Wes Craven’s Deadly Friend

• 28th Mar 2011

Deadly Friend is a teen sci-fi horror Wes Craven made in 1986, starring Matthew Laborteaux and Kristy Swanson (the original Buffy). The precocious Paul arrives at a new college bringing with him his homemade radically advanced remote-controlled robot, BB. The film focuses on his desperate battle to save his beloved Samantha Pringle.

Deadly Friend opens with a man trying to break into a camper van looking to steal the purse left on the front seat by Paul’s mother. A robot hand chokes him during the robbery attempt, releasing him only when the robot in question observes Paul returning. This opening scene allows the audience a glimpse into the robot’s development in terms of becoming autonomous . Paul has no idea that BB has a growing desire for violence stirring inside his processors. On arriving at their new house Paul catches a glimpse of his beautiful next door neighbour Sam Pringle. He forms a happy friendship with Sam and fellow student Tom (Michael Sharrett). Together they discover that their neighbour Elvira (Anne Ramsey) across the road is pretty much insane. After they send BB to break into her garden as a prank, she destroys the robot with her shotgun. On top of this, Sam’s father is a domineering monster who beats her so badly that he puts her into a coma. In a desperate race against time Paul and Tom steal Sam’s body from the hospital so Paul can place the AI chip he removed from the destroyed BB in her brain. Of course, bringing Sam back to life doesn’t go according to plan as she becomes obsessed with revenge against both Elvira and her father.

Deadly Friend is a film that I have fond memories of having rented the video numerous times during the 1980s. Having not seen it for almost 20 years I was genuinely looking forward to seeing this lesser known Wes Craven horror. This is a more teen driven film than other that Craven’s made. Essentially what we have here is teen romance spliced with classic Frankenstein as Paul attempts to conquer death. Like the young genius Victor Frankenstein, Paul’s attempts to reviving Sam have horrifying consequences as she goes on a murderous rampage.

The performances are mostly horrible. Swanson has to do a Smithy style robot impression once revived that’s painful to watch. Anne Ramsey as Elvira is also annoying; you come to realise that the only part this actress ever plays is exactly the same one. From Deadly Friend to The Goonies to Throw Mama from the Train it’s the same ranting nonsense every single time.

The DVD is a newly restored version from the United States that contains sequences removed on Deadly Friend’s initial release to ensure that it wasn’t x-rated. These sequences prove to be the show stoppers; they include a terrifying dream sequence when Sam kills her father with a glass vase. This ultimate is a nod to what’s to follow (she burns him alive in a cellar furnace exactly like that in A Nightmare on Elm Street). Elvira’s death scene is also amazing – Sam removes her head by throwing the basketball straight through it. These restored sequences made this viewing of the film both fascinating and hugely enjoyable.

The value of this film is in the wonderfully-violent restored footage which rivals that of Robocop in its outrageousness. The inclusion of Swanson also raises the cult value of Deadly Friend above the norm – the Buffy that never was is always good value. Personally I loved seeing the film again for the first time in almost two decades, but I have a sneaky suspicion that this is a nostalgia trip. For anyone coming to Deadly Friend for the first time, unless they’re looking for a somewhat laughable cult film, this will most probably be a disappointment.

Aled Jones