The Boys Next Door 4K Review (Severin Films)

The Boys Next Door is a 1985 crime thriller directed by Penelope Spheeris (Wayne’s World, Suburbia, The Decline of Western Civilization franchise, Dudes, Black Sheep, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Little Rascals, Senseless, and Hollywood Vice Squad). It was written by Glen Morgan (The X-Files, The Twilight Zone, Final Destination franchise, Black Christmas, Willard, 21 Jump Street, Trick or Treat, and The One) and James Wong (American Horror Story, Final Destination franchise, Millennium, The Commish, and Trick or Treat). It was produced by Sandy Howard (Dark Tower, Blue Monkey, Hollywood Vice Squad, Angel franchise, Deadly Force, and Vice Squad). It had an estimated budget of $5,000,000. High school outcasts Roy Alston (played by: Maxwell Caulfield from Empire Records, Grease 2, Mind Games, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, Waxwork II, Oblivion 2: Backlash, and The Bay) and Bo Richards (played by: Charlie Sheen from Two and a Half Men, Money Talks, Platoon, Wall Street, Hot Shots franchise, Major League franchise, Young Guns, and Eight Men Out) never fit in with all the other teenagers in their community. They consistently got into trouble, they had no respect for others, and they acted out for attention. After getting rejected at a party, they decide it’s time to have some fun before they go into full time work. They take a road trip to Los Angeles for a deadly spree of petty crime, senseless violence, and savage murder that get the attention of law enforcement which includes Detective Mark Woods (played by: Christopher McDonald from Happy Gilmore franchise, Thelma and Louise, Quiz Show, Requiem for a Dream, Dutch, Midnight Run franchise, The Man Who Wasn’t There, and The Skulls) and Detective Ed Hanley (played by: Hank Garrett from Death Wish, Sniper, Nothing to Lose, The Amityville Horror, Serpico, Exorcist II, The Sentinel, and Maniac Cop 2)!!!! First off, I love the opening that references true crime and some real life killers. It’s kinda a warning what’s to come here. The Boys Next Door was directed by the talented Penelope Spheeris. She’s done so many entertaining movies over the years and this is one of her best. It was written by veteran screenwriters Glen Morgan and James Wong, it’s a disaster joy ride that just keeps getting worse and worse in this. They originally just want to get away for a few days before they commit to their upcoming blue collar jobs that they most likely be stuck doing for the rest of their lives but it turns into something completely chaotic. Maxwell Caulfield shows you a new side of himself as the psychotic Roy Alston. He’s the one that always pushes everything way too far. He peer pressures Bo into stuff that he’s not really comfortable with. He only has bad intentions and that’s why it all goes out of control. He makes a better villain than expected, this isn’t Rex Manning. A young Charlie Sheen shines as the trusty follower Bo Richards. He’s actually not that bad of a person at first. He just wants attention and he craves acceptance from his peers but it never works out for him. He lets himself get influenced by the devilish Roy. He becomes someone that he doesn’t recognize anymore and he wants to come back to himself but it already feels like it’s too late. It’s one of his best roles early in his successful career. The rest of the supporting cast includes Christopher McDonald, Hank Garrett, Patti D’Arbanville (Third Watch), Grant Heslov (True Lies), Richard Pachorek (Trick or Treat), Lesa Lee (Memorial Valley Massacre), Kenneth Cortland (Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge), Moon Unit Zappa (Nightmares), Dawn Schneider (Hot Moves), Kurt Christian (Horror Hospital), Phil Rubenstein (Tango and Cash), James Carrington (Children of a Lesser God), Jeff Prettyman (Suburbia), Claudia Templeton (Avenging Angel), Toby Iland (Tomboy), and Don Draper (Caddyshack II). It’s a disturbing look at teenagers taking a wrong turn in their lives. It shows that anything can change at a flip of the switch. This cautionary tale shows these guys that have been treated like dirt most of their existences that completely snap. It just keeps getting crazier as it goes on. Once the line is crossed, there’s no turning back. The Boys Next Door doesn’t try to be polished and happy in any way. It feels realistic and it pushes the limits. The leads are unlikable for the most part. Bo has potential every once in awhile but at the end of the day, he’s responsible for his cruel actions. The Boys Next Door has a top notch build up. They go from simple little crimes to a straight up killing spree. It doesn’t have a dull moment. It’s beyond entertaining with it’s darker social commentary with a raw approach to it. The replay value is amazing, it gets better each time I watch it, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Severin Films! This 2160p (1.85:1) transfer with HDR10 is from a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative. I owned the previous 2019 Blu Ray from Severin and this newer version is a step above that. That’s saying alot because it was much better than the older DVD and VHS home video releases. This is the definitive transfer for this 80’s thriller and I don’t see it ever getting sharper than this. It’s never going to be reference quality but it’s a nice throwback to the 80’s with a natural look to it. It has English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks on the 4K. It’s an upgrade compared to before so all of the action, crime, and violence to give your home set up a test. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the destructive path is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has an energy driven soundtrack that fits with it’s atmosphere. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an archive “Audio Commentary” with director Penelope Spheeris and lead actor Maxwell Caulfield. Penelope Spheeris chats about why she made this and how she involved in this production. Maxwell Caulfield has some really entertaining stories about The Boys Next Door. He talks about his collaboration with Charlie Sheen in this. He goes over his character. Penelope Spheeris shares information about the cast, the locations, the soundtrack, and it’s darker vibe. It has a “Trailer” for The Boys Next Door. That’s all that’s on the UHD for the extras. The rest of them are located on the Blu Ray disc. It has the 25 minute “Blind Rage” it’s an interview with author and critic Stephen Thrower. He goes over the director’s earlier work before this. He says she was a good fit for the project and she knew how these people lived during this time. He speaks a little bit about the cast for this. He mentions Maxwell Caulfield had a 3 picture deal before Grease 2 flopped so Paramount cancelled his contract after that. He chats about it’s history and it’s social commentary. He talks about what happens in it and all of the chaos. It has the almost 20 minute “Both Sides of the Law”. It’s an interview with actors Maxwell Caulfield and Christopher McDonald. They previously worked together on Grease 2 but their friendship got stronger with this collaboration. They dive in their personal experiences on this movie. It was originally called Killer’s Holiday. They tell some fascinating stories. Maxwell Caulfield was struggling to find an acting job before this. He studied serial killers when he got this role. They go over what the they were doing at the time of this. They joke that they were older when doing this and Charlie Sheen was actually closer to the real age that he was playing here. It has the almost 6 minute “Give Us your Money”. It’s an interview with Texacala Jones and Tequila Mockingbird. They chat about what they provided to the film with their musical background. They were both in the same circle as director Penelope Spheeris. They had all kinds of friends in this. It has the almost 21 minute “Caveman Day”. It’s an interview with director Penelope Spheeris and actor Maxwell Caulfield. This is very similar to their archive commentary track on this home video release. They talk about some of the same things that were discussed on there. Penelope Spheeris opens up about her brother getting killed before she started working on this. Her brother was gay so she had a hard time filming the homophobic scene here. She seems like she regrets making this and she says it was too violent. It has the little over 12 minute “Tales from the End Zone”. It’s an interview with actor Kenneth Cortland. He chats about how he got this gig. It was the first film that he ever booked. It felt creative and he had all kinds of freedom while making this. He talks about the club that they shot at. He says the leads stayed in character when they weren’t in front of the camera. He shares his personal opinions on The Boys Next Door. He brings up some of his memories from it. It has the almost 14 minute “The Psychotronic Tourist – The Boys Next Door”. This is a revisit to some of the locations from the movie. It shows what some of the spots look like these days compared to the 80’s. It plays scenes from The Boys Next Door and then it goes there. It mentions other productions that were filmed at the same location. I always love this type of material, I wish more home video releases had them on it. It’s refreshing and it’s a nice switch up from all of the normal stuff. It has a little over 3 minutes of “Alternate Opening Sequence and Extended Scenes” (Silent). The limited edition comes with a high quality slipcover. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!