Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Woodyanders Shortly after graduating from high school, an aimless, alienated pair of scruffy blue collar California suburbanite misfit teens -- the moody, volatile, sexually repressed Roy and his more laid-back, passive partner Bo -- suddenly come to the grim realization that their post-high school lives hold precious little promise. Extremely upset about this glaring and undeniable bit of terrible truth, Bo and Roy decide to drive to Los Angeles for one last weekend of completely uninhibited partying. Things promptly turn sour when Bo and Roy beat a hapless gas station attendant within an inch of his life. The not so dynamic duo are just getting warmed up. They continue their blithely ferocious rampage with a vicious series of harsh random killings.Gut-wrenchingly tense and wholly believable, this gritty gem hits hard with its harrowing exploration of how adolescent angst and rage can easily erupt into terrifyingly destructive all-out brutality. Penelope Spheeris' direction is 100% on the money tight and effective: the brisk pacing, a fairly intricate and involving narrative, the often almost unbearably stomach-turning suspense, an unflinchingly downbeat ending, and a vivid rendering of the flashy-trashy L.A. milieu all lend credibility to the bleak premise. Glen Morgan and James Wong's script presents a chillingly convincing mosaic of negligent and sometimes even absentee parents, earnest, but ineffectual cops, mean, disapproving peers, and angry, frustrated outcasts which seethes with a startling mix of despair and nihilism (Morgan and Wong went on to write many episodes of "The X-Files," plus make the excellent and underrated "Willard" remake and the "Final Destination" pictures). Maxwell Caulfield and Charlie Sheen give superb performances as the apathetic leads. The equally stellar supporting cast includes Frank Zappa's daughter Moon Unit as a vapid Valley Girl Bo develops a crush on, Patti D'Arbanville as a flaky, lusty medium who picks up the pernicious pair in a bar, and Hank Garrett and Christopher McDonald as the diligent mismatched homicide detectives who are trying to find and arrest the boys. Tough, stark and exceedingly rough, this bitter sleeper rates as a nerve-rattling knockout with its still topical subject matter nowadays seeming even more timely and relevant in the wake of the atrocious Columbine incident. The first-rate Anchor Bay DVD offers a sterling widescreen presentation along with the theatrical trailer, bios on Spheeris, Sheen and Caulfield, and an enjoyably loose, informative and opinionated commentary by Spheeris and Caulfield.

voumeguy Penelope Spheeris received kudos as director of "Wayne's World." I know that flick was funny as hell and made gobs of green, but "The Boys Next Door" is one of her best. This film combines her earlier efforts, particularly "The Decline of Western Civilization" and "Suburbia," into a nihilistic tale of two guys that ultimately realize that everything has its price. Sheen and Caulfield are very convincing as friends. When they first arrive in L.A. and stop at a gas station, Caulfield steals the show by brutally beating the gas station employee and justifying his actions to Sheen by basically saying: it happened, you can turn me in, you can come with me; let's see what the night turns up?

TOMASBBloodhound The Boys Next Door is an ugly, but generally gripping film about two losers who decide on a whim to spend the weekend in Los Angeles after graduating from high school. Charlie Sheen (Bo) and Maxwell Caulfield (Roy) play these two punks pretty convincingly, and this low-budget film lets them flex their muscles while terrorizing anyone unlucky enough to get in their path.The film begins by showing us pictures of seemingly normal-looking serial killers while at the same time using audio commentary to detail the number of victims they had. The actions of the two in this film really don't seem to be patterned after any particular killer, but this early footage is just trying to tell us that virtually anyone we see might have violent tendencies.We see a little of their last day of school. Bo strikes out with a hot chick. Nobody wants them to come to a big party later that night. The boys crash it anyway. Roy pisses in the pool, and the boys steal the family dog and take it with them out to L.A.. Once the guys get to L.A., pure mayhem ensues. First of all, they beat an Iranian clerk at a gas station senseless, nearly killing him. Then, they go to the beach and hit an old lady in the head with a beer bottle. Later on that evening, these two hoodlums graduate to murder. They pick up a gay man at a gay bar and kill him at his place in West Hollywood. Then they murder a young couple just because they're jealous that they can't get a hot chick like the young woman. Things are capped off by the senseless killing of a new-age hippie woman while she's getting it on with Bo. Roy seems to get jealous, then he violently shakes her to death after dissing her new-age values. By then, the cops are hot on their trail, and they corner the two punks at a shopping mall. The conclusion may or may not surprise you.The acting is very good. Sheen is decent enough, but Caulfield is the guy you will remember. This in not the same Maxwell Caulfield we were rooting for in Grease 2. This guy is one seriously screwed-up individual who takes to murder like a fish to water. Penelope Spheeris does a very good job with the limited budget in one of her earliest efforts. When watching this film now, you can't help but be reminded of the Columbine tragedy of 1999. The kids that caused that bloodbath were probably a lot like Bo and Roy. For some reason, they just couldn't conform, and they saw no other alternative but to take out their frustration on society. There also seems to be a bit of social commentary with the final ten minutes of the film taking place in the mall. I think the film is trying to say that kids of the 1980s were a bankrupt generation who had nowhere else to turn from their problems except shopping malls or other consumer venues. Arcades, too, for that matter.Overall, this is an ugly film that will make you think about it for quite a while after it's over.7 of 10 stars.The Hound.

stephanotis323 "The boys next door" is a superb movie. Bo and Ray, two mischevious best freinds, set out for a hightime weekend after graduation. They get spun out of control, and eventually, kill in cold blood for no apparent reason. This movie will make you go away thinking. With a twist ending that is supremly unexpected, and altogether a deliberate ironic musing, this movie is a must see! It is one of those rare movie, where you go away saying, "Hey, that movie was actually really good!" What I liked about this movie, is it is what I like to call a Sleeping Suprise. Its one of those movies that you casually pass by in the movie store, roll your thumb over in a tv guide, but when you finally do get around to watching this movie, you know you have witnessed something you should have seen earlier. I loved this movie, and you will too. With great acting, a realistic story line, and superb script, "The boys next door" will leave you thinking about the minds of a serial killer, and the qualms of a deeply distubed mind.With inside information about real life serial killers, it will leave you looking over your shoulder for days to come! 8 out of 10...