River: Terror Downstream
By Rohan Connolly
Shudder’s latest slasher film River directed by Joshua Giuliano recently had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Midnight Madness programming slate—where all the best horror, camp, and incoming cult films find their audiences. Despite its late hour, the Midnight Madness crowd is full of energy, eager to see their bloody, bright, thrilling debuts, and River is no exception.
The film follows the siblings Lucy (Jane Levy), Carla (Jessica Rothe), and Drew (Max Mattern) as they gather on a river to spread the ashes of their deceased father. All is seemingly going well until the motor of their boat runs out of gas leaving them stranded in the middle of the river. Even worse, when Carla attempts to swim to shore, they notice a faceless figure standing by the edge staring back at them, and shortly after, the figure follows them into the water. Over the course of the night, the figure continues to torment them on and off shore as he chases them downstream and eventually through the woods.
River is in no way inventing the wheel when it comes to the horror genre. It falls into very classic tropes, narratives, and even thrills. However, Giuliano proves himself as a student of the genre by mastering each tried and true element resulting in a film that while not groundbreaking, is full of fun. Levy, Rothe, and Dane DiLiegro (who plays the killer) are not new to the horror genre themselves, with each of them starring in successful instalments of massive franchises such as Evil Dead (2013), Happy Death Day (2019), and Prey (2022), while Mattern holds his weight as a rookie among established talent.
The story of the film itself is nothing to write home about, but really, who is watching a slasher for a hero’s journey? We’re all here for the thrills, and River delivers. Each character’s adventure through the wilderness feels as if it’s neverending, with every quiet moment being ripped out from under them by a knife to the ankle, an arrow through the shoulder, or a faulty engine. They travel quickly across the terrain, Giuliano constantly putting them in new and fresh environments for scares with new tools at their disposal for escape. The film is refreshing for this level of horror. In a world where AI feels inescapable and corporate executives prioritize profits over craft, popcorn-fiction can quickly turn into slop. No longer a fun afternoon at the movies, but background noise for doomscrolling into the night. The level of craft in this film is no best picture winner, but it simply wants to entertain, and for the 90 minutes spent in the theatre, it delivers.