Nonureva Really Surprised!

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

philllipveburst-41155 Reading a few of the reviews for this film... I believe some people missed the boat on this one. This (in my opinion) is one of the most brilliant films to ever come out of Hollywood. All the crap they've put out over the years, how can you NOT appreciate this film!?! Cannot stand Keeanu Reeves, but he's beyond brilliant in this film. Dennis Hopper, one of his best. The entire cast does a wonderful job. The mix of darkness and humor is beyond compare. Way ahead of it's time. Every scene is "on point", and then some. Glover is outstanding. I'm not even going to go into the storyline here, just see this film. As dark as it obviously is, I could watch this film every day and still not tire of it. There are so many great scenes in this movie it's hard to single any out. Just one or two of them are worth the price of whatever. This movie gives you more bang for your buck than probably any other film ever made. Tarantino used to,give you a great value for your buck (if you like his kind of movies), not anymore... but that's another story for another day. This film was obviously something he used as a model for his own movies. He's a wicked mongrel. Not a bad thing... he admits it. Still hits hard thirty years later. It's dark... but a "total blast" to watch.

cwbellor When you're a confused teenager who has just killed your girlfriend, sometimes the only person you can count on is George McFly. Of course, I'm talking about Crispin Glover. Crispy steals the show here as Layne. His character is a winning combination of brains and good intentions. He is a true original with his slacker initiative and punk patriotism. This may be the 80s, but as true blue as Cookie Crisp is he is not going to play by Reagan's rules. To this bug-riding burnout, the only thing more ridiculous than conformity is no doubt, gloves with fingers.In an uncertain world, he is certain of one thing and that is the bond between two delinquent buddies. Crispin knows that he's got to look out for his friend. Unfortunately, Keannu doesn't know how to be a team player and that's where the main conflict of this film lies. When faced with a dead naked girl, do you do the right thing or do you do a half assed job of hiding the body? Dennis Hopper is a Fecking delight in this film as a Hopping crazy drug dealer with an affection for inflatable babes. But it's the younger generation of angstniks that shine in this movie and Crispin's leather jacket alone shines brighter than any bratpacker could ever hope to.

jcbutthead86 River's Edge is one of the best Teen films ever made and also one of the darkest Teen films ever made. Filled with terrific direction,great performances,a wonderful screenplay and a dark,unforgettable soundtrack,River's Edge is an Underrated classic that you won't forget.Set in California and Based on the true story of the 1981 murder of Marcy Renee Conrad who was murdered by boyfriend Jacques Broussard,River's Edge tells the story of teenager Samson 'John' Tollet(Daniek Roebeck)who murders his girlfriend Jamie(Danyl Deats). When John goes to school and tells his friends he killed his girlfriend,his friends don't believe John until he shows them the dead body. Realizing the danger,John's friend Layne(Crispin Glover)wants to protect him and leaves John under the watch of Local drug dealer Feck(Dennis Hopper)while John's other friends Matt(Keanu Reeves)and Clarissa(Ione Skye Leitch)are conflicted:turn John in or be conflicted about it.Released in 1986/87,River's Edge was a great film because it was different from other Teen films at the time because it was not a John Hughes film or a Brat Pack film,but a dark Teen film that stands right next to Heathers as the darkest,Nihilistic Teen film of the 1980s that paved the way for films like Alpha Dog,Bully and Mean Creek. River's Edge is a powerful film that right from the start gives viewers a world that is bleak and filled with sadness and hopelessness and where you feel like the Teen characters have no future and will have nothing going for them and the only things that the teens can do is get stoned or drunk and have no emotion where the characters home life and town are broken and very downbeat. The teens in this film are not interested in going to the prom or getting a date but are focused and interested in doing nothing with their lives. What is shocking and disturbing about River's Edge isn't the murder itself(which is horrible)but how the characters react and feel about the murder. When the murder happens each character has a different feeling about it. Layne wants to protect John at any and all costs despite John murdering Jamie,John doesn't care about himself or the murder,Matt and Clarissa are conflicted and Feck cannot understand why John is so uncaring. Throughout the film there is a dark feeling of apathy and carelessness because despite Jamie being murdered the film's main characters act like the murder never happened or Jamie never existed or that the kids are too dazed and confused to care. You can say that RE is a Horror film in some ways not just because of the murder and dread surrounding the film but a Horror film about feelings and human emotions in society and how we as people deal with the harshness and darkness of most human beings. This film is a dark and grim study of human nature and apathy and how we as humans deal with things in life and you can say is true to the term "disaffected youth" because the teens don't know how to feel or react to the situation. What I also love about the film is the movie's offbeat and dark Humor which is thanks to the characters Lanye and Feck with Lanye trying to protect John at all costs and saying funny dialog and Feck whether it's scenes when he's dealing drugs to the kids and saying funny dialog,watching John or having conversations with his plastic sex doll Ellie. While the film is a drama River's Edge has a quirky sense of Humor. The screenplay by Neal Jimenez is excellent with Jimenez giving the film and the main characters well-written dialog as well as great depth and personality. Jimenez says the characters were based on friends that he knew and I really believe him because the characters feel real and truthful and the dialog doesn't feel forced but natural and honest. The ending of the film is excellent because of it's ambiguous nature and how it makes viewers asks questions rather than easily answering them for us and it's one of the things that makes River's edge a great film.The whole cast does great in their roles. Crispin Glover is brilliant,funny and over the top as Layne,the one who wants to protect John. Keanu Reeves is wonderful as Matt,with Reeves bringing depth to the role. Ione Skye Leitch is fantastic as Clarissa,Matt's love interest. Daniel Roebuck is great and bone-chilling as John,the killer of the film. Dennis Hopper is amazing,funny and over the top as Feck,a local drug dealer,with Hopper making Feck the most sympathetic character in the film. Joshua Miller is disturbing and memorable as Tim,Matt's little brother. Tom Bowler(Bennett),Jim Metzler(Mr. Burkewaite),Leo Rossi(Jim),Roxanna Zal(Maggie),Josh Richman(Tony),Phillip Brock(Mike),Constance Forslund(Madeleine),Taylor Negron(Checker) and Tammy Smith(Kim)give good performances as well.The direction by Tim Hunter is excellent,with Hunter bringing a dark,eerie,somber and gritty tone to the film and uses great camera angles and shots. Great direction by Hunter.The score by Jurgen Kniper is masterful,dark,big and powerful and definitely fits in with the tone of the film. A great score by Kniper. The film also great songs on the soundtrack from Slayer(Die By The Sword,Evil Has No Boundaries,Tormentor,Captor Of Sin),Fates Warning(Kyrie Eleison),Hallows Eve(Lethal Tendencies),Agent Orange(Fire In The Rain),The Vipers(Let Me Know),Burning Spear(Happy Day)and Hank Ballard(I'm Gonna Miss you and Let's Go,Let's Go,Let's Go). Great soundtrack.In final word,if you love Teen Films,True life films,Drama films or films in general,I highly suggest you see River's Edge,a powerful,underrated classic that will stay in your mind after you watch it. Highly Recommended. 10/10.

knucklebreather "River's Edge" is a very perplexing movie. The most striking feature of the movie seems to be the universally apathetic characters. In the opening sequence we learn that Samson, a very large, uncontrollable teenager has killed Jamie, a member of his group of stoner friends from school, and left her naked body by the river's edge.While there are many movies about heartless killers, Samson is fully realized, such as he is, and I was struck by the utter lack of any rime or reason to his actions, any "Hollywood" touches to humanize him or explain what he did. He killed a girl and really doesn't care. There was no planning, before or after, no moralizing, at most he is amused by it.Samson (also called John because of his last name) tells his friends, who display apathy that might be shocking. The only one who seems to care is Layne (Crispin Glover) who wants to cover it up so his friend doesn't get arrested and executed. But the rest don't really seem too shaken by it, they don't get mad at John, they even justify his actions, and they certainly don't go to the police right away.River's Edge works because there is no clear message. I'm sure many people can find one in it, but it's definitely not a movie that hits you over the head with some moral. It presents some very strangely behaving people, who are often over the top but depicted with just enough realism that you have to take what is going on seriously. The fun in this movie is that you get to float around in this shockingly apathetic teenage wasteland for an hour and a half, and see what you can make of it.The main problem I had with the movie was the direction and soundtrack, which coincide to create awkward transitions and moments where "River's Edge" feels like a crappy low-budget flick you'd find being mocked on MST3K. None of the dialogue or plot falls into that category, but it's the transitions between scenes, where they often just kind of end unimpressive and cut to the next one.The soundtrack also kept drawing me away from the movie. It includes some edgy metal for 1986, which is perfectly fine for the movie, but it doesn't do much with it, and instead most of the music is an orchestral soundtrack. Parts of it are very atmospheric and perfect for the movie's feel, but at other times it is hitting cliché film score notes during tense scenes and really seeming quite cheesy. I contrasted this movie with "Picnic at Hanging Rock", a spiritual cousin of "River's Edge" I would say, where the score was so utterly perfect at always building the mood, and really think River's Edge could have been an incredible movie with a score that consistent.River's Edge isn't perfect. I had honestly never even heard of it until I saw it mentioned as a superior film with the same basic themes as "Bully" by Larry Clark. I am very glad I rented it, and am a bit surprised I'd never heard of it. It deserves to be better known. It has some flaws and not everyone will like it, but there is a lot of depth here, and of course its cast includes several famous people in early or debut roles.