Terror Squad (film)

Infobox Film | name = Terror Squad
director = Peter Maris
producer = Peter Maris
writer = Chuck Rose
Mark Verheiden (story)
starring = Chuck Connors
Brodie Greer
Bill Calvert
Kerry Brennan
Kavi Raz
Joseph Nasser
Budge Threlkeld
Dennis Moynahan
Ken Foree
music = Chuck Cirino
editing = Jack Tucker
distributor = Forum Home Video (Video Distributor)
Manson International (Theatrical Distributor)
released = 1987
runtime = 92 min
language = English
imdb_id = 0094125

"Terror Squad" is an 1987 film directed by Peter Maris and set in Kokomo, Indiana. The film is notable for its bungling characters and poor production quality (see Trivia below). The film is especially famous in Kokomo, where the majority of it was shot. The Howard-County Public Library keeps two copies specifically for their genealogy department. [ [http://innopac.kokomo.lib.in.us/search/YTerror%20Squad&SORT=D/YTerror%20Squad&SORT=D&SUBKEY=Terror%20Squad/1%2C2%2C2%2CB/frameset&FF=YTerror%20Squad&SORT=D&2%2C2%2C Howard-County Public Library on-line catalog] ]

Plot Synopsis

"Terror Squad" opens in Libya, with a crowd rallying around an anti-American speech. The crowd excitedly waves rifles and banners, while burning an American effigy. The movie then cuts to Kokomo, Indiana, showing a regular day at the old Kokomo High School (now Central Middle School). Several students are stuck in detention after school.Four terrorists cross the US-Canadian border, and attempt to attack the Blackriver Nuclear Power Plant with a car bomb. After this fails, the remaining three escape, pursued by several police cruisers. Chief Rawlings the Kokomo Police Department police chief, played by Chuck Connors, is radioed and he and the other officers join the chase.Two terrorists manage to survive and escape to Kokomo High School, where they hold the students and teacher in detention hostage. The Kokomo SWAT team surrounds the school, and Chief Rawlings attempts to negotiate the release of the hostages. Meanwhile, the terrorists kill several hostages that attempt to resist them. Chief Rawlings agrees to the terrorists' demand for a bus so they can get to an airport. The two terrorists drag a girl out with them, and board the school bus. In the process, a boy running along the roof manages to jump on top of the school bus and tries to get in the bus as the terrorists lead the police on a high-speed car chase.Eventually, the bus tips over. The lone surviving terrorist attempts kill himself and the girl by pulling the pin on a grenade. The boy knocks him out, and he and the girl manage to escape from the bus before the grenade explodes.

Terror Squad and Kokomo

The majority of the film was shot in Kokomo, Indiana, save for the opening scene (actually shot in Istanbul), and some parts in Michigan City, Indiana. [ [http://www.amazon.com/Terror-Squad-Peter-Maris/dp/630298615X Amazon.com listing for Terror Squad] ] Many residents of Kokomo were hired to work as extras or assistants on the set. However, most of the major characters were professional actors. Kokomo residents will notice that the paths of the car chases do not make sense; as in most films, scenes were stitched together after filming.

Trivia

*During the attack on the Blackriver Nuclear Power Plant, several guards are launched into the air by a shoulder-launched rocket. The device that launches them into the air and the floor pads that cushion their fall are clearly visible. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094125/ IMDB entry for Terror Squad] ]
*Near the end of the film, the school bus that the terrorists escape in is clearly marked "Western School Corporation" on the side, even though the location is Kokomo High School.
*The same bus abruptly changes from a long school bus into a short one during the car chase at the end of the film. The short bus only reads "School Corporation" on the side, the actual name clearly removed. This switch was allegedly because the production crew could not afford to flip over a long bus for the final scene.Fact|date=February 2007
*All of the characters refer to Kokomo High School as "Hoosier High School".
*During the hostage scene in the high school classroom, keep an eye on the wall in the hallway through the classroom door. It disappears and re-appears repeatedly.
*During the car chase, the terrorists use a rocket launcher to blow down a brick smoke stack with the hope that it would land on the police officers. However, when it falls, notice that it doesn't hit anything. During filming, the demolition crew underestimated the inherent instability of the smoke stack and it fell the wrong way. The production crew didn't want to spend that money for nothing so they edited the botched demolition into the movie.

References