#157 -- The New Kids (1985)

Director: Sean S. Cunningham
Rating: 2/5

The first thing I noticed about this movie was that it was created by none other than Sean Cunningham. I was sold, and I had to see it. Not only that, but it starred Lori Loughlin, also known as Aunt Becky from Full House. So, even though the synopsis was kind of bland, I was intrigued. Sadly, though, the movie was kind of bland too. I think the point of this was to show a sort of terror that can hit home. It's possible, it's believable, and that's what makes it scary. But it wasn't scary to me. It just reminded me that humans can be really sick and evil. The characters pissed me off more than anything, and the movie disappointed me.

It's about siblings Loren and Abby, whose parents were killed in an accident while they (the parents) were away from home. Loren and Abby go to Florida to live with their uncle Charlie. I've got to say that Charlie's pretty great. He's working on opening up a gas station/amusement park, which the kids have to help him with. They're living in a carnival, and that makes me feel pretty jealous. If you've ever seen her, you know that Lori Loughlin was a very beautiful young lady, so it's no surprise when the boys in her new school take a liking to Abby. She meets one nice boy, but the rest of the boys we meet are complete assholes. They're all attracted to her, and all they want to do is "hit it." They make a bet to see who can get her first, but they don't expect her to turn them down. When she does, they get pretty pissed and start tormenting her and her family. They murder their animals and destroy their property. They eventually go so far as to try to rape Abby and light her on fire. They have guns, and uncle Charlie ends up getting shot (but no worries; he makes it through). The evil rednecks hide throughout the carnival, and they plan to kill Abby and Loren. But what they don't know is that their father was a military man. They know how to handle themselves. So Loren and Abby set to kicking all those bastards' asses. There is blood, and people die. Uncle Charlie eventually uses the tragedy as a gimmick to get customers to the amusement park, and it brings the family a pretty good deal of money.

So, it kind of sounds interesting now that I type it up. But it wasn't, not to me, at least. It can be great if you can take a concept that's very real and turn it into a horror movie. But you run the risk of your movie becoming dull and boring. That was the case here. I wasn't excited. I wasn't worried. I was just ready for it to end. I hate that I have say this, being that all this was created by Sean Cunningham, but it is what it is. I just didn't enjoy this one at all.