Deadly Friend

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

1986 1h 31m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 278

HorrorScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When tragedy strikes his remarkable robot and the beautiful girl next door, lonely teenage genius Paul tries to save them by pushing technology beyond its known limits into a terrifying new realm.

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

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Matthew Labyorteaux
Paul
Kristy Swanson
Samantha
Michael Sharrett
Tom
Anne Twomey
Jeannie
Anne Ramsey
Elvira
Richard Marcus
Harry
Russ Marin
Dr. Johanson
Lee Paul
Sgt. Volchek

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Wes Craven
Writers: Bruce Joel Rubin
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

40 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Wes Craven, shot by Philip H. Lathrop. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Charles Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Eliot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Matthew Labyorteaux and Kristy Swanson and Michael Sharrett carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "There's no one alive who'll play with the girl next door.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0090917 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Wes Craven directs. Philip H. Lathrop behind the camera. Charles Bernstein scores. Michael Eliot cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

140 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Wes Craven, shot by Philip H. Lathrop. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Charles Bernstein. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Michael Eliot shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Matthew Labyorteaux and Kristy Swanson and Michael Sharrett carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "There's no one alive who'll play with the girl next door.".
7IMDB entry: tt0090917 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 12 themes, including "child abuse", "artificial intelligence (a.i.)", "based on novel or book", "resurrection".

The technical file

Cinematography: Philip H. Lathrop
Original score: Charles Bernstein
Editing: Michael Eliot
Production design: John Loggia
Makeup / hair: Michael Hancock
Sound: Don Cahn
Stunt coordinator: Terry Leonard
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $8,988,731
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Deadly Friend (1986)

Also by

Wes Craven

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2022-08-15
★ 6/10
Underwhelming Craven film that meshes sci-fi, teenage romance and horror A boy genius specializing in brain research and robotics (Matthew Laborteaux) moves to the town of Welling with his mother (Anne Twomey) where he starts an apprenticeship at the university. He befriends a paper boy and romances an abused neighbor girl (Michael Sharrett and Kristy Swanson respectively). When tragedy strikes, he uses his talents to rectify the situation with horrifying results. "Deadly Friend" (1986) was Wes Craven’s next theatrical project after the success of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984). It was meant to be a sci-fi thriller focusing on a dark teenage love story, but the trailer omitted BB the robot and advertised the movie as another Wes Craven horror flick. The film bombed at the box office. You might remember Laborteaux as Albert, the adopted Ingalls boy on Little House on the Prairie. Meanwhile Winsome Kristy was only 16 during shooting. These two and BB the cute robot give the film a likable innocent quality. In tone, it’s a cross between “Short Circuit” (1986) and “Silver Bullet” (1985) just with elements of the Frankenstein story thrown in. Speaking of which, this is a modern-day coming-of-age take on Frankenstein and zombie tales exploring the idea of a dead person being resurrected by unnatural means with unpleasant results. It raises questions concerning when physical death actually occurs. Interesting ideas, of course, but the execution is so-so and yet kind of agreeable, a puzzling mix. Craven is a hit-or-miss director IMHO. For instance, “Summer of Fear” (1978) is effective, but “The Serpent and the Rainbow” (1988) is mind-bogglingly bad. This one falls somewhere in between, but closer to the good. The film runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and was shot in the Los Angeles area as follows: Burbank Studios (Paul Conway's house), USC (university exteriors & lecture hall interiors) and Monrovia, which is just northeast of L.A. (Samantha on the loose). GRADE: B-/C+

Production companies