Crimewave (1986)

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Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.

AUDIENCE SCORE

48%

liked it

Average Rating: 3.1/5

User Ratings: 2,554

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Movie Info

In a slapstick spoof of hitmen and crime stories, the head of a security systems company (Hamid Dana) is bumped off by two gonzo exterminators (Brion James and Paul L. Smith) who have gone from stomping out pesky varmints to stomping out human targets, and one of them does so with gusto. Now the exterminators go after the partner who hired them and his blatantly obnoxious wife (Louise Lasser) and in the meantime frame a poor security guard (Reed Birney) for the murder of the company boss. The tale is told in flashbacks, as the security guard has been tried and convicted and is shown at the beginning, about to be executed.

Rating:

PG-13
Genre:

Comedy, Horror
Directed By:

Sam Raimi
Written By:

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Sam Raimi
In Theaters:

Apr 25, 1986 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Apr 26, 2005
Runtime:

83 minutes
Studio:

Columbia Pictures

Cast

Reed Birney
as Vic Ajax

Sheree J. Wilson
as Nancy

Louise Lasser
as Helene Trend

Paul L. Smith
as Faron Crush

Brion James
as Coddish

Edward R. Pressman
as Ernest Trend

Bruce Campbell
as The Heel

Hamid Dana
as Donald Odegard

Richard Bright
as Officer Brenner

Barbara Claman

John Hardy
as Mr. Yarman

Julius Harris
as Hardened Convict

Neil Laurie

Emil Sitka
as Colonel Rodgers

Sean Farley
as Jack

Robert Symonds
as 1st guard

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Critic Reviews for Crimewave

All Critics (2) | Fresh (1) | Rotten (1) | DVD (2)

A strange but not funny spoof of hitmen that disappoints because the comedy is too simplistic.

Feb 9, 2015 | Rating: B- | Full Review…

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Raimi exibe a mesma energia ensandecida de Evil Dead, arrancando algumas risadas justamente graças ao volume e ao histrionismo de sua direção (e também, em parte, em função do roteiro amalucado dos irmãos Coen).

Apr 27, 2009 | Rating: 3/5

Pablo Villaça

Cinema em Cena

View All Critic Reviews (2)

Audience Reviews for Crimewave

In a word: wacky. Make that wackywackywacky! From start to finish, a manic, at times surrealist adventure chronicling one crazy night when a co-owner of a home-security business hires two psychotic exterminators to off his partner for selling him out. Neighbors, onlookers, and innocent bystanders all become involved in the mayhem with very broad, often cartoonish characterizations. Great camerawork and imagination with several laugh-out-loud moments (best: the final expression of Mr. Yarman.) Only a protracted car chase/cliffhanger bogs down the silliness. Not unlike an early Coen brothers comedy, and not at all surprising since they co-wrote the script with pal Sam Raimi directing one of his earliest films (which means a great role for smarmily handsome Bruce Campbell as a smug, slick-talking heel.) Five times more entertaining than Spider-Man for 1/50th the cost.

Doctor Strangeblog

Super Reviewer

Brion James and Paul Smith are hysterical in this very bizarre, live-action cartoon. Bruce Campbell shows why he's the man from day one. Very interesting to see different aspects of this film that have become trademarks for director Sam Raimi and the Coen Bros as writers. The hero is named Vic, so you can't go wrong there.

El Hombre Invisible

Super Reviewer

A great dark comedy collaboration between the Coen Brothers and Raimi.

Anthony Valletta

Super Reviewer

Its...all over the place, but has moments of real brilliance. Spiderman 3 and this both share that fatal formula. The kid in the elevator though is fantastic!