Deadly Friend (1986)

After his friend is killed by her abusive father, the new kid in town attempts to save her by implanting robotic microchips into her brain.

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 (as Matthew Laborteaux)
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 Conway and his mother Jeannie Conway travel to a new town where Paul will join the local university invited by Dr. Johanson. They bring the robot BB that was developed by Paul, who is a genius in robotic. Paul befriends the paperboy Tom Toomey and has a crush on his next door neighbor Samantha Pringle, whose abusive alcoholic father Harry Pringle frequently hurts her. One day, Paul, Sam, Tom and BB are playing basketball and the ball fall in the field of their paranoid grumpy neighbor Elvira Parker that does not give it back to the teenagers. In Halloween, Tom convinces Paul to let BB open the padlock of the entrance to her house. However, there is an alarm system and Elvira blows up BB with her shotgun. Then Harry pushes her daughter down the stairs and the doctors let her brain-dead connected to the life support. However Paul convinces Tom to go to the hospital to rescue Sam and then he implants BB's chip into her brain resurrecting Samantha. But will she come back to life ...

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Plot Keywords:

robot | basketball | 1980s | abusive father | morgue | 

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Taglines:

Some people are just better off dead

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Friend

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Gross USA:

$8,988,731

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?

Trivia

Matthew Labyorteaux said, in interview for Starlog, that Wes Craven didn't want to turn 'Deadly Friend' into a horror film: "Wes said that one thing he didn't want to do was make this a horror movie, because it's one of his first large budget movies which isn't from New Line Cinema or Joe Blow Pictures. That gave me a little sense of security knowing that he wanted to do a nice picture."

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Goofs

Elvira Parker's padlock to her gate is facing the incorrect way.

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Quotes

Tom: [as Paul starts to operate on Sam's brain] Are you sure you know what you're doing?
Paul Conway: How do you think I built BB? I studied brain physiology and cognitive theory till it's coming out of my ears. I have ideas no one's ever thought of.
Tom: I'll buy that.

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Alternate Versions

In an earlier rough cut of the movie, Elvira's death was filmed to be less gorier than in the final cut. Instead of shattering her head with a basketball, Sam smashes Elvira through her front door leaving the upper half of her body hanging outside the door and the lower half still inside. In the scene where Elvira's body is carried out on a gurney it's still visible that door of her house have big hole which was made in original version of her death scene. Dialogue said by Dr. Johanson where he says that her head was smashed all over the room is heard off screen, meaning that it was probably added later when scene was changed. Some promotional material such as original lobby cards show parts of original death scene.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Creative Horror Movie Weapons (2014)

User Reviews

I Don't Care What Anyone Says, This is Good

I had heard very mixed things about Deadly Friend so I was a little worried but I think this film is a little misunderstood. Much like Shocker(1989), this film gets a bad rep and I don't get it. We all know that Wes Craven is very hit or miss but I think is one of his hits. At least he's trying something different.

The acting is mediocre but I really like the story as a modern day Frankenstein. The direction and scares, I thought, were fantastic and the basketball scene was awesome.

I challenge all you horror fans to give Deadly Friend a chance. You might just find that you've made a good decision.