Writer/director Joshua Giuliano‘s feature debut River works equally well as a brutal atmospheric horror as it does a heavy family drama.
In River, three siblings reunite to scatter their late father’s ashes on the river where he spent most of his free time, only for their boat to get stuck under a bridge, with two masked killers stalking them from both sides.
Scream queens Jessica Rothe and Jane Levy nail the sisterly bickering as Carla and Lucy, as the former returns to their small-town home from the big city. Their estranged bond is further put through the wringer as they relive their traumatic childhoods, of which they have two very different perspectives.
Max Mattern delivers heartbreaking grief in his portrayal of younger brother Drew, in addition to providing some much-needed levity with his flawless comedic timing.
And while their sibling dynamic feels lived-in and real, I could die happy if I never saw a character refer to another character as “sis” or “bro” in the first five minutes to establish that they are in fact siblings.
Meanwhile, although he barely speaks throughout the film, Dane DiLiegro is the perfect killer (and maybe a perfect thirst trap in his skimpy underwear). He uses all six feet and eight inches of his stature to instill fear into the stranded siblings, providing a tense viewing experience.
There’s an eery simplicity that separates this film from others in the slasher genre, only leaning into tropes when it makes sense, and not falling into the trap of overly stylizing for the sake of appealing to under-stimulated horror fans. The horror element feels as though it could be ripped from the headlines… or at least from a story-time TikTok that you just can’t scroll away from, despite the questionable legitimacy.
Giuliano is sure to become a new master of horror, setting a beautifully tense environment that lulls audiences into calm before shooting an arrow through their heart. He frames the film with two scenes that feature the audio of a violent attack, only showing the peaceful, yet bloody aftermath on the screen. It feels like a horrifying discovery for the audience as they wonder who could be lurking in the woods, immersing them in the terror of its characters.
And be sure to stick around for a credits scene that leaves the film open to expand into its own horror franchise, one for which I’ll definitely be seated.
Title: RiverFestival: TIFFSection: Midnight MadnessDirector-screenwriter: Joshua GiulianoCast: Jane Levy, Jessica Rothe, Max Mattern, Dane DiLiegroUS Distributors: Independent Film Company/ShudderRunning time: 1 hr 32 mins
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