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Mystery Cult Classic

Cartoonist C.C. Drood sketches his way through a violent web of sex, murder, and police corruption.

SLAM DANCE

1987 · 1h 39m · R · Mystery / Thriller

An artist, framed for the murder of a woman, is drawn into a web of corruption, blackmail and deceit.

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Quick Answer
What is Slam Dance about?

Slam Dance is a 1987 American mystery thriller film directed by Wayne Wang about a married cartoonist who is framed for murder and entangled in a political sex scandal cover-up.

Synopsis

A married cartoonist named C. C. Drood becomes involved in the cover up of a political sex scandal after his lover, Yolanda Caldwell, a call girl, is found murdered.

Drood has betrayed his wife Helen with the exotic Yolanda, who takes him to a club where the patrons slam dance, violently crashing into one another on the dance floor.

Bobby Nye, a former lesbian lover of Yolanda's, hires a hit man named Buddy to do away with Drood, who is also hotly pursued by the police. Drood ultimately comes to believe that Bobby and Buddy are the ones responsible for Yolanda's death. A corrupt cop, Gilbert, is doing everything in his power to pin the whole thing on Drood, but a police colleague, Smiley, intervenes on the wanted man's behalf.

Buddy is eventually overcome with guilt in his role in the killing of Yolanda, so he spares Drood's life and takes his own. To escape with his wife and his life, Drood tries to make Nye and the cops believe that Buddy's body is actually his. 
Details & Specs
Director
Wayne Wang
Writer
Don Keith Opper
Release
1987
Runtime
1h 39m

Why Cult

Punk Club Chaos

Brace for a literal slam dance as the underground club scene sets the stage for murder and betrayal.

Noir With an Artist

A cartoonist protagonist gives this web of blackmail and deceit an offbeat creative twist.

Eclectic Cast

Tom Hulce, Virginia Madsen, Adam Ant, and Harry Dean Stanton each bring their own flavor to the tangled mystery.

Web of Corruption

From political sex scandals to a hit man on the loose, the plot is a maze of dirty deals and double-crosses.

Trailer

Questions from the Vault

What is Slam Dance about? +

Slam Dance is about a married cartoonist who becomes involved in the cover-up of a political sex scandal after his lover is murdered, leading to a spiral of blackmail, deceit, and police corruption.

Who directed Slam Dance? +

Slam Dance was directed by Wayne Wang.

How long is Slam Dance? +

Slam Dance has a runtime of 99 minutes.

What genre is Slam Dance? +

Slam Dance is a mystery thriller.

When was Slam Dance released? +

Slam Dance was released in 1987.