PLOT: Three grieving siblings reunite to scatter their late father’s ashes on the river he loved, but when their boat breaks down, they find themselves stalked by two remorseless, masked killers.
REVIEW: Let’s get one thing out of the way first: River is a slasher film and doesn’t do anything completely unexpected with the genre. It’s a meat-and-potatoes horror/survival flick, owing massive debts to Friday the 13th, Halloween, The Strangers, and John Boorman’s classic Deliverance. Yet, just because it isn’t a fresh take on the genre doesn’t mean that it’s not entertaining. Director Joshua Giuliano has made a superior programmer that should find an appreciative horror audience once it hits theaters from IFC prior to its Shudder debut (release date TBA). It’s well-made, evocatively shot, gory, and features a strong cast.
Genre stalwart Jane Levy returns to horror for the first time in many years—her first since establishing herself as a rising scream queen in Fede Álvarez’s Evil Dead remake and their follow-up, Don’t Breathe. Now in her thirties, she brings a certain gravitas to the movie, delivering a strong performance that’s well above average for the genre. She’s not playing a character archetype, but rather a real, flesh-and-blood person. As the favorite daughter of her late dad, she took over his blue-collar business and now resents her older sister (Jessica Rothe—also strong), who has returned home after a long estrangement. Unlike her siblings, who include their fragile younger brother (Max Mattern), the older sister can only focus on their father’s shortcomings rather than the more admirable qualities his younger children remember. The fractured dynamic between the three is convincing, especially once the terror starts.
While the film is a slow burn, once the siblings notice they are being watched from the shore by a shirtless, hulking masked man—who we later find out has a female partner—we know they’re in trouble. It turns out they are far from the first victims, and they get a first-hand look at the grisly fate that awaits them, turning the story into a ferocious battle for survival. Perhaps more action-driven than strictly horror—particularly in the final act, which plays out like a survival thriller—the gore is heavy-duty, featuring decapitations, immolations, and gruesome wounds. What makes it especially entertaining, though, is the siblings’ devotion to one another, with no one acting purely out of self-interest. They have their differences, but they are willing to risk their lives for each other, with even the timid younger brother getting a few moments where he rises to the occasion.
The three leads are great, even if River ends up being largely Levy’s show. She plays a tough, believable heroine with plenty of gusto alongside a vulnerable core. The killers are intentionally kept mysterious, with Giuliano sprinkling in a few elements that could pave the way for a modest franchise if River performs well. Beyond the cast, the film is gorgeously shot in 2.35:1 on location in West Virginia. The score is sparse, and the scares are never cheap. Again, it’s not the most original horror film out there, but for a solid, meat-and-potatoes slasher, you can’t go wrong with River.
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