The New Kids Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

The New Kids Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 23, 2019

While finding his greatest career success in horror, helming 1980’s “Friday the 13th,” director Sean S. Cunningham wanted a break from the genre, returning to his comedy roots with 1983’s “Spring Break,” delivering a beach party raunchfest without actually providing any raunchy business. While the feature was another hit for Cunningham, the lure of fright films proved to be powerful, returning to suspense and violence with 1985’s “The New Kids.” This isn’t a slasher picture with careful attention to the destruction of bodies, but a juvenile delinquent tale from the 1950s juiced up with era- specific aggression. Cunningham isn’t big on style and doesn’t really know how to measure performance, but the man knows his exploitation, clearly defining good vs. bad while utilizing an interesting setting for this gradual escalation of high school bullying. “The New Kids” is often ridiculous, but it’s entertaining, with Cunningham keeping up pace and intensity as he tries to skate past absurdity.

Loren (Shannon Presby) and Abby (Lori Loughlin) are siblings immensely proud of their father, Colonel Mac (Tom Atkins), who recently thwarted a plane hijacking. Mac is attentive to his kids, keeping them fit and prepared, but when he takes off for a weekend to pick up a medal from the President, he and his wife don’t make it back alive. Newly orphaned, Loren and Abby are forced to move to rural Florida, facing guardianship from Uncle Charlie (Eddie Jones) and his wife, who run a gas station that’s connected to Santa’s Funland, a Christmas theme park in disrepair. Charlie has big dreams for the property, working to restore it with a fresh coat of paint and a working roller coaster, but he doesn’t have the money just yet, leaning on the new arrivals to help out. Loren and Abby also deal with schooling, triggering antagonism from alpha bully Dutra (James Spader), a hallway punk who loves to wield his power, joined by his gang. Content to stay out of the way, Loren and Abby are soon pulled into Dutra’s focus, commencing a war between the sides when strategic pacifism fails to nullify dirtball Floridian pride.

Colonel Mac is the first character we meet in “The New Kids,” and he’s a force of nature. He’s a man of discipline, waking Loren and Abby up at the crack of dawn to join him on a training run, with the father sending his kids through a military camp obstacle course, keeping them alert and prepared for anything to happen. He’s also a bit of a pervert, telling his daughter she has a “sexy bod,” but that’s some profound relationship trouble Cunningham doesn’t pursue. Instead, Colonel Mac is used for story purposes, establishing that Loren and Abby are capable of defending themselves when push comes to shove, showcasing their endurance and light self-defense skills. They aren’t weak, which is important to note when everything is taken away from them in an instant, informed their parents are dead and their life of order is over, newly introduced to the wilds of Florida, where Uncle Charlie is hoping to tap into Walt Disney World fever by taking over a junky amusement park located 25 miles off the interstate. Perhaps foster care is best for the siblings.

Scripted by Stephen Gyllenhaal, “The New Kids” tracks Loren and Abby’s usefulness, getting comfortable with their new home and helping to repair Santa’s Funland, which is home to rickety rides and a petting zoo, with Abby immediately drawn to the cuddliness of a giant rabbit. Pressure develops when they start school, triggering disdain from Dutra and his band of idiots, including Gordo (Theron Montgomery), Moonie (David H. MacDonald), and Joe Bob (Vince Grant). The bullies hate Loren, and Dutra wants to get his hands all over Abby, but the brother and sister remain elusive, avoiding early confrontations. “The New Kids” serves up various antagonisms, with Dutra making life difficult for Loren at a drinking fountain, while Abby is messed with inside a library, but there’s some light in the darkness, as the siblings eventually pair up with Mark (Eric Stoltz) and Karen (Paige Lyn Price), finding love quickly.

Cunningham serves up average teen pursuits, watching as Loren and Abby date and deal with homework, also observing Uncle Charlie’s unfortunate predilection for fiscal irresponsibility, putting everything (including Loren and Abby’s money) into Santa’s Funland, expecting the park to attract big crowds. Such side business builds character as intended, but the real experience of “The New Kids” remains with Dutra, who amplifies his reign of terror to deal with his failure to rattle the recent arrivals. The creep keys Uncle Charlie’s prized automobile and the gang trashes the park in the middle of the night. Interestingly, Loren doesn’t take these provocations lying down, managing to infiltrate Dutra’s home and take the money he makes by selling drugs to his fellow students.

“The New Kids” gets slightly darker at times, especially with Dutra’s posse, who’ve trained an abused pit bull to attack at the sight of blood, and the boys aren’t the brightest, electing to pour lighter fluid on Abby, threaten her with matches, and then decide to try and sexually assault her, perhaps unaware how fire actually works. The threat level isn’t high, but Spader is immensely enjoyable to watch as the prime baddie, camping it up as a blonde monster with zero self-esteem issues and a love of guns. He’s completely hateable, which gifts the picture some visceral highlights while Cunningham maintains his B-movie focus.

The New Kids Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation has not been refreshed for the Blu-ray debut of "The New Kids." It's an older master, offering a softer viewing experience for the fanbase, keeping detail muted as the adventure visits strange settings, limiting dimension. Facial surfaces aren't enticing, lacking texture, and costuming doesn't have the surface feel that typically comes from the 1980s. Colors are aged as well, lacking vitality with theme park decorations and adolescent outfits, which miss real snap. Reds should be explosive, found in bloodshed and car paint jobs, but there's no vividness, just a basic understanding of hues. Delineation isn't strong, but little is lost to solidification, only running into trouble during evening sequences. Source is in fine shape, without pronounced damage.

The New Kids Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Also dealing with age is the 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix, which doesn't have a problem with intelligibility, keeping dialogue exchanges open for inspection, doing well with heated encounters and quieter domestic event. However, there's little fullness to the track, which borders on shrillness at times, with a few sharper highs and limited weight when it comes to soundtrack selections. Scoring isn't remarkable but it supports suspense needs, without stepping on the performances. Atmospherics are basic, noting school commotion and theme park attendance, and sound effects register as intended, though gunfire isn't powerful.

The New Kids Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this disc.

The New Kids Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The New Kids" loses power when it comes time for Cunningham to provide a grand finale. Some choices in shock value are fairly silly, and there's a third act showdown that doesn't take full advantage of the tempting amusement park setting, ignoring the strangeness of the property as the heroes meet villainy on their own turf. "The New Kids" makes a few missteps when trying to leave the audience horrified instead of sufficiently riled up, but the picture does have a certain mall-multiplex-on-a-Saturday-night appeal, which Cunningham handles crudely but effectively.