17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
basketball + head = great moment in 80s horror, September 23, 2007
contrary to what wes craven says about it in interviews, DEADLY FRIEND is not his worst film and is not that bad a film, period. i have always enjoyed it and am surprised at how disturbing the story actually is. and the tacked-on ending is no dumber than the tacked-on ending of craven's original NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. bottom line, DEADLY FRIEND contains one of the coolest and most original kills i can remember from any 80s horror film: a character's head gets obliterated by a flying basketball! fans of this underrated gem will no doubt rejoice in being able to view that scene frame-by-frame now that it's on DVD.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wes Craven's Short Circuit, March 1, 2008
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.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kristy Swanson - for the children of the 80's, January 18, 2006
Watching Kristy Swanson on 'Skating with Celebrities' on Fox got me trying to remember 'What was the hoakey movie that Kristy starred in back in the 80's?' Sure enough, I managed to remember Deadly Friend.
I don't think that this movie should be taken as a serious horror movie. There are definitely some intense scenes that earned the R rating. This is a classic movie of the 80's. Made in the same age of robot movies that spawned Short Circuit, Runaway, etc. It was an interesting idea for a movie. Not quite a 5 star, but one for those who collect movies of the 1980 decade.
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