The Crush

"He thought it was just a crush. He was dead wrong."

1993 1h 29m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 579

ThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A precocious and obsessive teenager develops a crush on a naive writer with harrowing consequences.

“He thought it was just a crush. He was dead wrong.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Cary Elwes
Nick Eliot
Alicia Silverstone
Adrian Forrester
Jennifer Rubin
Amy Maddik
Kurtwood Smith
Cliff Forrester
Amber Benson
Cheyenne
Gwynyth Walsh
Liv Forrester
Deborah Hancock
Samantha
Beverley Elliott
Tex Murphy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alan Shapiro
Writers: Alan Shapiro
Languages: English
Countries: 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

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alan Shapiro, shot by Bruce Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Cary Elwes and Alicia Silverstone and Jennifer Rubin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He thought it was just a crush. He was dead wrong.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0106627 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alan Shapiro directs. Bruce Surtees behind the camera. Graeme Revell scores. Ian Crafford cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
233 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Alan Shapiro, shot by Bruce Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Graeme Revell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ian Crafford shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Cary Elwes and Alicia Silverstone and Jennifer Rubin carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "He thought it was just a crush. He was dead wrong.".
8IMDB entry: tt0106627 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "lolita", "journalist", "obsession", "sociopath".

The technical file

Cinematography: Bruce Surtees
Original score: Graeme Revell
Editing: Ian Crafford
Production design: Michael S. Bolton
Costume design: Sharon Purdy
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,000,000
Box office: $13,609,396
Return: 227% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Crush (1993)

Awards

MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance

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

Also by

Alan Shapiro

Stills · wallpapers

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
It came out in '93 when I was 13 and seriously got addicted to the moody mystery thrillers. I mean, I grew up in a house that fostered a love for pulp fiction novels, Sabitini, Leonard, Howard, Hammett, and these movies kind of fall right into those novels. And this had a great cast, Elwes, Silverstone, Rubin, so the film was cast in a way that it could save whatever trash the script was lacking in. And in this case it's plot turns and mystery that it's lacking. The story itself is honestly pretty boring. And I don't fault anyone that objects to that. However, it has enough tension to really enjoy it. The acting is great. It really sets the mood in the right places. It's only when it comes down to the script itself where it fails, and even then the premise is interesting if it were done better.

Production companies