Deadly Friend (1986)

Paul is a new kid in town with a robot named "BB". He befriends Samantha and the three of them have a lot of good times together. That is, until Samantha's abusive father throws her down ... See full summary »

Director:

Wes Craven

Writers:

Diana Henstell (novel), Bruce Joel Rubin (screenplay)

Stars:

Matthew Labyorteaux, Kristy Swanson, Michael Sharrett

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Labyorteaux	...	Paul Conway
Kristy Swanson	...	Samantha Pringle
Michael Sharrett	...	Tom 'Slime' Toomey
Anne Twomey	...	Jeannie Conway
Anne Ramsey	...	Elvira Parker
Richard Marcus	...	Harry Pringle
Russ Marin	...	Dr. Johanson
Lee Paul	...	Sergeant Volchek
Andrew Roperto	...	Carl
Charles Fleischer	...	BB (voice)
Robin Nuyen	...	Thief
Frank Cavestani	...	Angry resident
Merritt Olsen	...	CAT Scan Technician
William H. Faeth	...	Doctor in Sam's room (as William H. Faeth M.D.)
Joel Hile	...	Deputy

Storyline

Paul is a new kid in town with a robot named "BB". He befriends Samantha and the three of them have a lot of good times together. That is, until Samantha's abusive father throws her down some stairs and kills her. In an effort to save her life, Paul implants BB's computer brain into Samantha's human brain.

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Plot Keywords:

robot | father | abusive father | halloween | neighbor | 

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Taglines:

There's no one alive who'll play with the girl next door

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Obsesión fatal

Filming Locations:

Midwest Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$8,988,731 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Pan Arts, Layton

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Samantha lifts the bully up, you can very faintly see the wires holding him up.

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Quotes

Tom: Hey, she's dead? Hey, what the hell are you doing, you didn't say anything about a dead body, we were supposed to save her life!

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: The Last House on the Left (2012)

User Reviews

Odd, but good horror from Wes Craven

Deadly Friend should probably be good for fans of cult horror films, and this is nothing like some of Wes Craven's past and present films such as "Nightmare on Elm Street" or "Scream", but it does have a good combination of both the horror classics "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein". However, the script is rather weak and seemed poorly adapted from Diana Henstall's more effect short novel "Friend". Deadly Friend does have some good scares and above all gore and a good solid cast from teen stars Matthew Laborteaux, Michael Sharrett and a young beautiful Kristy Swanson in the title role. Both Russ Marin and Anne Twomey provide a warm feeling to the younger cast and the audiences, while Richard Marcus and Anne Ramsey both, as usual, looking wickedly evil in their roles. Above all, Ramsey's classic decapitation by basketball scene is the highlight of the film. One year before she was seen in Steven Spielberg's "The Goonies", and a year after this she got an Oscar nomination for "Throw Momma from the Train", before dying in 1988. I whould say Deadly Friend gets 8/10, for a classic cult horror favorite.