The Boys Next Door (1985 film)

The Boys Next Door

DVD cover
Directed by Penelope Spheeris
Produced by Sandy Howard
Keith Rubinstein
Written by Glen Morgan
James Wong
Starring Charlie Sheen
Maxwell Caulfield
Music by George S. Clinton
Cinematography Arthur Albert
Edited by Andy Horvitch
Distributed by New World Pictures
Release dates
  • October 1985 (1985-10)
Running time
91 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $5 million[1]

The Boys Next Door is a 1985 independent adventure-crime drama film about two boys who leave their small town home on the day of their high school graduation and embark on a crime and murder spree.

Plot

Roy Alston (Maxwell Caulfield) and Bo Richards (Charlie Sheen) are two outcasts of their high school community. Bo receives $200 as a graduation gift from his grandparents. Facing a lifetime of working blue-collar factory jobs, the boys spontaneously decide to use the money to go on a vacation to Los Angeles.

During the drive to Los Angeles, Bo and Roy rob a gas station and beat the attendant with a crowbar. The next day, the boys go to a beach boardwalk, where Roy throws an empty beer bottle in the air and it hits an elderly woman on the forehead. Three young women see this, and chase Bo and Roy to the parking lot. The women yell at the boys and damage their car. Enraged, Roy starts the car and drives around in circles in the parking lot with the woman still on the hood. After several loops, Roy throws the car into reverse, throwing one of the women from the hood of the car. After the incident, one of the women finds Bo and Roy's dog, Boner the Barbarian, and reads his dogtag, which leads to speculation of where Bo and Roy are from.

During a visit to La Brea Tar Pits, Bo expresses his wish that the world could just "go caveman" for one day, abandoning all rules and order. Roy agrees, and they hit the streets of Los Angeles for the night.

Several additional encounters lead to more deaths, including a gay man named Chris, a young couple, and an older woman named Angie (Patti D'Arbanville), whom Roy kills while she is having sex with Bo. Eventually they are tracked and found by the LAPD and chased into a shopping mall. After unsuccessfully trying to steal some guns, Bo tries to talk some sense into Roy about surrendering. Roy refuses, and orders Bo to give him the gun so he can go out in a "blaze of glory". Bo refuses and shoots Roy when he tries to take the gun away. The police surround Bo and ask him why he killed his friend. Bo replies, "Because I had to." Bo is then arrested and led away while reporters take his picture.

Cast

MPAA Cuts

According to director Penelope Spheeris' DVD commentary, The Boys Next Door had to be cut and submitted to the MPAA 10 times to get an R rating. Scenes that were cut or changed include; Scene where gas attendant is beat up was shortened to lessen the intensity and sound effects were toned down. A scene depicting the murder of gay man was cut down (mostly sound effects were heavily toned down). A scene in which Roy shakes and kills a woman was heavily cut down, with various shots removed to lessen the intensity.

Also Known As

References

External links

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