Deadly Friend (1986)

Deadly Friend is an American 1986 cult science fiction horror film directed by Wes Craven. It is based on the novel Friend by Diana Henstell, which was adapted for the screen by Bruce Joel Rubin.

Originally, the film was a sci-fi thriller without any graphic scenes, with a bigger focus on plot and character development, and a dark love story centering around the two main characters, which were not typical aspects of Craven's previous films. After Craven's original director's cut was shown to a test audience, the audience criticized the lack of graphic, bloody violence and gore that Craven's films included. Warner Bros. vice president Mark Canton and the film's producers then demanded script re-writes and re-shoots, which included filming gorier death scenes and nightmare sequences, similar to the ones from Craven's previous horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Due to studio imposed re-shoots and re-editing, the film was drastically altered in post-production, losing much of the original plot and more scenes between characters, while other scenes, including bloodier deaths and a new ending, were added. Although fans have been clamoring for the release of Craven's original version in a special edition, Warner Bros. currently has no plans to release a director's cut of Deadly Friend. In April 2014, an online petition for the release of the original cut was made. Fans suggested that both versions (the theatrical cut and the original director's cut) should be released in a special edition by Shout!/Scream Factory.

Synopsis

In a parking lot, a thief tries to steal from a van, but a robot named BB (voiced by Charles Fleischer) stops him by grabbing this throat. BB lets go of the dazed thief as soon as Paul Conway (Matthew Laborteaux) and his mother Jeannie (Anne Twomey) return from shopping and drive away in the van. Paul is the owner of BB, whom he built. They arrive at their new house in the town of Welling the next day.

Actors