40th Anniversary Screening!
This October, We Really Like Her! invites you on one hell of a joy ride with a 40th anniversary screening of THE BOYS NEXT DOOR, a criminally underrated serial killer flick from the one and only Penelope Spheeris (WAYNE'S WORLD).
Much like Mary Harron's cult classic AMERICAN PSYCHO, Spheeris's second feature film is about how unchecked white male fragility can lead to perverse acts of violence. This hidden gem zooms in on two disenfranchised teens, Roy (Maxwell Caulfield of GREASE 2 and EMPIRE RECORDS) and Bo (Charlie Sheen), as they take off on a post-graduation killing spree. Let's just say things get real ugly, real fast, with the bloodthirsty duo setting their sights on everyone from unsuspecting gas station attendants to lonely singles as they make their way to L.A.
Just as she does with the racist and sexist subjects of her DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION series, Spheeris refuses to shy away from the putrid acts committed by Roy and Bo, using gory details to emphasize their inhumanity. It helps that the killer screenplay by X-FILES icons Glen Morgan and James Wong (FINAL DESTINATION) directly references real-life "boys next door" like Ted Bundy and Henry Lee Lucas. From the bold opening credits to the gruesome finale, it's as if they are begging you not to side with the film's hot, yet morally hideous leading men.
Essentially a homoerotic BADLANDS with a punk rock soundtrack, THE BOYS NEXT DOOR remains as viscerally relevant as it was in 1985. Watch it if you dare.
CONTENT WARNING: This film features depictions of homophobia, racism and sexual violence.
Restoration Provided by SEVERIN FILMS and DCP Provided by AGFA!