Deadly Friend
Encyclopedia
Deadly Friend is a 1986 science fiction
horror film
directed by Wes Craven
. It is based on the novel
entitled Friend
by Diana Henstell, which was adapted for the screen by Bruce Joel Rubin
.
) and his mother, Jeannie (Anne Twomey
), have just moved into a new city. Paul is studying neurology
and artificial intelligence
at the local college, and has built a remote-controlled
robot
named BB (voiced by Charles Fleischer
), which occasionally shows signs of autonomy. Paul befriends fellow college student Tom (Michael Sharrett
), and a girl named Samantha (Kristy Swanson
) who lives next door to the Conways. Another neighbor to the Conways is a reclusive harridan named Elvira Parker (Anne Ramsey
).
On Halloween night as a prank, Paul, Tom and Samantha have BB crack the combination lock on her gate so that they can ring Elvira's doorbell to scare her. When Samantha rings the doorbell, an alarm sounds and all three take cover beside Elvira's porch. As Elvira appears on the porch, wielding a shotgun, BB reactivates himself and starts coming through the fence. Elvira opens fire on the robot, destroying it.
Samantha struggles with an abusive father (Richard Marcus
), who ultimately beats her so severely that she is left close to death. The doctors tell Paul that she does not have long to live, and together Paul and Tom steal Samantha's body.
Paul surgically implants BB's AI
chip into Samantha's brain. Samantha is activated by BB's remote control and seems to be controlled primarily by BB's AI chip, although flashes of Samantha's memories periodically surface as her personality attempts to assert itself. Governed by this composite of BB's and Samantha's memories, Samantha, now possessing superhuman strength, avenges herself upon Elvira Parker and Samantha's father.
The police track her down to the woodshed where Paul has hidden her, and Samantha's personality appears to gain total domination. This development is short-lived, however, as Samantha takes a bullet intended for Paul. After Samantha dies in Paul's arms, her body is seen in the morgue, where the coroner has just finished his autopsy and has pulled the sheet over her body. When Paul comes for her body, she transforms into a more malevolent version of BB and kills Paul by breaking his neck.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
directed by Wes Craven
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...
. It is based on the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
entitled Friend
Friend (novel)
Friend is the title of a 1985 science fiction horror novel by Diana Henstell, about a young man who tries to help a dying friend survive by implanting his robot's chip into her, only to find that it turns her into a homicidal terror....
by Diana Henstell, which was adapted for the screen by Bruce Joel Rubin
Bruce Joel Rubin
Bruce Joel Rubin is a screenwriter best known for the supernatural romance, Ghost for which he won the 1991 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay...
.
Plot
College student and science genius Paul Conway (Matthew LaborteauxMatthew Laborteaux
Matthew Laborteaux is an American actor who has starred in television and film. He is perhaps best known for portraying the character Albert Quinn Ingalls on the hit NBC series Little House on the Prairie from 1976 to 1983....
) and his mother, Jeannie (Anne Twomey
Anne Twomey
Anne Twomey is an American theatre, film, and television actress.-Career:Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Twomey earned critical acclaim for her performance in the 1980 play Nuts, for which she won the Theatre World Award and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress...
), have just moved into a new city. Paul is studying neurology
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
and artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
at the local college, and has built a remote-controlled
Remote control
A remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.The remote control is usually contracted to remote...
robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
named BB (voiced by Charles Fleischer
Charles Fleischer
Charles Fleischer is an American actor, stand-up comedian and voice artist.-Life and career:Fleischer was born in Washington, D.C. As a child, he is reported to have spent several summers at Kamp Kewanee in La Plume, Pennsylvania, where he started practicing his stand-up routine at age nine...
), which occasionally shows signs of autonomy. Paul befriends fellow college student Tom (Michael Sharrett
Michael Sharrett
Michael Stuart Sharrett is an American actor who received a Young Artist Award nomination as the "Best Young Actor in a Horror Motion Picture" for his role as Tom in the 1986 witty sci-fi/horror movie Deadly Friend...
), and a girl named Samantha (Kristy Swanson
Kristy Swanson
Kristen Nöel "Kristy" Swanson is an American actress best known for playing Buffy in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she also played Catherine "Cathy" Dollanganger in the movie version of the V.C...
) who lives next door to the Conways. Another neighbor to the Conways is a reclusive harridan named Elvira Parker (Anne Ramsey
Anne Ramsey
Anne Ramsey was an American stage, television, and film actress. She is probably most famous for her roles as Mama Fratelli in The Goonies and as Mrs...
).
On Halloween night as a prank, Paul, Tom and Samantha have BB crack the combination lock on her gate so that they can ring Elvira's doorbell to scare her. When Samantha rings the doorbell, an alarm sounds and all three take cover beside Elvira's porch. As Elvira appears on the porch, wielding a shotgun, BB reactivates himself and starts coming through the fence. Elvira opens fire on the robot, destroying it.
Samantha struggles with an abusive father (Richard Marcus
Richard Marcus
Richard Marcus is an actor best known for his roles in St. Elsewhere, Tremors, and The Pretender.-Actor:Richard Marcus' first role was on the television show The White Shadow, guest starring in two episodes. He worked steadily throughout the 1980s, and landed a recurring role on the acclaimed NBC...
), who ultimately beats her so severely that she is left close to death. The doctors tell Paul that she does not have long to live, and together Paul and Tom steal Samantha's body.
Paul surgically implants BB's AI
Ai
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
chip into Samantha's brain. Samantha is activated by BB's remote control and seems to be controlled primarily by BB's AI chip, although flashes of Samantha's memories periodically surface as her personality attempts to assert itself. Governed by this composite of BB's and Samantha's memories, Samantha, now possessing superhuman strength, avenges herself upon Elvira Parker and Samantha's father.
The police track her down to the woodshed where Paul has hidden her, and Samantha's personality appears to gain total domination. This development is short-lived, however, as Samantha takes a bullet intended for Paul. After Samantha dies in Paul's arms, her body is seen in the morgue, where the coroner has just finished his autopsy and has pulled the sheet over her body. When Paul comes for her body, she transforms into a more malevolent version of BB and kills Paul by breaking his neck.
Cast
- Matthew LaborteauxMatthew LaborteauxMatthew Laborteaux is an American actor who has starred in television and film. He is perhaps best known for portraying the character Albert Quinn Ingalls on the hit NBC series Little House on the Prairie from 1976 to 1983....
as Paul Conway- the Whiz kid in town - Kristy SwansonKristy SwansonKristen Nöel "Kristy" Swanson is an American actress best known for playing Buffy in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she also played Catherine "Cathy" Dollanganger in the movie version of the V.C...
as Samantha Pringle- the Deadly Friend - Michael SharrettMichael SharrettMichael Stuart Sharrett is an American actor who received a Young Artist Award nomination as the "Best Young Actor in a Horror Motion Picture" for his role as Tom in the 1986 witty sci-fi/horror movie Deadly Friend...
as Tom 'Slime' Toomey- Local newspaper boy and Paul's friend - Anne TwomeyAnne TwomeyAnne Twomey is an American theatre, film, and television actress.-Career:Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Twomey earned critical acclaim for her performance in the 1980 play Nuts, for which she won the Theatre World Award and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress...
as Jeannie Conway- Paul's mother - Richard MarcusRichard MarcusRichard Marcus is an actor best known for his roles in St. Elsewhere, Tremors, and The Pretender.-Actor:Richard Marcus' first role was on the television show The White Shadow, guest starring in two episodes. He worked steadily throughout the 1980s, and landed a recurring role on the acclaimed NBC...
as Harry Pringle- Samantha's father, the first one to die - Anne RamseyAnne RamseyAnne Ramsey was an American stage, television, and film actress. She is probably most famous for her roles as Mama Fratelli in The Goonies and as Mrs...
as Elvira Parker- Dies from Basketball to the face. - Lee PaulLee PaulLee Paul is an American actor who has appeared in many television shows primarily in the early and mid 1970s.-External links:*...
as Sergeant Volchek- Kills Samantha - Charles FleischerCharles FleischerCharles Fleischer is an American actor, stand-up comedian and voice artist.-Life and career:Fleischer was born in Washington, D.C. As a child, he is reported to have spent several summers at Kamp Kewanee in La Plume, Pennsylvania, where he started practicing his stand-up routine at age nine...
as BB (voice)- an intelligent robot - Russ MarinRuss MarinRuss Marin was an American film and television actor active from the early 1970s to the early 1990s.Among the many shows he guest starred include Mannix, Bonanza, The Secrets of Isis, Wonder Woman, The Waltons and Falcon Crest and Murder She Wrote.-External links:...
as Dr. Johanson- examines Samantha's "seemingly" dead body. - Joel Hile as Deputy- with the Sergeant when he kills Samantha.
Alternate versions of the movie
The original release of the movie contained cuts which were implemented by the MPAA in order to prevent an X rating . These scenes have been restored on the DVD release from the Twisted Terror Collection released by Warner Bros. on Sept. 25th, 2007. These scenes include:- In the scene where Samantha is dreaming about her father intruding in her bedroom, Samantha breaks a vase on her nightstand and stabs her father in the stomach with it. In the VHS release all that is shown is blood spurting out on Samantha's bed and close-ups of her father's face laughing and taunting Sam. On the newly released DVD, the scene includes lots of blood spurting out on Sam's face and close ups of Sam's face as she screams and gets coated in blood.
- In the scene where Sam takes her revenge on her murderous father, Sam trips her father on the stairs leading to the boiler room, breaks his neck, and burns his body inside the boiler. In the VHS release, when Paul comes to conceal the body, the scene is edited to briefly show Paul pulling Sam's father out of the boiler, without showing much of his charred body. In the DVD release, when Paul pulls her father's upper body from the boiler, as he pulls him out and puts him on the ground, a close-up of his charred skeletal face is shown.
- In the infamous 'basketball' scene, Samantha crushes Elvira's head with a slam from the basketball that Elvira had stolen from the teens earlier in the movie. In the VHS release, when Sam throws the ball at her, Elvira's head explodes on impact and then cuts back to Sam watching in amazement as Elvira's headless body wanders around the living room until it falls down in the floor. In the DVD release, when Sam throws the ball at Elvira's head, more explosion is shown as Elvira's head completely shatters from her shoulders and shows her headless body wander directly from the wall around the living room, spurting blood and then cuts back to Sam watching in amazement as the body comes to rest on the floor.
- In an earlier version of the movie, Elvira's death was filmed to be less gory than the final shot. Instead of shattering her head with a basketball, Sam smashes Elvira through her front door leaving the upper half of her body hanging outside the door and the lower half still inside. In the same earlier version, in the scene where Paul is dreaming about Sam's father coming up out of his bed, Sam's father comes completely out of the bed and lunges for Paul. In the final cut of the film just his charred head comes out of the bed and exhales smoke. These alternate scenes can be seen in the theatrical trailer found on the new DVD.