Deadly Friend (1986)

A terrifying tale about a lonely teenage genius whose overwhelming love for a young girl compels him to use all of his scientific knowledge to keep her with him.

A LOST GEM, A DEADLY MOVIE!

a lost gem from wes craven, thank god that it was finally released on dvd this year! "deadly friend" follows the simple wes craven formula - great story, great acting, great effects. while the special effects may not be outstanding based on today's standards and the story may seem quite old for today's generation, the movie was able to deliver the thrills!

one more thing, this is one of the clearest transfers i've seen in along time for amovie made in the 80's...

bee bee! March 17, 2008

Wes Craven's Short Circuit

In discussions about Wes Craven's career, Deadly Friend isn't usually brought up(then again neither is Chiller or Deadly Blessing). In fact, most folks probably don't remember that he even made the movie(like Swamp Thing). While it doesn't quite achieve classic status like some of his other films, it's rather fun. Until recently, I haven't seen this film since about 1988 or so(on HBO of course). The plot concerns a teenage genius, Paul, who has created a robot with artificial intelligence. He also teaches at the local college. He falls for his next door neighbor, Sam(Kristy Swanson), who ends up severely brain damaged and ultimately killed by her abusive father. Earlier in the film, Paul's robot, BB, was blown to smithereens by the neighborhood's lunatic old lady(Anne Ramsey from The Goonies and Throw Momma From The Train), so Paul has a handy dandy robot brain lying around. In true mad scientist fasion he brings back Sam with BB's brain. Of course we all know that when this stuff happens in movies nothing goes as smooth as planned. The merged brains of BB and Sam go on a killing spree of everyone that ever wronged them(there was some BB bullying early in the film). Paul tries to hide Sam from his mother and keep her in line with a remote control, but it all becomes to big for him to handle. Plus, his buddy is about to squeal to the fuzz. Interestingly the movie actually plays out better than the silly concept would have you believe. Make no mistake, some of it is quite funny, but in Craven's hands it's handled about as well as this Weird Science/Re-Animator hybrid could be handled. Swanson has never been one of my favorite actresses, but she does a good job with the blank stares and robotic movements(the credits state she had a mime coach). Matthew Laborteaux has nerdy charm, but it is a bit hard to buy that he'd have the drive and determination to do what he does. This movie is most well known for it's "basketball decapitation" scene, which is certainly worth the price of admission alone. The shock ending scene is completely absurd and defies any kind of logic, but is very typical of horror movies from this time period. It still managed to bring a smile to my face nonetheless. The song played over the closing credits is a hoot with it's constant whisperings of "BB!", "BB!" Deadly Friend was worth seeing again for sure(unlike that putrid Cursed movie Craven did). Maybe it'll be worth it to you too. March 1, 2008

*DEADLY FRIEND*

I remember seeing this a long time ago.I was glad to get to see it again.I really like this movie.It shows how far someone will go to keep a good friend.Keeps you interested. November 4, 2007

The 1980's robot craze is back

I will agree that this is not the best movie ever made. However, for those who were in high school and their early 20's through the 1980's, this is a classic movie.

There was a number of movies that were centered around robots in the 80's - Runaway, Short Circuit, etc. This was yet another movie exploring the world of robots. Unlike Short Circuit, BB is definitely no Johnny Five.

I agree with the others who have mentioned about Kristy Swanson. I forgot how good looking she really was (I think she still looks pretty good these days). The acting is not as horrible as some would say. The woman who played Elvira (also seen in Throw Mama From the Train)was absolutely classic in this movie.

So, don't expect a great movie. However, it is a good movie to remember the 80's....
November 3, 2007

Sexy Friend and An Exploding Head

`Deadly Friend' features Kristy Swanson when she was 16.

OK, you're not ordering `Deadly Friend' you're reading this review which means that if the prospect of 16 year old Kristy is not enough to persuade you to buy this film nothing else is going to.

Wes Craven's `Deadly Friend' is almost such a bad idea you wonder how he became involved with it. The plot focuses on a 16 year old Paul a brain surgeon, scientist who builds AI robots in his spare time. Moving to a new town with his single mother, they are instantly the talk of the nationhood as their robot Feebee (Think R2D2 with arms) makes a big splash and shows he/it is capable of violence as it fends off a carjacker and a teen biker gang and Feebee is beginning to disobey Paul. "Paul? What are you doing Paul?"

The girl next door is sexy 16 year old Kristy Swanson. For Halloween she dresses in a toga as a Greek goddess. Romance springs between the two teens, but before Paul can play doctor with her, Kristy is beaten to death by her sexually abusive father.

Here the film turns from sexy to sick as Paul lives out his necrophilia fantasy of bringing Kristy back from the dead with spare parts from Feebee. As with all sci-fi we know that bringing someone back from the dead results in at least two things, 1 they're evil, 2 they're super strong. Hence Kristy begins stalking and killing the nasty neighbors while Paul tries to lock her up in his attic.

As I said I don't know what Wes Craven was going for here. Homicidal zombie Kristy Swanson just isn't sexy. What is Paul hoping to accomplish?

`Deadly Friend' does have its moments reminiscent of small town sci-fi ala `Goonies', `Monster Squad,' exedra. One scene worth the price of admission alone is when Kristy hurls a basketball with super human strength at Anne Ramsey (`Throw Mama From the Train') causing her head to explode like a watermelon and her decapitated corpse to stumble around the room spurting blood. It's a scene like this which could have saved Wes Craven's `Red Eye.'
October 24, 2007

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