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"River's Edge" was one of the most important independent films of the 1980s. Directed by Tim Hunter from a screenplay by Neil Jimenez, it tells the soul-deadening story of a group of teens who cover for their friend after he murders another of their friends. What makes the movie especially disturbing is the teens' indifference; when they're taken to view the nude corpse, which the killer has dumped at the title location, most of them gaze at it with a galling lack of emotion.

"River's Edge" earned raves from critics and won Best Picture at the 1988 Independent Spirit Awards. It launched the careers of Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye, and Daniel Roebuck, and went a long way toward spurring Dennis Hopper's late '80s comeback. It is a scathing experience, one that leaves such an indelible mark you need not revisit it. You'll never shake the image of Danyi Deats...

Of his many iconic performances, Keanu Reeves’ best comes from the start of his career, in a brooding teenage drama called River’s Edge. After landing a few supporting roles, Reeves nabbed himself a starring role alongside a magnetic Crispin Glover as a teenager reeling from the brutal murder of a classmate. When John (Daniel Roebuck) confides in his friends that he murdered his girlfriend (Danyi Deats), the alienated and existentially-depressed group of teens attempt to make sense of the entirely senseless act. Credit is often given to Glover, whose performance as Layne is admittedly mesmerizing and esoteric, but Keanu’s efforts are equally deserving of praise, even if more reserved than Glover’s.

Hollywood was in the midst of its Brat Pack fervor when the director/screenwriter team of Tim Hunter and Neil Jimenez jolted moviegoers with "River's Edge." It was the grimy, dead-souled antithesis to John Hughes' peppy tales of suburban woe. The Northern California high schoolers in Hunter's film are dead-enders who, aware of their paltry worth to society, have little value for human life. When their friend John (Daniel Roebuck) claims he's murdered his girlfriend Jamie (Danyi Deats) and takes them to see her nude corpse, which he's discarded like a dog toy next to a riverbank, they do not recoil in horror. They are at most dumbstruck, and at worst eager to aid John in covering up the crime.

We should be shocked by their lack of revulsion, but Hunter lets us hang out with these kids for a good 15 minutes before taking us to Jamie. They're future burnouts...