Pump Up the Volume: Weirder than I Remembered (And That's a Good Thing?)

Okay, so I finally got around to rewatching "Pump Up the Volume" after like, 20 years? I remembered liking it as a teenager, mostly because it was 'stick it to the man' kinda stuff, and Christian Slater being coolly angsty. But watching it through a director's lens now...it's way more interesting than I thought. I can't believe I have never looked up who directed this film. I always thought it would be cool to know. My theory, or maybe just an observation, is that Allan Moyle (I looked it up!), whether intentionally or not, created this almost Lynchian atmosphere, especially towards the end. Think about it: Hard Harry's broadcasts become this almost hallucinatory, shared experience for the students (the slow-motion reactions, the feeling it's not just radio waves but something more...). And the finale, with the FCC bust, feels less like a triumphant showdown and more like a descent into chaos. It's unsettling. Did anyone else get that vibe, or am I just projecting my love for weird cinema onto this nostalgic teen flick? I even thought of 'Videodrome' at one point. Maybe it's just the whole 'words become reality' thing. I mean, tonally, it's all over the place. You have the super-earnest teen drama stuff with Samantha Mathis, the kinda goofy DJ bits, and then this really dark undercurrent running through everything, especially with Paige's suicide. Some might call it uneven, but I think it kind of works. It creates this feeling of unease. I love the way it captures a generation of counter-culture. It's not trying to be cool, it's genuinely weird. Anyway, just some thoughts. I'm curious what other people think. Do you think Hard Harry is a force of good? Or is he part of the problem, exacerbating the teens' despair? Did anyone else catch the weird, dreamlike quality of the last act? Or am I the only one who needs to lay off the espresso before movie night, LOL.