The New Kids
AKA Striking Back
Directed by Sean S. Cunningham
Released: 1985
Starring: Shannon Presby, Lori Loughlin, Eric Stoltz, James Spader, and Tom Atkins
Running Time: 89 minutes
Reviewed by Eric Grubbs

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If director Sean S. Cunningham’s Friday the 13th was his take on Halloween and Psycho, then The New Kids was his attempt at Straw Dogs. Based on a story co-written by Stephen Gyllenhaal (yes, that's Jake and Maggie’s father), the film centers around two newly-orphaned teenagers, Abby and Loren, who move in with their uncle Charlie. Things seem like a good start for Abby and Loren, but when a group of rednecks come into their lives, their lives are never the same.

A predictable and violent thriller, the good guys defend themselves against the bad guys, ending in a pretty climactic battle in Uncle Charlie’s amusement park. James Spader is especially good as the ringleader of the bad guys, being somewhat of a sophisticated guy with money from dealing drugs. Lori Loughlin (Rad and much later, "Full House") is equally good in the role of the damsel in distress who fights back.

The over-the-melodramatic-top music and hot-colored clothes are straight out of 1985, but the central tone is what’s important here. Fighting back and not letting people walk all over you is pretty universal, and that’s where The New Kids excels.