River's Edge (1986)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Tim Hunter

Writer:

Neal Jimenez (written by)

Release Date:

8 May 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

The most controversial film you will see this year.

Plot:

A high school slacker kills his girlfriend and shows off her dead body to their friends. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Police | High School | Murder | Sex

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Crispin Glover	...	Layne
Keanu Reeves	...	Matt
Ione Skye	...	Clarissa (as Ione Skye Leitch)
Daniel Roebuck	...	Samson 'John' Tollet
Dennis Hopper	...	Feck
Joshua John Miller	...	Tim (as Joshua Miller)
Roxana Zal	...	Maggie
Josh Richman	...	Tony
Phil Brock	...	Mike
Tom Bower	...	Bennett
Constance Forslund	...	Madeleine
Leo Rossi	...	Jim
Jim Metzler	...	Mr. Burkewaite
Tammy Smith	...	Kim
Danyi Deats	...	Jamie

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | Finland:K-16 (video rating) (1988) | Australia:R | Canada:R (video rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Arcade Enterprise, La Crescenta, California, USA

Company:

Hemdale Film

Trivia:

Neal Jimenez based the characters on friends he went to school with in Sacramento, California

Goofs:

Continuity: In the opening of the movie, the younger brother throws his sister's doll off a bridge. We see a completely different doll hit the water below.

Quotes:

[John accuses Feck of having feelings for his blow-up doll, Elly]
Feck: Look, I'm not psycho. I know she's a doll. Right, Elly?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Romper Stomper (1992)

Soundtrack:

Tormentor

Teenage apathy at its extreme. (spoilers)

Less Than Zero could have been the 80s movie that reveals teenage apathy in its most extreme form had they actually stuck to the damn book. But, where they hadn't, this movie presents does the job, and leaves you with the creepiest feeling when its all over in ways not done until the late nineties with Larry Clark's movies 'Kids' and 'Bully.'

Societal outcast teens are faced with a rather curious dilemma (they don't treat it much like one) when their estranged friend (Daniel Roebuck) boasts to them that he killed a teenage girl near the river's edge in their suburban town. Keanu Reeves may be the only civilized character among the bunch, the only one willing to exhibit any sort of conscience, anyway, while the others either don't do anything about the girl's death or want to help their friend hide the body.

I don't know who is more sick in this film--Crispin Glover--who becomes nearly obsessed and quite paternal in trying to protect the friend and hide the crime by smuggling him out of the state. Dennis Hopper, an on-edge drug dealer (who clings to a female blowup doll) that befriends the teens (as a dealer, of course) and suddenly becomes involved in the events. Or, Josh Miller, who plays Reeve's little brother, Tim. He appears to be the most apathetic of them all, at least until his emotional breakdown at the end. It is definitely not peppy 80s teen fare, obviously. And certainly makes the point strikingly clear about the serious detachment these kids deal with (despite a bizarre series of events) thanks to many great performances all around (even Reeves proved some acting capability).

Help yourself to a comedy to recover if it rocks you too hard.