Onda de Crime

I went through a whole lot of effort to finally see "Crimewave" (it's incredibly hard to find), but I can't help feeling a little bit unsatisfied with the result. Maybe it's only natural that it doesn't live up to high expectations, since Sam Raime had to deliver a follow-up to his downright brilliant "The Evil Dead" and that's much easier said than done. The screenplay, written by the gifted Coen brothers who just finished their dazzling debut "Blood Simple" the previous year, is overly hectic and far too absurd to summarize. I'm not even sure if this can be called a movie, as it feel more like a series of slapstick gags and insane sketches linked together by the ultra-thin premise of two professional exterminators gone berserk. Crush and Coddish are a couple of criminally insane lunies who wipe out more than just rodents, but eventually meet their equal in the nerdy bell-boy of a building complex. Some of the grotesque comedy sequences are hysterical (the slamming doors, the dance contest...) while others completely miss the mark (the whole car chase finale). The acting is tremendously over the top – what else did you expect in a light-headed project such as this? - and it looks like the entire B-cast never had this much fun in their whole lives. They're happy...we're happy, I guess.

"Crimewave" is especially worth a peek in case you're a member of the Bruce Campbell fan-club. Evil Dead's Ash steals the show as slick and obnoxious womanizer Renaldo.

Finally seeing Crimewave now means that I have seen (and enjoyed, mostly) all of Sam Raimi's feature films. I'd been searching for this flick for a while, and was therefore delighted when it happened to come on TV! I'm glad it did, too, because if it hadn't, I'd have bought it (probably quite expensively), and I wouldn't say that this film is one that I'd be happy with purchasing. I see Crimewave as an enjoyable experimental film for the talented Evil Dead director and star. Sam Raimi implements several of his clever camera angles into the proceedings, and this bodes well with the over the top comic style of the rest of the film. Similarly, Bruce Campbell does what he does best; in a role that is an interesting prelude to his way over the top turn in The Evil Dead's sequel. The plot is all over the place, and starts off with a man on death row, protesting his innocence. His story is then told through flashbacks, and we find out that he really is in the innocent party in a story that features a couple of maniac rat catchers, a beautiful woman, a suave 'heel' and seemingly no end of madcap events.

The screenplay was written by two of modern cult cinema's biggest icons; Ethan and Joel Coen. Hot off their success with Blood Simple (which, incidentally, I didn't like much); this was the second film to feature the brothers' as writers. Despite them having the writing credit, this really doesn't feel like a Coen Brothers film; and that is testament to Sam Raimi's direction. Raimi perhaps goes a little bit too over the top at times, and the film does almost feel like a series of slapstick sketches threaded together by a thin plot. We get treated to some of his early directorial skill, with several really well implemented scenes; my favourite being the one where we see one of the rat catchers kicking a door in from both the inside view and on a TV screen showing the security camera. The unknown cast is decent enough, but it's only really Bruce Campbell that stands out, and that's more because of his later performances than because of prowess here. Still, it's always fun to see Bruce in a movie, and that remains true here. On the whole, this is a good film; but I'd only really recommend it to Raimi/Campbell fans, and people that will appreciate that it's more of a prelude to greater things to come than a great cult flick.

Okay, it's directed by Sam Raimi, co-written with the Coen brothers, and features both Bruce Campbell and the late Brion James, so what are you waiting for?! RENT IT NOW! Raimi may have disowned this because it was taken out of his hands, but this shouldn't put you off. That kinda thing happens way to much (see the films of Peckinpah,Orson Welles or Donald Cammell). We can't judge the Crimewave that COULD have been just the one we have, and guess what, it's a damn funny, clever, black comedy with enough "action" to please both the popcorn movie brigade and Roadrunner fans. The film is nearly ruined by the uncharismatic lead couple, but that is more than made up for the star turns by James and Paul Smith as a couple of psycho exterminators, and Campbell as a "charming" Lothario. Fans of 30s/40s comedies and musicals ( Emil Sitka doesn't have a cameo for nothing), the more slapstick parts of Evil Dead 2 and Army Of Darkness, the zanier Coen Bros ( think Raising Arizona or Hudsucker Proxy) or Stanley Tucci's The Imposters should enjoy this zany fun. Oh, and wait til you see the door slamming chase sequence! All this and Louise Lasser too.

This movie is SO cartoony it is painful to watch, and I AM a fan of Raimi, Campbell and the Coens. The bad guys' dubbed voices are so annoying I considered just turning it off, which I NEVER do. Campbell was the only decent thing about this movie, and he has a relatively small role. If you are considering seeing this movie, just read the memorable quotes section of this website instead.

An actress loaded on cocaine, demanding to do her own makeup, and doing a terrible job of it. An actor distracted by battling spectres of his ex-wife. An actor dubbed over. Soon to be Hall of Fame directors/writers battling the studio at every turn. B-list hero Mr. Chin forced into a background role. All of this combined to make a ridiculous movie, and yet, all that behind-the-scenes chaos added to the movie's Live Action Looney Tunes charm.

Bruce was supposed to have the lead role, but the movie would have had a very different feel and maybe less enjoyable. His scenes in a supporting role are a blast, but I would actually have liked to see him as the main baddie. That would have added some more oomph and brought in flavor from the more wacky parts of Evil Dead.

The plot is, who cares, they didn't. Watch for the silly violence, some enjoyable cinematography (the hallway of doors scene was like ASMR for the eyeballs), and some solid one-liners.

It did take me a bit to warm up to this film as I went into it not knowing anything about it, but once I accepted that it wasn't going for any one genre, and just being ridiculous wacky fun, I settled in and enjoyed the ride. It is also a pleasure to watch Chuck Norris's TV wife adding some gravitas when Bruce was absent.