2 out of 5

Director: Sam Raimi

It’s a very, very mixed bag, but absolutely worth it for Raimi enthusiasts.  The recently released disc (as of 2013) is also a must, as Campbell’s commentary – chatty as ever – fills in a lot of interesting details that really do put the film into context.  The context?  That it was tough to make, and was a bright-lights exposure to Hollywood for the boys just coming off of their homegrown indie flick, Evil Dead.  Casting woes, budget issues, lack of support, it all factored in.  So Crimewave is at parts silly, at parts stupid, at parts wildly inventive, but on the whole maintains a chummy Three Stooges vibe, suggestive of a violent slapstick style Sam would later get to spruce up for Army of Darkness.  Even as a fan of those involved,though, it can be a bit of a puzzle to watch as two hitmen – a disconcertingly high-pitched Brion James and a distractingly dubbed Paul L. Smith – go into overkill mode and end up ruining stumbling everyman Reed Birney’s date, culminating in Birney chasing the killers in order to rescue his lady love… and then somehow getting sentenced to death for the murders at tale’s start, all of this related through the framing device of Reed’s walk to the electric chair (Which, though amusing, does stick out as the added-later sequence it was).  About an hour in, I realized I was no longer waiting for the plot to start, but that we were apparently most of the way through, meaning the flick has this sense of never quite getting to the point, and then suddenly there’s a car chase.  Which is all spectacularly executed for the budget (but be warned that the rough edges definitely show) and Raimi delivers some of the most unique shots of his career scattered throughout, though apparently chopped up during editing.  ‘Crimewave’ is by no means a great movie or quite horrid enough to be a cult classic, but you can sense the youth trying to adapt to the bigger budget, and it gives the film a certain charm.  But I do think this is reserved viewing for those on a Raimi / Campbell path.