The Boys Next Door (1985) New World/Suspense-Thriller RT: 87 minutes Rated R (language, strong brutal violence, nudity, sexual content) Director: Penelope Spheeris Screenplay: Glen Morgan and James Wong Music: George S. Clinton (as “Geo”) Cinematography: Arthur Albert Release date: March 1986 (Philadelphia, PA) Cast: Charlie Sheen, Maxwell Caulfield, Patti D’Arbanville, Christopher McDonald, Hank Garrett, Moon Unit Zappa, Paul C. Dancer, Kenneth Cortland. Box Office: N/A
Rating: *** ½
Penelope Spheeris’ disquieting crime-drama The Boys Next Door opens with still photos of infamous serial killers- e.g. The Hillside Strangler, The Son of Sam, Wayne Williams, Henry Lee Lucas- over the opening credits as different narrators talk about never expecting such horrible acts of violence from such quiet people. Serial killers always turn out to be the last person you’d expect.
From the outset, you know there’s something wrong with Roy Alston (Caulfield, Grease 2) and Bo Richards (Sheen, Red Dawn) as they play a sick practical joke in front of their high school. They’re about to graduate and go out into the real world. Unfortunately for them, it means working dead-end jobs at a local factory. Their anti-social behavior has made them outcasts at school; nobody wants anything to do with them. They’re not even welcome at a classmate’s graduation party.
On the spur of the moment, Bo and Roy decide to take a road trip to Los Angeles before their bleak futures begin. They embark on a violent crime spree that begins with a brutal assault on an Iranian gas station attendant they claim short changed them. Roy admits to Bo that he has something inside of him that makes him want to hurt people; the assault was the first time he’s ever really felt alive. On their first night in L.A., they inadvertently enter a gay bar and go home with Chris (Dancer). Roy assaults and kills him after a little foreplay. It’s all downhill from there. Meanwhile, Detectives Woods (McDonald, Grease 2) and Hanley (Garrett, Serpico) attempt to track down the killers before they claim more victims.
The Boys Next Door is better than you’d expect, it helps that a talented director like Spheeris (The Decline of Western Civilization) is at the helm. She has an eye and ear for the underground scene; she gives this movie a sense of realism with her docudrama-like approach. The violence is, at once, shocking and brutal. There’s one scene where Roy throws an empty beer bottle and it hits an elderly lady on the head. When some girls berate and attack their car, Roy takes one of them for a ride on the hood of his car before sending her falling to the pavement. The violence, however, is hardly what you’d call gratuitous. It actually has a function in the movie. It shows how they’re escalating with each killing more brutal than the last.
The acting in The Boys Next Door is good. Caulfield, with his icy blue eyes, is positively chilling as the alpha member of the pair. Clearly insane, once he gets that first taste of blood, he’s hooked. There’s nowhere to go but forward and up. Sheen, in an early role, delivers as the disturbed accomplice in possession of a small measure of humanity. He likes this girl in his class and tries to talk to her only to be rejected. Patti D’Arbanville (The Fifth Floor) does solid work as an older woman the two guys hook up with at a bar. It’s a small but memorable role. McDonald is very good as the dedicated cop trying to put an end to the boys’ crime spree.
It’s surprising that a powerful and serious movie like The Boys Next Door is a product of New World Pictures, a low-budget studio primarily known for junk like C.H.U.D and the Angel movies. It packs a powerful punch as it documents the actions of two sociopaths. Like most, their motives are unclear. It can be inferred that anger and resentment on Roy’s part definitely plays into it. He has a crappy home life as seen in a scene where he tries to engage his uncommunicative father in conversation. By the look on Dad’s face, you can tell the rotten apple doesn’t fall from the tree. For Bo, it could be the frustration of not fitting in with his peers. The thrill of the kill is also a factor. Bo and Roy are enjoying themselves to a disturbing degree. Of course, it could be they have no reason at all. That’s actually scarier.
A smaller independent studio is definitely the way to go with a movie like The Boys Next Door; a bigger-budgeted, polished treatment by a major Hollywood studio wouldn’t do the material justice. It needs a shabby look and gritty feel to achieve maximum effectiveness. And this movie is effective. It’s not out for cheap thrills. It’s a serious look at two troubled boys marginalized by their families, classmates and society. The final scene is really something else. You may or may not see it coming, but there’s no other way it could end.
It’s pretty scary when you think about it. Those two weird guys in your class or workplace with no friends might be killers. Sadly, this is all too true to life. I couldn’t help but think about Columbine and other mass shootings as I watched Bo and Roy lash out at society with their violent actions. It’s horrifying to consider what some people are capable of. Spheeris realizes these fears in The Boys Next Door and doesn’t hold back either. It’s unforgettable.
