River’s Edge

Two scenes unfold: Tim tips his sister's doll into the river while watching a teenage John smoke nearby beside Jamie's body. The sight seeds a sense of guilt and sets the chilling mood for what follows.

After the river incident, Tim roams a convenience store and pockets two cans of Olde English 800. John steps out to start his car, and notices the beer cans left on the front seat, a small act with big consequences.

Tim trails John as he heads to buy marijuana. When he returns home, his older brother Matt and their mother are already combing the house for the missing doll, heightening the sense that something has gone wrong in their world.

Layne, a friend of Matt, joins the plan as they head to Feck, a disturbed ex-biker and drug dealer. They buy marijuana from Feck, and Layne recounts a party from the night before where John and Jamie argued.

At school, Layne and Matt share joints with Clarissa, Maggie, and Tony. 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 phones Matt, but he stays distant as the truth remains buried.

Layne returns to the river and pushes Jamie’s body back into the water, deepening the cover-up. As police activity swells near John’s house, the teens retreat to Feck’s to hide from the scrutiny.

Matt directs investigators to the river, and Jamie’s body is found, amplifying the town’s tension and guilt. Back home, Matt argues with his mother and her boyfriend, adding to the mounting family strain.

Tim vandalizes the grave marker their sister made for Jamie, and Matt strikes him in anger. Tim then seeks refuge with his friend Moko, and they break into Feck’s to grab a gun, foreshadowing further danger.

In a tense late-night drive, Layne, Clarissa, and Matt head toward Tony’s house but are chased off by Tony’s shotgun-wielding father. Layne ejects Clarissa from the car; Matt and Clarissa continue on foot and stop at a convenience store where they unexpectedly encounter John and Feck.

Tim and Moko break into Feck’s again, finding marijuana. They smoke it and then pass out, letting the events simmer as dawn approaches and uncertainty lingers.

Dawn brings renewed tension as Layne and the others confront the aftermath: Matt confesses to Layne that he told the police John murdered Jamie. Layne panics and searches for John’s body, while Tim arrives with Feck’s gun, threatening to kill Matt before Matt manages to calm him. Police arrive and escort the teens away as the town reels.

In a hospital room, Feck admits to killing John 'because there was no hope for him,' and confesses to murdering his girlfriend as well, underscoring the brutal consequences of the night’s actions.

The community gathers for Jamie’s funeral, where friends grieve and grapple with guilt, memory, and the fragile line between innocence and responsibility. The film closes on a somber note, highlighting how grief, impulsivity, and secrecy haunt a small town.