2027’s First Great Horror Movie Already Confirmed by Blumhouse – Watch the Terrifying River Trailer Now
January used to be a dumping ground for mediocre genre fare — filler for the masses while the awards-season films gradually platformed out from New York and L.A. These days, it takes a little more to get people into theaters, and River, from Universal and Blumhouse Atomic Monster, comes with advance fan hype from the Toronto International Film festival, where it was acquired after a midnight showing. River looks a bit like a slasher version of Deliverance — contrary to popular conception, the latter movie is more about wilderness survival than its infamous assault scene may imply. A family on a backwoods river trip runs across a mysterious, and very dangerous man, and for whatever reason, he has ill intentions
River is the debut feature from young director Joshua Giuliano, and stars Evil Dead‘s Jane Levy. The movie was six years in the making, and was originally funded and set to be distributed by IFC and Shudder before the major studios started showing interest after Toronto. Check out the new trailer below, and you can get a sense of why that is.
River Is Inspired by an Acclaimed Short Film
Director Giuliano first gained festival attention for his short film, “In Sound, We Live Forever.” It’s been suggested that River is a remake of sorts, but the short is less about plot than clever direction, using sound to fill in the gaps of what looks like an abandoned crime scene, as we hear audio of what happened. Eventually, a character appears, and there’s a mysterious assailant, but it’s more a bravura technical exercise in suggestive narrative than a clear story. There’s also no river, and it’s a period piece, with a classic truck and ring-pull beer cans as key set dressing. Nevertheless, stylistic similarities between the new trailer and the short are evident. You can watch this original short below:
River will have some tough competition on January 15th. It’ll be running as counter-programming to the big-budget fantasy Children of Blood and Bone, and Jason Statham doing his thing again in the absurd, over-the-top actioner The Beekeeper 2. Will audiences want to see bad guys getting massacred by a hero over innocent victims dying at the hands of a villain? We’ll find out in a few months, but everything about River suggests it’s going to deliver atmosphere and blood aplenty. The trailer shows what looks to be the first scene of the killer, and there’s something unnerving about his straight-ahead swimming speed.
Thus far, out of 32 reviews, River has a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Fangoria calls it, “A movie that sticks to the back of your brain when you head back to the parking garage at 1 AM,” while Slant praises “a formal sophistication and contemplative tone that lifts it beyond its familiar genre tropes.” River also stars Happy Death Day‘s Jessica Rothe, and Dane DiLiegro, who played the feral Predator in Prey, as the killer. Giuliano already has his next project set up with Blumhouse Atomic Monster — another horror movie called The Occupant that he’ll write and direct. Clearly the company has faith that River has what it takes.
Will you see River on opening day? Flow into comments and guide us through your choice.
