Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- witty
- irreverent
- frantic
- cult movie night
- late night comedy
What critics said
Critics generally regard the film as an uneven but energetic early Sam Raimi experiment whose manic comic style is more memorable than its thin story.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The exterminator hitmen and the surrounding murder plot are presented through wildly exaggerated physical comedy and manic escalation.
The framed nerd tells the story from the electric chair, turning the murder farce into a retrospective account.
The hired killers, alarm-company partner, wife, and framed nerd collide in an intentionally chaotic criminal misunderstanding.
The hitmen's killings and pursuit are filtered through a cartoon-like, exaggerated presentation rather than grounded realism.
Films like Crimewave, and why
Raising Arizona
shares anarchic screwball energy, cartoonish violence, and escalating criminal misadventure
The Blues Brothers
shares manic comic timing, eccentric criminals, and stylized slapstick mayhem
After Hours
shares absurdist crime plotting, dark humor, and a hapless protagonist caught in escalating chaos
Movie Details
- Director
- Sam Raimi
- Release Date
- 1985-04-12
- Runtime
- 83 min
- Rating
- 5.5 / 10 (177)
Cast
- Reed Birney
- Louise Lasser
- Sheree J. Wilson
- Paul L. Smith
- Brion James
- Edward R. Pressman
- Bruce Campbell
- Frances McDormand
- Anne Cooper
- Bridget Hoffman
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Crimewave about?
- A hapless nerd's electric-chair confession unravels into a manic collision of murder, mistaken identity, and cartoonish hitmen.
- What is Crimewave like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Crimewave as breakneck, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Crimewave violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Crimewave as graphic.
- What did critics think of Crimewave?
- Critics generally regard the film as an uneven but energetic early Sam Raimi experiment whose manic comic style is more memorable than its thin story.
- Which films are like Crimewave?
- Films with a similar feel include Raising Arizona, The Blues Brothers, and After Hours.
- How long is Crimewave?
- Crimewave runs 83 minutes.
- Where can I watch Crimewave?
- In United States, Crimewave streams on fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus.
