TIM HUNTER

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BB.5. 

USA, 1986.  Hemdale, Island.  Screenplay by Neal Jimenez. Cinematography by Frederick Elmes.Produced by Sarah Pillsbury, Midge Sanford.  Music by Jurgen Knieper.  Production Design by John Muto.  Costume Design by Claudia Brown.  Film Editing by Howard E. Smith, Sonya Sones. 

After a disturbed teenager murders his girlfriend and leaves her body by a river, he tells his friends about it. They all decide to keep it a secret after seeing the body for themselves, completely undisturbed by the sight of murder right in front of them, but two members of the group (Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye) feel some semblance of human decency enough to tell the police. Based on a true story, this is a less-than-riveting but still thoroughly shocking tale of the lengths to which these youths have become desensitized because of troubled home lives and the poverty of their backdoor-to-nowhere hometown (as it turns out, it can’t all be blamed on violent television). Excellent acting, and a definite sense of eerie detachment that will get under your skin.