Deadly Friend *** (1986, Matthew Labyorteaux, Kristy Swanson, Michael Sharrett) – Classic Movie Review 11,069

‘There’s no one alive who’ll play with the girl next door!’

The 1986 horror Deadly Friend is Wes Craven’s fair sci-fi horror revenge film, in which Matthew Labyorteaux plays Paul Conway, an ultra-clever robotics genius teen who turns the girl he loves, his next door neighbour Samantha Pringle (Kristy Swanson), into an avenging robot after she is killed by bad guys. Paul implants the microchip that used to belong to his robot pal BB (voice of Charles Fleischer) into Samantha’s brain, resurrecting her after she is rescued from the hospital morgue.

Deadly Friend is chilling but not cold, and done with just a little flair and style, so it offers strong appeal for the crowd loving Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street. Philip Lathrop’s cinematography and Charles Bernstein’s score are assets.

And so is Bruce Joel Rubin’s screenplay, which is based on Diana Henstell’s novel Friend.

Also in the cast are Michael Sharrett, Anne Twomey, Anne Ramsey and Richard Marcus.

Matthew Labyorteaux.

Matthew Labyorteaux was born on December 8, 1966 in Los Angeles.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,069

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