I just saw this movie on court tv, and I flicked in on it about twenty minutes into the movie. Every two minutes it seemed I was crying and i think I will be depressed for the rest of my life. But it was a good movie. It was really really good... and sooooo sad.