The New Kids (1985)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Sean S. Cunningham

Writers:

Stephen Gyllenhaal (story) and
Brian Taggert (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

18 January 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The kids learned three things about southern hospitality, blood, sweat and terror!

Plot:

A brother and sister arrive in a small town to help their relatives run an amusement park, and they find the town is terrorized by a local street gang.

Plot Keywords:

Amusement Park | Gang | Brother | Uncle | Relative

Cast

Shannon Presby	...	Loren McWilliams
Lori Loughlin	...	Abby McWilliams
James Spader	...	Eddie Dutra
John Philbin	...	Gideon
David H. MacDonald	...	Moonie
Vince Grant	...	JoeBob (as Vincent Grant)
Theron Montgomery	...	Gordo
Eddie Jones	...	Charlie McWilliams
Lucy Martin	...	Fay McWilliams
Eric Stoltz	...	Mark
Paige Lyn Price	...	Karen
Court Miller	...	Sheriff
Tom Atkins	...	'Mac' MacWilliams
Jean De Baer	...	Mary Beth MacWilliams
Robertson Carricart	...	Deputy
Brad Sullivan	...	Colonel Jenkins
Chad Wiggins-Grady	...	Chad Bob (as Chad Wiggins)
John Archie	...	Math Teacher
Alex Panas	...	Paint Store Proprietor
Toni Crabtree	...	Newscaster
Fred Buch	...	Guidance Counselor
Ilse Earl	...	Guidance Counselor
Billy Barzee	...	Redneck
Greg Gilbert	...	Redneck
John D. LeMay	...	Redneck (as John LeMay)
Noel Rego	...	Friend
Donnie Kehr	...	Friend
Timothy Owen Waldrip	...	Friend (as Tim Waldrip)
Margaret Welsh	...	Friend
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kenneth Ian Davis	...	Chris (uncredited)

Directed by
Sean S. Cunningham

Writing credits
Stephen Gyllenhaal		(story) and
Brian Taggert		(story)
Stephen Gyllenhaal		(screenplay)

Produced by
Sean S. Cunningham	....	producer
Barbara De Fina	....	associate producer
Andrew Fogelson	....	producer

Original Music by
Michel Rubini
Lalo Schifrin

Cinematography by
Steven Poster

Film Editing by
Rita Roland

Casting by
Pennie DuPont
Julie Hughes
Barry Moss

Production Design by
Robb Wilson King
Peter Landsdown Smith

Art Direction by
Peter Landsdown Smith		(as Pete Smith)

Set Decoration by
Tom Coll

Costume Design by
Molly Maginnis

Makeup Department
Elizabeth Lambert	....	makeup artist
Donisia McGowan	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Barbara De Fina	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harry V. Bring	....	second assistant director (as Harry Bring)
Brian E. Frankish	....	first assistant director (as Brian Frankish)

Art Department
Jose Duarte	....	painter
Charles Guanci	....	property master
Roger Ragland	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Rick Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Richard Alexander)
Walter Goss	....	supervising re-recording mixer
Michael C. Gutierrez	....	adr editor
William S. Johnson	....	boom operator (as William Johnson)
Ron Scelza	....	boom operator
Clancy T. Troutman	....	sound designer
James Troutman	....	sound effects (as Jim Troutman)
Howard Warren	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
J.B. Jones	....	special effects

Stunts
Jay Amor	....	stunts
Courtney Brown	....	stunts
Mike Kirton	....	stunts
Artie Malesci	....	stunt coordinator
Artie Malesci	....	stunts
Marc Mercury	....	stunts
Jeff Moldovan	....	stunts
Betty Raymond	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
William D. Barber	....	second camera operator
Robert Destolfe	....	still photographer
Robert Heine	....	second assistant camera
Greg Kasper	....	key grip
George Kohut	....	camera operator
Peter Kuttner	....	first assistant camera
David M. Lang	....	second camera operator
Bill Seckel	....	gaffer
William Tobin	....	second camera operator
John Winner	....	second camera operator

Casting Department
Peter Golden	....	casting associate
Dee Miller	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Diana Bernay	....	wardrober
Lynette Bernay	....	wardrober

Editorial Department
Guy Barresi	....	assistant editor
David Gelfand	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Andy MacDonald	....	music re-recording mixer

Other crew
Steve Braun	....	production assistant
Jack Cowden	....	script supervisor
Elaine Dysinger	....	production assistant
Peter Farber	....	production assistant
Dennis Feldman	....	production executive
Penny Goodsell	....	production assistant
Jeffrey J. Kiehlbauch	....	production assistant
Deborah Lee	....	production office coordinator
Harvey Shapiro	....	location manager
Amy Strong-Gallen	....	location auditor
Nikki Fritz	....	body double (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Fogbound Inc.

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1985) (USA) (theatrical)
• LK-TEL Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video (1985) (Belgium) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Striking Back (Philippines: English title) (UK) (video title)

Runtime:

86 min | USA:110 min | USA:89 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Belgium:16 (video rating) | USA:R | Norway:16 | UK:18 (cut) | Iceland:(Banned) | Iceland:16 (cut) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Homestead, Florida, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Quotes:

Eddie Dutra: You want crazy? I'll show you crazy!

Soundtrack:

Making A Move

Cunningham nails it!

THE NEW KIDS is top-of-the-line moviemaking with a gleefully sleazy gloss.

Cunningham, director of the first FRIDAY THE 13TH and the godawful DEEP STAR SIX, really does himself proud in this Southern-set rape/revenge thriller.

Two kids, whose parents have died, start a new life at their uncle and aunt's luridly low rent carnival.

Lori Laughlin, who plays one of the kids, becomes the target of sociopathic Dutra (James Spader in his best perf ever) and his gang of disgusting miscreants because she's so damn delicious looking. Essentially, the boys want her booty and will break any law to get it.

The film succeeds so well because it embraces its exploitation elements (sex, drugs, violence, teen lust, guns, vicious dogs) with such relish and delivers on its promise unpretentiously but stylishly. It is extremely well directed and acted and moves at a peppy clip.

You really do care about the characters and the film's Lalo Schifrin score nails the drama like a whore to a floorboard,

The carnival setting is a doozy and a triumph of production design; and the film's final scene has a black, perverse feel to it that had me nodding with approval.

A classic, and I'm not going to follow that with "of it's genre" because I'm tired of reviewers singling out films like this as less noteworthy because they're nasty.

Nope, a classic piece of cinema in anybody's book and titled STRIKING BACK in some markets.