Better Off Dead
First screened in the mid-to-late 1980s / Most recently screened in August 2025
Director: Savage Steve Holland. Cast: John Cusack, Diane Franklin, Amanda Wyss, David Ogden Stiers, Kim Darby, Scooter Stevens, Aaron Dozier, Curtis Armstrong, Dan Schneider, Laura Waterbury, Demian Slade, Chuck Mitchell, Yuji Okumoto, Brian Imada, Vincent Schiavelli, Rima Lyn, Taylor Negron, Tina Littlewood, Elizabeth Daily. Screenplay: Savage Steve Holland.

   
Photo © 1985 Warner Bros./CBS Entertainment
In Brief: Not made from what I'd call a deep maturity, but the surreal lens on high school conflict is welcome. And: laughs!

VOR: ③  I think 80s kids remember this one so clearly, minus any of the era's touchstones except Cusack, because of risks it takes on tone and pitch.

Grade: B

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