Rating: Summary: Grim stuff Review: Before Penelope Spheeris's directed "Wayne's World," she made another film about a pair of young men. "The Boys Next Door," though, contains little of the offbeat humor that marked the Dana Carvey/Mike Meyers collaboration. You won't find subtle and not so subtle pop culture references punctuated with over the top antics in "The Boys Next Door." Nor will you hear a single reference to "party on." In a way, "The Boys Next Door" resembles Spheeris's other films, namely "The Decline of Western Civilization," in that it looks closely at the sort of young people we don't normally see on television or in the print media. In the case of "Decline," Spheeris examined the effects of punk rock music on select members of America's youth. In "Boys Next Door," it's how the loss of hope leads a select few youngsters to a life of murder and mayhem. The movie, interestingly enough, begins with an error. Pictures of notorious criminals David Berkowitz, Ken Bianchi, and Ed Kemper float by in order to set a context for what we are about to see. Regrettably for the film, Berkowitz, Kemper, and Bianchi were serial killers. The two boys we meet in the movie, Roy and Bo, are spree killers. There is a big difference between the two as anyone interested in true crime stories knows.
Roy Alston (Maxwell Caulfield) and Bo Richards (Charlie Sheen) are just two of your average, everyday kids getting ready to graduate from high school. They are also the loner type, two kids who paired up with each other after the other kids excluded them from the various social circles. Both Roy and Bo are instantly recognizable high school types, at least for those of us perceptive enough to notice those around us during those painful years of compulsory schooling. They are a little rough around the edges, thanks to their miserable home lives and their relative poverty, but occasionally they make tentative overtures to others that are cruelly rebuffed. One can only feel sorry for Bo when he admires one of the prettiest girls in his class from afar, hoping against hope that he can somehow approach her and strike up a meaningful connection. Roy, the more cynical of the two, has long since reconciled himself to being an outcast, and he spends most of his time quashing any kernels of kindness popping up in Bo's mind. There's something more about Roy, something that goes beyond cynicism into the realms of downright cruelty and hatred. We first see it when he talks to a Marine recruiter on campus about joining the Corps so he can kill people. Not good. Later, of course, Roy will give full vent to his murderous rages.
After crashing a graduation party and finding themselves tossed out on the street, the two decide to cruise down to Los Angeles for a day or two for some old fashioned hijinks. Besides, getting away for a few days sounds like a good idea when the only thing they have to come back to is a couple of cruddy jobs at a local factory, jobs that will probably last a lifetime. The two barely enter the Los Angeles area when all heck breaks loose at a gas station. Roy, thinking the attendant ripped him off over two bucks in gas, beats the man to a bloody pulp. Later, at the beach, one of the boys throws a beer bottle that strikes an elderly woman on the head. Two young ladies attempt to confront the pair about the bottle, and one of them ends up taking a ride around the parking lot on the hood of Roy's car. More atrocities follow, all escalating with ferocious brutality. A gay man dies at their hands, as does an attractive young couple whose only crime involved first making eye contact with Bo and later spurning him in a video arcade. By the time Roy murders Angie (Patti D'Arbanville) while she's in the process of wooing Bo, the game is about over. Two cops, Detective Mark Woods (Christopher McDonald) and Detective Ed Hanley (Hank Garrett), have been tracking these two since the gas station heist, and a lucky break puts the boys right in their hands. Or does it?
I remember seeing "The Boys Next Door" back in the mid 1980s on cable. I was impressed with it then and consider it a good movie now. Aside from the misidentification of the two as serial killers, the movie still contains plenty of good performances, good dialogue, and shocking scenes. Sheen and Caulfield both carry off their respective roles convincingly, but Caulfield does the best job in the frightening role of Roy Alston. His speech about how he feels inside sends chills down the spine, as does his transformation from composed youth to shrieking beast. Oddly enough in a film larded with killings, I consider the bottle scene one of the most disturbing in the film. The look on that old lady's face when the bottle conks her on the head is so upsetting that it's not easy to forget, especially when the camera cuts back to Bo and Roy in order to show them laughing about what they did. There's just something about this scene that successfully telegraphs, just as much as the murders, the coldness of these two kids. "The Boys Next Door" does contain at least one unintentionally hilarious scene in the form of Detective Ed Hanley's haircut. Geez, I thought he was wearing a tricorn hat or something!
Extras on the DVD include a commentary with Spheeris and Caulfield, a trailer, and cast biographies. The picture quality looks great for a twenty year old film. I would recommend this movie to most fans of low budget cinema, but it's also got an appeal to Charlie Sheen completists (Is there such a thing? God help us!) and lovers of movies dealing with the criminal mindset.
Rating: Summary: Festival of justice, cleansing dance Review: Bo and Roy keenly sense the bigotry and worthlessness of the common man and his passive acceptance of this material society. Their experience from school revealed to them the hypocrocy of an education to prepare them for slavery, the nausious realization that most people worship malls and Chinese manufactured trinkets. Bo and Roy bided their time in high school. They rejected all forms of worthless mainstream social activities and adorned themselves in the mantle of plain t-shirts and worn blue jeans. But their moment finally came. They graduated from high school and they took their message to the general populace. A message of judgement, violence, and retribution. A cleansing of the trash people and a celebration of their new faith and power. The raghead at the service station, beaten by his own pump handle was a collage of brutality and purity that resonated with all believers. The babbling, impotent, old lady callously and casually missiled with a beer bottle to the head merged violence and humor in a tapestry of genuine lust for life. As in all dramatic tragedies, our heroes find their last stand in between the worthless, plastic walls of a shopping mall. The cold, bleak walls of a contrived world where mindless fools pilgrim to worship at the alter of the Gap and eat the manna of Mrs. Fields. Bo became the sacrifice at our plastic alter. He never wavered and his passion resonates long after the closing credits. Your life is incomplete and impoverished without the experience of this grand film.
Rating: Summary: Festival of justice, cleansing dance Review: Bo and Roy keenly sense the bigotry and worthlessness of the common man and his passive acceptance of this material society. Their experience from school revealed to them the hypocrocy of an education to prepare them for slavery, the nausious realization that most people worship malls and Chinese manufactured trinkets. Bo and Roy bided their time in high school. They rejected all forms of worthless mainstream social activities and adorned themselves in the mantle of plain t-shirts and worn blue jeans. But their moment finally came. They graduated from high school and they took their message to the general populace. A message of judgement, violence, and retribution. A cleansing of the trash people and a celebration of their new faith and power. The raghead at the service station, beaten by his own pump handle was a collage of brutality and purity that resonated with all believers. The babbling, impotent, old lady callously and casually missiled with a beer bottle to the head merged violence and humor in a tapestry of genuine lust for life. As in all dramatic tragedies, our heroes find their last stand in between the worthless, plastic walls of a shopping mall. The cold, bleak walls of a contrived world where mindless fools pilgrim to worship at the alter of the Gap and eat the manna of Mrs. Fields. Bo became the sacrifice at our plastic alter. He never wavered and his passion resonates long after the closing credits. Your life is incomplete and impoverished without the experience of this grand film.
Rating: Summary: Disturbing, but great Review: Deeply disturbing story of 2 boys who have no sense of right and wrong. One boy has so much anger in him that he just wants to kill and Charlie Sheen's charcter doesn't seem to mind. You won't be turning this movie off. I seen it for the first time about 11 years ago. It was one of the best movies I had ever seen. I bought it on dvd the first day it came out. Just as good the second time around.
Rating: Summary: Search for all Soundtrack in the movie Review: Hello!I was searching for all Bands of the Movie"the boys next door" Greatest Punk Music i can heare in the backgroud from "Great White" i need the title-song of them... other songs by "code Blue", "Tex & the Horseheads.. Please help me and give me all songname by the movies thanks...
Rating: Summary: Astoundingly Brilliant Review: I have to say a mad movie especially whenthey beat up the petrol attendent with a petrol hose
Rating: Summary: Boys Next Door is a must see movie Review: I liked this movie. It had an exellent plot and scenery. Boys Next Door shows how a teenager might act to his/her anger. This movie is the best movie I ever saw. Boys Next Door has action and drama. This movie is a must see. I don't think you will ever see a movie as good as this agian.
Rating: Summary: Party time! Review: I love it when he throws the beer bottle and hits the old lady in the head. Also, when the beach chick is riding on the hood of the car. "Lose her, man!"
Rating: Summary: excellent movie Review: i rented a couple of movies a while back and this was mistakenly given to me.im glad they made the mistake.i popped it in waiting to see 1 of the friday the 13ths and this appears.the beginning was as creepy as any horror movie so i let it play.to my utter amazement,i completely forgot all about jason and got caught up with the boys next door.(kinda fruity title i admit)there was fantastic acting from all involved,and the director,penny spheeris,did a marvalous job.she needed to touch on the home lives of the lead charactors though.she did delve into charlie sheens charactor a little bit but for the most part didnt set up how/why these kids got so anti social.this is a very grim and bleak look into the behavior of teen angst that goes unchecked.on the day of graduating high school,2 childhood friends and school misfits plan a weekend of mayhem.the sad part is that they could have been a socially acceptable couple of kids.they are both,on the outside atleast,handsome enough to fit in to a given group or even have a click of their own.of the two,charlie seems to be more able to adapt then his bud max caufield.it seems that graduating triggered some kind of psycho mechanism within and poor charlie got caught up in it.on their weekend excursion,theres drinking,sex and violence galore and at random.i highly recommend this as a rental,but the price is a little much.unless the picture is THAT much of a difference,and you love particepants commentary,then it may be worth the price of what amounts to a new release(higher than some to be honest)no matter,you will enjoy this.
Rating: Summary: true american cult classic Review: I was 13 when I first laid my eyes on the best film ever made, Boys Next Door. Max Caufield is one of the most underated actors of all time. The role he plays in this movie should have won an oscar. He truely captured the part of a real sociopath, and take it from me, being one, it is not easy to understand the mind of a true sociopath. Being one of Charlie Sheen's less no movies also helps make it great. This movie would have never been accepted in the main steam for it's true to life violence and social misbehavior. Most people will not understand this movie, but those who do, will never forget it! It is the second most watched movie in my life, only to Beastmaster. But hopefully after recently aquiring the DVD it will be first. Don't be suprised if you laugh a few times or even worse relate to Bo and Roy! Please enjoy this film for what it is, an american tail of two every day guys out for a good time who make it happen.
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