In 1981 Michael Laughlin planned a trilogy of films dubbed the Strange Trilogy. Unfortunately we only got two of those films, but on the plus side both are quite good. The first of those films was Dead Kids, also known as Strange Behavior. This is an 80’s slasher that is also a loving homage to the B-movies of the 50’s.

In a small town in Illinois, really New Zealand posing as Illinois, teenagers began getting murdered. The murders are all different so the authorities aren’t sure if they’re dealing with one killer. Even if it is multiple killers, it’s safe to say the slayings are in some way related. Local police offer John Brady (Michael Murphy) investigates the crimes and quickly suspects the local university is somehow involved.

The university comes in to play because a number of years prior John lead an investigation that determined one of the school’s professor’s, Dr. Le Sange (Arthur Dignam), had been conducting unethical experiments. Dr. Le Sange has been dead for some time now but the school still uses old videos of him as lectures and his former assistant Gwen Parkinson (Fiona Lewis) has taken over his research.

Dead Kids is one of those movies that I somehow missed over all these years, which is too bad but better late than never I suppose. Without spoiling too much, I do love how it takes the slasher and gives it a sci-fi twist. The university is experimenting in mind control and turning teenagers into mindless, killing robots. As a result we do get different killers and thus they all kill in different ways. The weirdest is a kid in a Tor Johnson mask. Not sure what causes him to put on the mask first.

It’s not a perfect movie, suffering from a few issues. The pacing is probably the most notable as it feels a little wonky. At times the film does experience some lulls as you go lengthy periods of time without any “action” sequences. And there are some things that just don’t make sense. Like the killer that wears the Tor Johnson mask. Why does he put it on? He’s under mind control, so surely he’s not worried about getting caught. Then there’s one kid who is murdered and hung up like a scarecrow. It’s certainly cool, but why is it done? I thought the film would circle back to that and it never does.

The film does offset those issues by having a number of generally creepy moments. Like the scarecrow, that’s kind of crazy. The creepiest and worst part to watch though was a needle to the eye. That’s how the university is able to take control of the kids. They inject some type of fluid into the eye with a massive needle. I hate needles and I hate anything that happens to the eyes. So this is pretty much the worst as far as I’m concerned.

The film also has a pretty terrific score courtesy of Tangerine Dream. It really shines helping set the atmosphere and mood for the film.

The film previously received a Blu-ray release in the US courtesy of Severin Films but just recently received an Australian release from Glass Doll Films. I’ve never seen the Severin release but I’m guessing Glass Doll used the same transfer and it’s a good transfer. The PQ is very nice. Glass Doll edges Severin out by having slightly more special features. Both releases have two audio commentaries, one with Laughlin, an interview with make-up effects artist Craig Reardon and an isolated music score. Glass Dolls’ extra content is an interview with actor Don Shor and a collector’s booklet on Dead Kids and Australian film by John Harrison. This booklet is a fascinating read. I love the addition of collector’s booklets so this is a big bonus for me.

Dead Kids is a lot of fun and nicely blends genres from two different eras. If you haven’t seen this one yet, check it out. There’s a lot to enjoy.

Dead Kids is now out on Blu-ray from Glass Doll Films.