The New Kids (1985)

Watches well. Horror elements are there hardly or not at all. Seems more like a youth film/drama but then again it is too hard for that. 6*

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Cunningham has not built up an impressive resume besides Friday the 13th, but fortunately The New Kids is still a nice film for in between. Yes, there are problems with the tone of the film. In the beginning it is almost a coming of age film, in which the beautiful Loughlin (when she was not yet bribing people) and Presby have to settle in a typical American village with a high school that is in my opinion much too big for the place you see in the school. There are some typical high school parts and I actually liked that. Of course there are some incredible assholes running around who terrorize the school and the village. Normally you would say that this is really over the top and that the characters are much too unbelievable. But given everything that is happening in the world I shrug my shoulders at that too. But from this point on the film slides into increasingly more aggression and revenge actions (on both sides). Fun in itself and that group of boys are really scary, but the finale in the amusement park does not do much for me personally. Perhaps because it breaks too much in tone with the first half hour of the film.

I can appreciate everything on its own, but I would have preferred a pure focus on the high school/coming of age part. At least that is the part of the film that appealed to me the most. Especially because the two teenagers have just lost their parents and have to find a home again, which is something you don't see very often in this genre. The thriller part did detract from that for me.

3.0*

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Reviewed on Blu-ray from 101BlackLabel.

Fits into the mold of Punk-gang violence movies like Class of 1984, Savage Streets '84 and Dangerously Close '86.

Story begins with Atkins, who has just been promoted to colonel, training his son and daughter to stand up for themselves, accompanied by the wonderful soundtrack 'Stand Up' by Bill Wray. Shortly afterwards, the parents die in a car accident, and the brother and sister move in with their uncle in Florida. There, they quickly come into contact with a gang consisting of five led by Eddie Dutra (James Spader), known from Tuff Turf '85, Pretty in Pink '86 and Sex, Lies and a Videotape '89. Also part of the group is real life surf instructor John Philbin, who people will recognize from surf films such as North Shore '87 and Point Break '91. When things really start to get out of hand, the brother and sister strike back hard (Striking Back).

Great 80's revenge film by Cunningham with a great atmosphere. The entire cast plays a good role. The only downside in the story is the police, who deal with the whole situation very nonchalantly, especially in such a small town where almost everyone knows each other. You would think that they would have a strong suspicion that the local gang is behind it. That suspicion is also confirmed when the sheriff (Karen's father, whom Loren goes with) gives them an urgent warning, which was a strong scene. Unfortunately, nothing is done with this, in fact, we don't see the man again for the rest of the film. Another downside is the animal cruelty, which is terrible to see, fortunately it goes quickly. The film has an open ending, but a sequel never came about. Another wonderful evening spent with it and it retains its rewatch value.

Shannon Presby's final film role. Shortly after its release, he gave up acting, continued his career in law school, and later became a prosecutor.

In the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden, among others, the film was also known as Striking Back.

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