Horror films can be very subjective. After all, what one person finds scary, another might hardly flinch at. Some people find gory films scary, while others just find them gross and a turn off. And to make matters even more confusing, even if a horror film doesn’t find success when it first comes out, there is every possibility that it becomes a cult classic years later. While that might be the case for River, it’s more than likely that it doesn’t get remember at all.
River has multiple issues, most of which are obvious from the very beginning. First off, for a horror movie to be interesting, you need to care about the characters being tormented. At least a little. This isn’t the case in River. One character is a flat out bitch whose reason for being in the movie remains a mystery. Another is a whiny wimp who is destined to die from the moment he appears. And the last of the trio just isn’t likeable in the least.
The next issue is the villain of the movie. While some of the best horror movies avoid the trap of having to explain every last detail, including the villains motivations, River’s masked terror needed something more than what they give. It could have been a hint, something to infer, but this film only gave a quick glimpse at a map that shows where the film is taking place. For many people the location would mean nothing at all.
- Rated: Unrated
- Genre: Horror, Slasher
- Release Date: 9/10/2026
- Directed by: Joshua Giuliano
- Starring: Dane DiLiegro, Jane Levy, Jessica Rothe, Max Mattern
- Produced by: Alex Hedlund, Nick Antosca, Steven Schneider
- Written by: Joshua Giuliano
- Studio: Allegheny Image Factory, Eat the Cat, Shudder, Spooky Pictures, Upgrade
