The Crush (1993)
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A writer's new life in a guest house is disrupted by the dangerous obsession of the landlord's teenage daughter.
The story
When writer Nick Eliot moves to a new city for a magazine job, he secures lodging in a guest house belonging to Cliff and Liv Forrester. He soon becomes acquainted with their 14-year-old daughter, Adrian, a precocious girl who becomes infatuated with him. Nick has trouble fending off Adrian's advances, and as her obsession grows, the situation becomes increasingly dangerous. While Nick attempts to navigate his new professional life and a budding romance with a coworker, Adrian's behavior turns from persistent to menacing, creating a volatile atmosphere of stalking and escalating threats.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Twenty-eight-year-old writer Nick Eliot moves to Washington for a job at Pique magazine, staying in a guest house owned by Cliff and Liv Forrester. Their 14-year-old daughter, Adrian, becomes obsessed with him. After Nick discovers Adrian secretly rewrote a story he submitted to his editor, she takes him on a date where they share a kiss, but Nick pulls away. Nick begins dating Amy, a coworker, which triggers Adrian's jealousy. Adrian begins a campaign of harassment, including destroying Nick's property and attempting to harm Amy by trapping her in a darkroom with wasps. After a friend of Adrian's, Cheyenne, is 'accidentally' injured, Nick realizes Adrian is a psychopath. Adrian eventually accuses Nick of sexual assault, leading to his arrest. Cheyenne later informs Nick of Adrian's history of obsessive behavior and a diary that could exonerate him. Nick discovers Cheyenne bound and gagged in the Forrester's attic. During a confrontation, Adrian attacks Nick, but Cliff intervenes, mistaking Nick for the aggressor. Adrian knocks Cliff unconscious, and Nick subdues her. Nick is exonerated and moves to Seattle with Amy, while Adrian is confined to a psychiatric hospital. In the final scene, Adrian remains in the hospital, showing a devious grin at a photo of her doctor.
- First release year
- 1993
- Runtime (minutes)
- 89
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Alan Shapiro
- Writers
- Alan Shapiro · writer
- Cast and characters
- Cary Elwes · Nick Eliot; Alicia Silverstone · Adrian/Darian Forrester; Jennifer Rubin · Amy Maddik; Kurtwood Smith · Cliff Forrester; Gwynyth Walsh · Liv Forrester; Amber Benson · Cheyenne; Matthew Walker · Michael
- Genres
- psychological thriller; drama; erotic thriller; teen drama; teen film
- Themes
- Obsession; Stalking; Juvenile Sexuality; Psychopathy
- Tone and mood
- Scuzzy; Grindingly predictable; Mechanically played
- Premise and plot tags
- Psychological Thriller; Based on Actual Events; Erotic Thriller; Teen Drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- Based on events from director Alan Shapiro's own life
- Reception
- The film received mostly negative reviews from critics but was a box office hit and became a cult film through video rentals and cable television.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 27% · review count: 30; Metacritic · score: 34% · review count: 16
- Production trivia
- The character's name was changed from Darian to Adrian due to a lawsuit.; The original theatrical trailer refers to the character as Darian.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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