Dead Kids Poster Original Daybill 1981 aka Strange Behaviour Horror
Country Of Origin Daybill Poster.Dead Kids also known as Strange Behaviour, is a 1981 slasher film written and directed by Michael Laughlin, co-written with Bill Condon, and starring Michael Murphy, Louise Fletcher, and Dan Shor. Its plot follows a series of bizarre murders being perpetrated against teenagers in a small Midwestern town. Though set in Illinois, the film was shot in Auckland, New Zealand. Dead Kids was an international co-production between the United States, New Zealand, and Australia.The film was intended as the first instalment of the Strange Trilogy which was cancelled after the second instalment, Strange Invaders, failed to attract a large enough audience. It is a homage to the pulp horror films of the 1950s. The film is considered a seminal work of New Zealand cinema, being the first horror film produced in the country. The film premiered in New York City on 16 October 1981, and subsequently opened in Los Angeles on 13 November 1981.Dead Kids received largely favourable reviews upon its release.It has since attracted a large cult following. The film was released on VHS under the title Small Town Massacre in 1983 in the UK.But in the UK while not prosecuted for obscenity, the film was seized and confiscated under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 during the video nasty panic.This increased the cult following even more so.
