River's Edge

"Which was worse? The murder or what came after?"

1986 1h 40m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 335

CrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A group of high-school friends must come to terms with the fact that one of them, Samson, killed another, Jamie. Faced with the brutality of death, each must decide whether to turn their friend in to the police, or to help him escape the consequences of his dreadful deed.

“Which was worse? The murder or what came after?”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Crispin Glover
Layne
Keanu Reeves
Matt
Ione Skye
Clarissa
Roxana Zal
Maggie
Daniel Roebuck
Samson
Dennis Hopper
Feck
Joshua John Miller
Tim
Tom Bower
Bennett

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tim Hunter
Writers: Neal Jimenez
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.9M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

40 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tim Hunter, shot by Frederick Elmes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jürgen Knieper. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Howard E. Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Crispin Glover and Keanu Reeves and Ione Skye carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Which was worse? The murder or what came after?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tim Hunter directs. Frederick Elmes behind the camera. Jürgen Knieper scores. Howard E. Smith cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.9M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
240 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Tim Hunter, shot by Frederick Elmes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Jürgen Knieper. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Howard E. Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Crispin Glover and Keanu Reeves and Ione Skye carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Which was worse? The murder or what came after?".
9IMDB entry: tt0091860 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "drug dealer", "high school", "police", "gun".

The technical file

Cinematography: Frederick Elmes
Original score: Jürgen Knieper
Editing: Howard E. Smith
Production design: John Muto
Costume design: Claudia Brown
Makeup / hair: Kenny Myers
Sound: Jay Boekelheide
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,900,000
Box office: $4,600,000
Return: 242% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: River's Edge (1986)

Awards

Sundance Special Jury Recognition
Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Tim Hunter

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-02-29
★ 7/10
Did the sight of this dead girl move you in any particular way? River's Edge is directed by Director: Tim Hunter and written by Neal Jimenez. It stars Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye, Daniel Roebuck, Dennis Hopper, Joshua John Miller, Roxana Zal and Josh Richman, Music is by Jürgen Knieper and cinematography by Frederick Elmes. When a group of high school friends discover that one of their social group has murdered another - his girlfriend - they all react in various ways... Based on an actual murder incident in 1981, "River's Edge" is a deeply unsettling film in how it probes the troubling underbelly of American youth. Naturally considered controversal at the time of release, it is however a fascinatingly brave portrait of disaffected youth via home and school life. The various reactions each member of the group serve up is chilling whilst baffling considering the reality of it all. The screenplay is high quality because it doesn't demonise the "kids" for their bizzare response to a tragedy in there circle, instead we get complex characterisations that are smartly portrayed by the young cast. They in turn are bolstered by another edgy off the wall turn by Hopper (he did Blue Velvet as well this year), where his ex biker drug peddler also has a murder in his past and has given his love to a blow-up doll named Ellie. Troubling in many ways, a sort of nihlistic youth apocalypse that's amazingly handled with a calm honesty, this still decades later remains an important film. 7.5/10

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