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.

The acting and writing in this movie are so over-the-top that it cannot possibly have been meant to be taken serious. Crispin Glovers' wild-eyed affected performance is not to be missed. It is the pinnacle of his career. Dennis Hopper is perfectly cast as Feck, the aging biker who claims to have killed a girl in the past but that he loved her so it's OK. The psycho kid with the nun chucks is hilarious in a totally non- speaking role. And Keanu Reeves acts like, well, Keanu Reeves. This movie boasts line after line of quotable dialogue. The killers' nick name is John because his last name is 'Tollet" which sounds like toilet. Check out the reason John killed the girl. You will never get tired of this movie. A classic!

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.

"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.