The New Kids

"The kids learned three things about southern hospitality, blood, sweat and terror."

1985 1h 30m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 115

DramaCrimeHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A brother and his young sister come to a small town to find out a local gang terrorizes the population.

“The kids learned three things about southern hospitality, blood, sweat and terror.”

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Cast

Lori Loughlin
Abby MacWilliams
Jean De Baer
Mary Beth MacWilliams
James Spader
Eddie Dutra
Paige Price
Karen Goodsell
John Philbin
Gideon Walters
Vince Grant
JoeBob
Margaret Welsh
Friend
Brian Wimmer
Student

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sean S. Cunningham
Writers: Stephen Gyllenhaal, Stephen Gyllenhaal, Brian Taggert
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 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sean S. Cunningham, shot by Steven Poster. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Lori Loughlin and Jean De Baer and James Spader carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The kids learned three things about southern hospitality, blood, sweat and terror.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sean S. Cunningham directs. Steven Poster behind the camera. Lalo Schifrin scores. Rita Roland cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
341 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Directed by Sean S. Cunningham, shot by Steven Poster. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Rita Roland shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Lori Loughlin and Jean De Baer and James Spader carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The kids learned three things about southern hospitality, blood, sweat and terror.".
9IMDB entry: tt0089679 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "high school", "street gang", "bullying", "bully".

The technical file

Cinematography: Steven Poster
Original score: Lalo Schifrin
Editing: Rita Roland
Costume design: Molly Maginnis
Makeup / hair: Elizabeth Lambert
Sound: Franklin Jones Jr.
Stunt coordinator: Artie Malesci
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $199,108
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The New Kids (1985)

Also by

Sean S. Cunningham

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2024-02-12
★ 6/10
A brother & sister face the challenges of a new life and school south of Miami After a tragedy, military siblings (Shannon Presby and Lori Loughlin) are forced to stay with their eccentric uncle & aunt in southern Florida, where they offend the local toughs at their school. Eric Stoltz plays a guy who’s interested in the sister while James Spader is on hand as the lead antagonist. "The New Kids" (1985) is cut from the same cloth as “The Karate Kid” from the year prior, just without the sports angle. It has similarities to “Tuff Turf,” which was released one week earlier and also features Spader, albeit as the protagonist. This one lacks the musical and comedic elements of “Turf” and is comparable to “Dangerously Close,” which came out the next year. Stoltz would go on to star in “Some Kind of Wonderful” a couple of years later. Loughlin is smart and winsome, but it’s blonde Paige Price who stands out on the feminine front as Karen. If you like any of the 80's teen movies mentioned and their contemporaries, “The New Kids” is worth checking out, although it’s not great like "The Karate Kid,” not to mention "Dangerously Close" and "Some Kind of Wonderful" are superior. One issue is that it’s overlong by about 15-20 minutes. Speaking of which… The film runs 1 hour, 50 minutes, and was shot in Miami-Dade County, Florida, including Homestead and Perrine, which are in extreme southeastern Florida. GRADE: B-

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