River’s Edge 2018

In Northern California, a chilling moment opens the story as a pre-teen named Tim tips his sister’s doll into a river, catching sight of a teenager named John smoking nearby beside the lifeless body of his girlfriend Jamie. Not long after, Tim roams a convenience store and, while John is denied a beer for being underage, Tim slips two cans of Olde English 800 into his pockets. John steps out to start his car, only to discover Tim has left the beer cans on the front seat, a small act with big consequences. Tim then shadows John on a ride to buy marijuana, and when he returns home, his older brother Matt and their mother are combing the house for the missing doll. The arrival of Layne, a friend of Matt, sets the next step in motion as they head to Feck, a disturbed ex-biker and drug dealer hiding from the world after being wanted for murder. They purchase marijuana from Feck, and along the way Layne recounts a party from the night before where John and Jamie argued.

At school, Layne and Matt share joints with friends Clarissa, Maggie, and Tony. Matt dreams aloud about fleeing to Portland, a notion Clarissa dismisses. John arrives and declares that he killed Jamie; Clarissa and Maggie brush it off as a joke. John then leads Layne and Matt to Jamie’s body, a moment that unsettles Matt while Layne focuses on hiding the truth. The group later visits Jamie’s body with Layne’s older brother Mike driving, a grim reminder of the consequences rolling through their town. Clarissa later phones Matt, but he stays distant. Layne returns to the river and pushes Jamie’s body back into the water. When police activity sweeps near John’s house, the kids head to Feck’s, where John hides out for a time. Matt directs investigators to the river, where Jamie’s body is found, and the pressure of the cover-up begins to mount.

Back home, Matt argues with his mother and her boyfriend, and a grim moment follows when he sees Tim vandalizing the grave marker their sister made for Jamie. Enraged, Matt strikes Tim in the face. Tim seeks refuge with a friend, Moko, and they break into Feck’s to grab a gun, a choice that foreshadows more danger to come. In the dead of night, Layne, Clarissa, and Matt drive to Tony’s house, only to be chased off by Tony’s father with a shotgun. Layne contends with Clarissa and ejects her from the car; Matt accompanies Clarissa on foot, and the two stop at a convenience store where they unexpectedly encounter John and Feck. Tim and Moko break into Feck’s place again, this time finding marijuana, which they smoke before passing out.

Dawn brings new tensions as Layne and the others confront the aftermath of their actions: Matt confesses to Layne that he told the police that John murdered Jamie. Layne, in a panic, searches for John’s body, while Tim arrives with a dangerous resolve, pointing Feck’s gun at Matt and threatening to kill him for last night’s blow, though Matt manages to calm him. The police arrive, escorting the teens away as the town reels from the unfolding events.

In a hospital room after the chaos, Feck admits to killing John “because there was no hope for him,” and confesses to murdering his girlfriend as well. The community gathers for Jamie’s funeral, where the friends—grieving and stunned—face the final farewell to their classmate, coming to terms with what happened and the fragile line between guilt, blame, and memory. The film closes on a somber note, underscoring how grief, impulsivity, and secrecy collide in a small town, leaving behind a trail of consequences that none of them can fully outrun.