Die Kids von Orlando

Brother and sister Loren (Shannon Presby) and Abby (Lori Loughlin) find their lives turned upside down when their parents are killed in a car crash. Off they go to live with eccentric Uncle Charlie (Eddie Jones) at his rundown Santa's Funland amusement park in Florida. Naturally, they become the target of the local bullies led by Eddie Dutra (James Spader, with bleach blonde hair, horrific shirts and ridiculous accent). After slaughtering teens in Friday THE 13TH (1980), producer-director Sean Cunningham took it easy on them in SPRING BREAK (1983). Since that didn't deliver Friday level returns, he jumped back into the dead kids genre but with a 80s revenge motif rather than stalk-n-slash. This is about what you would expect from the time period save a nasty mean streak of violent death that sets it apart from something like bully classic THE KARATE KID (1984). Cunningham goes out of his way to make sure you never see the heroes kill anyone directly. I guess that is why they are the good guys? The film ends with the ridiculous coda of the Uncle's theme park thriving because of the shootout that happened there and a younger sibling of those offering a stare that can only mean THE NEW KIDS II. It never happened.

Sean S. Cunningham (the man behind such films like 'Friday the 13th', 'A Stranger Is Watching ' and 'Deepstar Six') takes a stab at a routine (but gutsy) revenge/vigilante thriller set in the good ol' south of Florida with a group of feuding teenagers at the core. The plot is familiar in structure, but the bold dialogues and sweaty developments make it rather amusing.

Loren and Abby are brother and sister, who go to live with their uncle Charlie in a small town in Florida, after the death of their parents. Their home would be in a rundown carnival park, which their uncle has plans of restoring. Abby catches the eyes of the psychotic Eddie Dutra and his group of scummy thugs, but after constantly turning down their advancements. The bullying starts to rear an ugly head.

What transcends is sleazy, unsavory and completely nasty, but Cunningham (whose direction is energetically serviceable) pulls it off tremendously well delivering a complete (and versatile) package of humid drama and impulsive action. The tension is pot-boiling, as all these little encounters (with a very dangerous quality streaming through them) go on to spill over in one almighty, gang-busting climax of violent rage set in the amusement park. Even though how all of this eventuates takes some coming to grips with, but as furious exploitation found within this decade (like 'Class of 1984') it's hard to pass. Lalo Schifrin's textured score pumps along; infusing with the authentically rural atmosphere and the pacing throughout is reasonably zippy.

The cast is a strong one and well-suited across the board. The lovely Lori Loughlin and valiant Shannon Presby create supportable characters. While at the other end of the spectrum. James Spader is hard to forget with his slimy, reptilian presence and sudden jolts of violence. Eddie Jones adds a lively colour to his role as Uncle Charlie. In small roles are Eric Stoltz and Tom Aktins.

A brother and sister (Shannon Presby and Lori Loughlin) lose their parents in a tragic accident, and are sent to live with relatives in Florida. They are repeatedly bullied and traumatized by the local yahoo played wickedly by James Spader. What follows is a late night showdown at an empty carnival between good and evil, all in the name of survival. Lori Loughlin delivers a decent performance, as well does Shannon Presby as her very protective brother. However, James Spader's convincing performance is pure evil, at its best. As far as bully films go, this is one of the best.

The New Kids is probably best for fans of the cast or anyone satisfied by mediocre teen 80s movies. This is one of those movies about a bunch of psychotic weirdos trying to do as much damage as possible to two innocent victims, leaving you to wonder what the heck these kids did to push the antagonists so far over the edge.

Here, our innocent victims are Abby (Lori Laughlin) and Loren (Shannon Presby). After their parents died, the brother and sister go to live in an amusement park (how awesome is that?) where their relatives (surrogate parent-types) live and work.

The psychos are led by Eddie Dutra (James Spader) a sadistic albino, and his gang of merry men (one of which is the excellent John Philbin who 80s fans will remember as 'Turtle' from the surf adventure, North Shore). Anyways, Eddie wants Abby, and what Eddie wants, he gets. But when Abby pushes him away after several forceful advances, sadistic control-freak Eddie doesn't want it to look like he let a girl weaken him. He and the gang go after Lorren, Abby, and their family, in a do or die situation.

Despite having a decent finale of chases and destruction, the movie has a very simple story. Unfortunately, it can also be quite sappy during those brother-sister inspiration talks. Abby and Lorren are willing to fight back against Eddie and his gang once and for all after so many of his vicious acts against them and their family, but for such tough kids (especially Abby), they do seem to come off as bitterly sappy sometimes.

Unfortunately, too, the movie has a very simple story. I watched it on the Spanish Channel (I don't understand Spanish) and I figured everything out alright. It's a generic story, but one you'll like if that's what you're into or if you're fans of the actors in this film.

The New Kids is a likable eighties movie from veteran horror director/producer Sean S. Cunningham (Friday the 13th). There are quite a few flaws in it, but it's too much fun to condemn for that. I stumbled across it in the horror section, and yet, it's the furthest thing from a horror flick. It's more along the lines of Paul Lynch's Bullies really. It could almost be considered a thriller, but there's just enough cheese on the surface to keep it from being too scary. It's still well worth a sitting though. The great, young cast is fun to watch, including Eric Stoltz (Killing Zoe) and James Spader (Wolf), who is hilarious and evil at the same time as the crazy redneck, Dutra. Another reason I like this film is the presence of one of my favorite genre actors, Tom Atkins (brief as it may be). The climax, well, the climax makes the movie. It's very well done (especially the pit bull scene) and everyone should walk away pleased. If you're looking for an interesting revenge flick, rent The New Kids.