The programming of Toronto’s Midnight Madness section has always been excellent, but over the past couple of years the genre-focused sidebar has become a king-making destination as well. Last year, Obsession sold for an eye-popping $15 million at the festival, and went on to become such a hit that the narrative around this year’s TIFF has largely revolved around the search for “the next Obsession.” Now, River is set to inherit that title, as it also just sold to Universal/Blumhouse for a $10 million-plus sum. It’s a lot of pressure, both on the festival programmers and on the filmmakers. And while the success of Obsession is a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon that can’t be neatly replicated, River absolutely deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.
Like all good slashers, Joshua Giuliano’s debut feature keeps it simple, focusing on one awful day and two horrible nights in the lives of three estranged siblings. Lucy (Jane Levy) and Drew (Max Mattern) are the ones who stayed home, caring for their alcoholic father while Carla (Jessica Rothe) went off to the big city to pursue her dreams. Now Dad is dead, and Carla has reluctantly returned to spread his ashes at his favorite fishing spot with her brother and sister. Lucy resents Carla, and feels that she betrayed the family by moving away. Carla still hasn’t forgiven their dad for how he behaved when their mother was dying, and insists that Lucy will never understand. And Drew is so passive that he just sits there, paralyzed by anxiety, while his sisters fight.
