Written by / 10/05/2021 / No comments / , , , , , , , , ,

KRISTY SWASON IN WES CRAVEN'S SCIENCE-HORROR 'DEADLY FRIEND'

Blu Ray Cover Artwork for DEADLY FRIEND Year Released: 1986 Rating: ****

A year before giving her class the lowdown about FERRIS BEULLER'S DAY OFF and around five years until losing her adorable baby fat for the deliberately camp-filled BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, Kristy Swanson starred in another Classic Monster-inspired b-movie directed by Wes Craven, a horror-genre director having so much silly fun here it seems he hadn't yet realized A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET had blown up on video...

Thank God because DEADLY FRIEND, a modern take on the FRANKENSTEIN tale, packs one helluva wallop, particularly a basketball beheading so pivotal and scene-stealing it should be backed by celebratory fireworks...

Matthew Labyorteaux and Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND

The real star is Matthew Labyorteaux, and with the swift 90-minute runtime his brainy and vulnerable suburban new-kid never develops past being the creator of the rudimentary robot taking down the neighborhood bully...

But the LITTLE HOUSE star does a fine job as a different kind of Dr. Frankenstein: a young grad student guest-lecturing in the same University class he's taking, and with a dependable single mom in Anne Twomey, the future looks bright... 

Opening Credit font for DEADLY FRIEND

So with his equally nerdy yet whiny thus doomed best friend in Michael Sharrett, Wes Craven's DEADLY FRIEND is part sci-fi thriller while the last half... after Swanson goes from literal girl-next-door to reanimated blue-mascara-eyed monster in her creator's basement... is a body count kill fest...

That includes Swanson's abusive father, making her Samantha a killer worth rooting for till the inevitable tables turn, by which time the audience (along with Anne Ramsey's head) have already had a smashing time. 

Matthew Labyorteaux and Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND

Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Anne Twomey in DEADLY FRIEND and Matthew Labyorteaux
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND and Matthew Labyorteaux
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND and Matthew Labyorteaux
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND and Matthew Labyorteaux
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Matthew Labyorteaux and Michael Sharrett in DEADLY FRIEND
Matthew Labyorteaux and Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Matthew Labyorteaux in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Matthew Labyorteaux and Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Kristy Swanson in DEADLY FRIEND
Anne Twomey in DEADLY FRIEND
Matthew Labyorteaux in DEADLY FRIEND

Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

BRUCE LEE 'ENTER THE DRAGON' WITH JOHN SAXON & JIM KELLY

Bruce Lee, Angela Mao, Kien Shih and Jim Kelly in ENTER THE DRAGON Year: 1973 Rates: ****1/2 By the time Bruce Lee, starring in his first an...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "Boards don't hit back." Bruce Lee, Enter The Dragon

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)THE BREAK 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)CALCULATED RISK 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)JUNGLE STREET 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)THE SERGEANT 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)RIOT 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6)CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)SAM PECKINPAH 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

Most Popular Last Year