“Did the sight of this dead girl move you in any particular way?”
River’s Edge is a brutal film to watch. It’s blunt, emotional and emotionless at the same time, and will make you feel uneasy. That’s what makes this film so brilliant and weird. The 1986 film focuses on the aftermath of the murder of a teenaged girl by her boyfriend, and the complete lack of emotional response from their friends. It was written by Neal Jimenez (The Waterdance, For The Boys) and inspired by the real life murder of Marcy Renee Conrad. It was directed by Tim Hunter (Breaking Bad, Twin Peaks, Dexter).
The film opens with young Tim (Joshua John Miller) witnessing his older brother’s friend, Samson (Daniel Roebuck), screaming out loud while standing at the river’s edge near the nude, dead body of his girlfriend, Jamie (Danyi Deats). The film moves on to the pair interacting at a local quick stop where Tim steals beer for Samson, who is also called John. They stop off at Feck’s (Dennis Hopper) house to score some weed before going to school. At school, Samson/John walks up to his friends and casually admits that he murdered Jamie. The members of the group react in different ways, primarily believing that it’s a joke, but Matt (Keanu Reeves), is the only member of the group that seems to be bothered by the whole admission.
The friends eventually go to see Jamie’s body and, after seeing her laying there, react with indifference and nervousness, with only Layne’s (Crispin Glover) brother showing any real type of emotion. As the day wears on, Layne begins to devise a plan to protect John, collecting money from the group and ultimately dumping Jamie’s body into the river. One of the group, I won’t say who, finally caves in to their conscious and calls the police, which leads to them picking up Layne for questioning. John goes into hiding at Feck’s house, and Tim, who has grown loyal to Layne and John, goes on a revenge run against Matt. What happens next? Take a trip back to 1986 and watch River’s Edge to find out for yourself!
This movie is dark and depressing. It is not a fun film to watch, although there are a few minor humorous moments, most of which are provided by Layne as he slowly becomes more and more unhinged. The indifference by the kids and, to a lesser degree, some of the adults in the film, is rather disturbing. It shows you a very bleak side of humanity, one which I was lucky enough to not experience for myself while growing up in rural Louisiana.
The film is loaded with brilliant actors, almost all of which would go on to bigger careers. Dennis Hopper was the obvious big name in this film. He was well-established as an amazing actor at the time of this film’s release. Crispin Glover was fresh off of his turn as George McFly in Back To The Future, and would continue to have a brilliant career in both lead and supporting roles. Keanu Reeves would go on to become a massive star, appearing in Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Matrix, John Wick, and tons of other hit films. Ione Skye (Clarissa) debuted in this film and has managed to have a very long and successful career, appearing in a number of popular films including Say Anything…, A Night In The Life Of Jimmy Reardon, and Wayne’s World. Daniel Roebuck (Samson/John) has also had a massively successful career as both a leading man and a supporting actor in film and television. He’s had roles in films and TV series like The Fugitive, The Munsters, Matlock, Final Destination, and Nash Bridges. Taylor Negron, who has made a career out of bit parts and supporting roles has a, surprise, surprise, bit part as a clerk at a convenience store. Joshua John Miller was a successful child actor, appearing in movies like Near Dark and Teen Witch, and had guest roles on a number of television shows as well. He has gone on to become an amazing writer and producer with works that include Queen Of The South and The Final Girls. Josh Richman (Tony) had a solid acting career, but turned to directing, working on videos for Guns N’ Roses, and currently has a promotional group. Roxana Zal (Maggie) had a long acting career but eventually became a fashion designer. Danyi Deats (Jamie) has thrived as a producer of music videos and television commercials, with projects that included the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Ed Sheeran, the Backstreet Boys, and Lana Del Rey.
I highly recommend checking out this film. It’s wonderful, but not necessarily a fun watch. The cast and direction are brilliant, and the story is chilling. Be sure to watch this movie if you haven’t seen it yet. You won’t regret seeing it.
Thanks for checking out my review!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 