Deadly Friend (1986)

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Moving to a new neighborhood, a teenage computer whiz attempts to save his dying girlfriend decides to place the brain of a robot in her body which turns this into a ravenous killing machine that seeks revenge on his tormentors forcing him to have to stop his creation.This here wasn't all that enjoyable an effort. One of the few good aspects here is the fact that this one really tries to something original with the concept of the returning victim being brought back to life. This one nicely forsakes the concept of the Frankenstein motif it easily could've gone to and instead brings out a brain swap with the robot, making the switch to be quite fun and unique. That also leads into the fun attacks and revenge that she takes on, with these scenes not only being quite cheesy and silly but also providing some solid action into the proceedings as this is what really gives this a fine second half. That the romance isn't excruciating also helps the first half here which does come off nicely and sets up the later half rampage quite nicely. While these do manage to work for this one, it does have a series of somewhat troubling flaws found throughout here. The main issue to be had is the fact that there's just not a whole lot going on here for the first half of the film which manages only a few interesting concepts without really doing much else here. As the main focus in the film is the rather overlong romance angle, from the initial meet-cute and their strained relationship with the abusive father trying to keep them apart even though she keeps sneaking over to his house, the majority of this one runs through a romance angle between them is where the vast majority of that comes from, as the lives of the kids is set-up in a fine matter but doesn't really offer this one the chance to really explore the idea at its center which indeed comes quite late into the film. This is quite fine and generally, makes for a decent intro to the group but it also gives this quite a lengthy setback to get to the rampage which feels rather at odds with this whimsical beginning as it doesn't generate the required empathy in their relationship to make it feel like a rampage works. It's a fine start to a relationship, but in terms of being a full-on exploration of their life together, all it does is draw the film out longer. There's also the fact that this one doesn't really do much with the rampage that really lets this one work-out it's central premise once it occurs as there's far more screen time devoted to trying to have him hide her from the others rather than actually accomplishing anything so that it really doesn't feel all that interested in the vicious robot going out seeking revenge for anything that occurs. As those scenes are over quickly despite the action, it doesn't focus on that issue the way it could've. These here are what hold this one back.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Wes Craven directed a lot of films in his storied career, and "Deadly Friend" was definitely one of them. Hot on the heels of Craven's previous success with "A Nightmare on Elm Street," "Deadly Friend" was originally intended to be the seasoned horror director's break away from genre conventions. Conceived as a teen coming-of-age story with a sci-fi twist, the film quickly spun out of control when it was decided by the studio that it needed more scenes of graphic violence and surreal dream sequences in the same vein as "Elm Street," culminating in an ending so stupid, it could only have been dreamed up by a braindead studio exec (spoiler alert: it was).Paul (Matthew Laborteaux), a young genius with a penchant for neural science, is the new kid in town. Together with his single mother (Anne Twomey) and his robot companion (the scene stealing, anti-R2- D2, BB), he adapts quickly to life in his new town, drawing the ire of some really dull bullies, making friends with a spaz (Michael Sharrett) and sparking up a potential romance with the lovely girl next door, (Kristy Swanson). His luck soon takes a turn for the worse as his best friend is terminated at the hands of Mama Fratelli from "The Goonies," while an unfortunate accident similarly leaves his prospects for love in dire straits. When one door closes, another opens, and before long, his young love is resurrected and not quite acting herself, lashing out at her abusive father and playing pickup games of basketball that go a little too far (culminating in the most memorable and laugh-out-loud moment of the entire film).Packed with an oddball sense of humor and some pretty gnarly if not somewhat out of place gore effects, "Deadly Friend" is a film any '80s horror fan should see at least once. While not a high point in Wes Craven's career (the director all but disowned it), it moves with a fine pace and is underlined by a gorgeous score from "Elm Street" composer Charles Bernstein. The leads are likable, the plot is silly and the basketball scene is worth the price of admission alone. It's a heavily compromised film and it shows in the final product, but the seeds of what could have been (and what Joe Bob Briggs sells as "A 'Breakfast Club' version of 'The Bride of Frankenstein' on the back of the DVD) are definitely there. "Deadly Friend" is worth catching up with if only for sheer entertainment value alone.

Precocious electronics whiz kid Paul Conway (a solid and likable performance by Matthew Laborteaux) brings his sweet girlfriend Samantha Pringle (ably played with bubbly charm by the lovely Kristy Swanson) back to life by placing a robot computer chip in her brain after she's killed by her abusive alcoholic father Harry (an effectively creepy turn by Richard Marcus). However, Samantha proceeds to exact a brutal revenge on everyone who's wronged her in any way. Director Wes Craven, working from an offbeat and thoughtful script by Bruce Joel Ruben, relates the quirky and entertaining "Frankenstein" variant story at a steady pace, grounds the fantastic premise in a plausible suburban reality, brings a real warmth to the opening third with the kids and Paul's adorable robot creation Bee Bee, treats the potentially laughable plot with admirable seriousness and sensitivity (the doomed romance between Paul and Samantha proves to be unexpectedly touching and leads to a heart-breaking tragic conclusion), and, naturally, delivers a few jolting nightmare sequences and several inspired moments of wild splatter (the infamous basketball decapitation rates as the definite outrageously gruesome highlight). The sincere acting from the capable cast helps a lot: Michael Sharrett as Paul's wimpy reluctant friend Tom and Anne Twomey as Paul's concerned mother Jeannie register well in their roles while Anne Ramsey has a terrifically nasty ball with the juicy part of mean and paranoid shotgun-toting old bat Elvira Parker. Moreover, Swanson deserves extra props for her remarkably expressive work as Samantha after she's revived as a super strong and murderous automaton. Charles Bernstein's excellent atmospheric score hits the shivery spot. Philip M. Lathrop's slick cinematography gives the picture a neat glossy look. Only the ridiculous surprise bummer ending falls markedly short of the mark. A cool little flick.

Stupid movie. It's about a teenage genius Paul (Matthew Laborteaux) who falls in love with sweet Sam (Kristy Swanson). He also has a cute lovable robot he invented called BB. No, I'm not kidding. Sam accidentally dies and he steals her body from the hospital (just like real life huh?) and brings her back to life (kind of) by inserting a robot brain in HER brain. No, I'm not kidding. Unfortunately she has this pesky little habit of roaming about and killing people. This all leads to a bewildering and dumb (even for this film) finale that will have you either laughing or rolling your eyes (or both).Sheesh! Wes Craven did THIS??? I knew this was going to be bad when they introduce, right off the bat, an "adorable" robot called BB. Is this supposed to be a horror film or a Disney film? The plot is, to put it mildly, stupid and it fails completely as a horror film. It isn't scary and the murders are more stupid than horrifying. Would you believe someone is beheaded by a BASKETBALL???? The logic in here is bewildering. Sam is bought back to life--but why does she suddenly have super strength like the Hulk? And why exactly does Paul bring her back to life? For what reason? Those are just the beginning of the glaring lapses in logic here. Aside from everything else this is pretty dull stuff. And wait till you hear the end title music which uses "BB" in it again and again and AGAIN! To make it worse Laborteaux is a very annoying actor. It's easy to see why he never hit it big. The only good acting is by Swanson (LOVE how she acts like the robot when she comes back to life), Michael Sharrett (very funny playing Tom) and Anne Ramsey having a whale of a time. But this is a boring and stupid film that is best left forgotten. Avoid.