When this came out amidst all those dead teenager movies, some may have written it off as such (especially when it was released with the alternate title of DEAD KIDS), but a cult has developed for this movie (I am among them), as it is a strange melange of horror and 50's sci-fi. Kids get money to undergo experiments at the local university, and then end up being programmed to kill. Michael Murphy is the top cop in the archetypal small town who investigates the murders and opens more than a few skeletal closets. While rooted in 50's milieu, it is still very contemporary, not least helped by a thick Tangerine Dream score. In fact, this movie would make a perfect double bill with BLUE VELVET, as both take a picture perfect piece of Rockwell and distort the hell out of it. In another age, Michael Laughlin produced films like TWO LANE BLACKTOP. This, and his sister film STRANGE INVADERS (pushing the 1950's evocation even further), show his promise as a unique director in his own right. I wish he had done more.
1 comment:
Don't lie. I know Robert Altman directed this
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