Deadly Friend (Wes Craven, 1986)

Craven had a few hard years after A Nightmare on Elm Street, and I agree; it’s a hard film to live up to afterwards. But me, as a very open-minded Craven-fan, like the trashier way his career took for many years. Hell, I even enjoy original The Hills Have Eyes 2! That’s how extreme I am! Anyway, Deadly Friend has been avoiding me for a number of years. I actually did know every little about it until I today took that DVD and finally played. By not reading a shit about it I thought was a Carrie-style horror film, just with a slasher-twist. It wasn’t that...at all, but there sure is a special girl in it.

To be very clear, Deadly Friend is the typical Boy with a Robot as His Best Friend Meets Nice Girl, Girl Gets Pushed Down the Stairs By Her Abusive Dad and Ends Up BrainDead, Boy Inserts His Dead Robot’s Slightly Unstable Microchip Brain Into Her Meaty Brain and Creates a Killer Girl. BASKETBALL! I think that sums it up and it’s also nice because I hate writing these synopses!

Deadly Friend seems to be one of the few films Wes Craven loathes, together with The Hills Have Eyes part 2. I guess it’s because Warner wanted a different movie, and not the semi-serious, cute teen-thriller Craven wanted, a horror fairy tale in the vein of Frankenstein set in the Americana suburbs. Instead the company demanded more gore and nightmare sequences and forced Craven to add a lot of juicy stuff to an already finished film - which for me just is fine, I like gore and graphic violence in films - but here it actually comes off quite clumsy as inserts.It’s fun inserts, make no mistake about that - the basketball scene is still hilariously gory and violent and over-the-top - and doesn’t fit the rest of the movie at all, but what the fuck. I can live with that!

It’s also a very cheesy movie, but is also quite charming and it’s hard to dislike. I had no idea about the robot-subplot (which never works, because why would the robot be a raving serial killer just because his brain is inserted into a human body?) but it feels a lot like something that only could happen in the eighties. Today, when looking at it, it’s bizarre. That robot is way more stupid than one of those postcards that play music when you press on it. The young actors are cute and adorable, but as usual it’s Anne Ramsey who steals the show as the grumpy and hostile Elvira Parker. She’s one of those actresses I have a hard time seeing as a normal human being, but it’s just acting - I understand that - damn convincing acting. Here’s Anne with her husband Logan, just to prove it:

Deadly Friend was a lot more fun than I could imagine. I had this illusion it was a supernatural thriller, much like Carrie or Elm Street, but it’s fun to be surprised. It also have one of those really bizarre and unexpected WTF endings, which makes no sense whatsoever - but also kinda gives it that eighties vibe we love so much. I can understand why Craven dislikes it, but Deadly Friend is a lot of entertainment and feels a bit more original than some of its counterparts from the same time.

Comments

[Tobe]

I always remember Ramsay as the mother of Danny Devito in throw mommy of the train. Hilariously funny.

Thanks for the review of this one, and will check it out.

[Megatron]

"To be very clear, Deadly Friend is the typical Boy with a Robot as His Best Friend Meets Nice Girl, Girl Gets Pushed Down the Stairs By Her Abusive Dad and Ends Up BrainDead, Boy Inserts His Dead Robot’s Slightly Unstable Microchip Brain Into Her Meaty Brain and Creates a Killer Girl. BASKETBALL!"

Nice summary....microchips and teen hormones can do that to a person.

hahahahhahahhahah

"Deadly Friend seems to be one of the few films Wes Craven loathes, together with The Hills Have Eyes part 2. I guess it’s because Warner wanted a different movie, and not the semi-serious, cute teen-thriller Craven wanted, a horror fairy tale in the vein of Frankenstein set in the Americana suburbs."

I didn´t know he hated it...I think it is an ok film....more entertaining than it should be.

"make no mistake about that - the basketball scene is still hilariously gory and violent and over-the-top - and doesn’t fit the rest of the movie at all, but what the fuck. I can live with that!"

Could have been worse......like an evil coke machine hellbent on killing the junior baseballteam!

http://youtu.be/aLjXR-M5gas

"It’s also a very cheesy movie, but is also quite charming and it’s hard to dislike."

Yeah, very charming....

"I had no idea about the robot-subplot (which never works, because why would the robot be a raving serial killer just because his brain is inserted into a human body?) but it feels a lot like something that only could happen in the eighties."

Bad programming maybe?

Bug?

hahahhahahhah.....but you mentioned earlier Frankenstein.....man was never suppose to be god.....mixing man(or teenage girl) and machine never ends well.

Or at least that could be the message provided here...

"I can understand why Craven dislikes it, but Deadly Friend is a lot of entertainment and feels a bit more original than some of its counterparts from the same time."

Awwww...come on now..... Chopping Mall (1986) , Short Circuit (1986) and even.....dare I say it?

SpaceCamp (1986) is fun to watch.......good review Fred.

[Ismail]

Nice 80's horror movie from master Wes Craven, but i really didnt like final scene, in my opinion, he could do more logical end...