imperial_krieg
Pure genius this movie is one of the best ever. Mostly because of Maxwell Caulfield's outstanding performance words cant describe how good he captured the mind of a sociopath. I was totally blown away by this movie when I saw it for the first time about a year ago. This movie was never accepted by the mainstream mostly because they cant relate and they never will. But those who can will love this film there's no one like it and its mostly because of Caulfield's performance. I have never seen anyone play a sociopath more convincing.Roy-"That motherf*cker... is the one who will keep us from going anywhere"
JasparLamarCrabb
With THE BOYS NEXT DOOR, director Penelope Spheeris captures the alienated, frustrating world of teenagers that is often either missed or glossed over in most Hollywood teen pictures. Though released at the height of the "brat pack" movement, it's as far from SIXTEEN CANDLES as possible. It's about crime and more. It tunes into the same sexual aggression Spheeris focused on in her documentary DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION. Maxwell Caulfield and Charlie Sheen play two bored kids from Northern California who, after being lectured to at school about the need for young people to be more humane when they get out into the "real" world, go on a weekend killing spree in Los Angeles. Although directed by a woman, it is not, as one might suspect, anti-male. Spheeris is careful to point out that these two boys are sociopaths who hate everyone. While they appear normal --- the wear t-shirts and jeans and are surprisingly clean-cut looking --- they aren't. They're unable to fit into society and are rejected by their peers. They turn to violence as a way to communicate their frustrations. The world these boys see is full of freaks and repellent characters, out to get THEM. After beating a gas station attendant to near death, they blame HIM...for trying to short-change them. Spheeris' direction is so frank, and the violence is so brutal, it's stunning. That said, the violence in THE BOYS NEXT DOOR is at times so over the top that is nearly operatic.
rogerebertisfat
First off, don't listen to the comments by the moron from Pleasant Valley, New Mexico. Maxwell Caulfield couldn't possibly be doing his version of "Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer" since "The Boys Next Door" came out BEFORE it. In fact, since "The Boys Next Door" came out in 1985, it's pretty safe to say that "Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer" (which came out in 1986) borrowed from it, not the other way around. Regardless, this movie has a great soundtrack and really funny dialogue ("Two Blacks and a Mexican.") Scenes so outrageous that they're actually funny (gas station beating). Now, while it's not the greatest film in existence, the fact that the (life- like) violence in the movie could really happen (and sad to say, similarly HAS really happened before), make this movie better than a lot of movies out today. The acting is pretty good, especially Maxwell Caulfield (probably his best performance). I'd recommend this movie to anyone, especially if you grew up in the '80s. People who don't like it are usually over-analyzing it a bit too much. Too many people are looking for "social commentary" when watching movies. They usually end up not liking many films. They forget the simplest thing: movies are made to entertain, bottom line.
rixrex
The fawning over this lesser Spheeris effort is incredible. The only reason for it is that this melodrama hits the spot for knee-jerk self-proclaimed progressive minds, this being that terrible angst is created in aimless young men by a mindless uncaring society, fomenting into no particularly understood (by them) rage against anyone stepping in the way. What a moronic, simplistic view. Everything here is boiled down to pop psychology and endless unrealistic stereotypes. Even to the point of stereotyping those with whom we are supposed to feel empathy. Along with this is the hinted latent homosexuality from where it appears much of one of the boy's anger stems, yet it's never confronted nor really developed as it should be. We are supposed to just guess then accept that homosexual tendencies are repressed and then erupt into violence, a LOAD OF BUNK and on par with the stupidity of the gay-baiting cop the film supposedly refutes. From the very beginning, where the supposed "normalcy" of various serial killers is trumpeted (point of fact: the killer Kemper was nowhere near normal), to give credence to the jingoistic "boys next door" title, onward to the undeniable effort to show these "boys next door" as nothing like normal in the eyes of their peers, this is nothing more than an immature 90 minute student film. The simplistic and ignorant moments are so many that it's way too difficult to list them all, but if this isn't the worst thing Spheeris has done, then I have yet to see her worst. Better to watch Charlie Sheen and a buffed-up Chris MacDonald in TERMINAL VELOCITY instead of this pile of crap.
AD
