The River is one of the most eagerly-awaited shows of the season, with a hot Hollywood pedigree. But will it pack the big scares or fall flat? Jungle Fever
The story of The River kicks off with the disappearance of TV naturalist Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood). His wife Tess (Leslie Hope), son Lincoln (Joe Anderson) and friends venture into the Amazon to try and find him. Shot in the faux-documentary style that producer Oren Peli made famous with Paranormal Activity, all of the footage comes from handheld cameras as the network is paying for the trip.
A River Runs Through It
The quest seems to come to a sudden end when the search party finds Cole's rescue beacon at the bottom of the river, attached to a diving cage. Tess refuses to turn back, and this is when things really start to get weird. After following satellite photos to a forbidden area of the jungle, they find Emmet's boat, the Magus. The boat's "panic room" door is welded shut, so of course our heroes open it because they've never seen a horror movie before.
Trapped In The Closet
Out springs a creature of some sort, which we don't get a good look at. It injures the comely Lena (Eloise Mumford) and escapes into the night. With their raft damaged, the crew is trapped on the boat in the middle of the jungle afraid for their lives. Mechanic Emilio (Daniel Zacapa) gets the ship started, and Lincoln manages to contain the monster -- an upset spirit -- in a trap. But things are only getting started here.
Mothers And Sons
In the second half of the premiere, the boat heads downriver to track Emmet. His spirit inhabits Jahel's (Paulina Gaitan) body through a weird bug and he tells Tess to let him go, but she refuses. The group heads inland and finds a tree hung with stuffed animals and dolls -- including Lincoln's childhood bear -- and another angry spirit. This one lives in the river and wants the return of its mother's corpse. This jungle is not really a good place to be dead, but then what place is?
So did The River live up to the hype? Were the scares enough to overcome the lousy acting? What do you think the creepiest part was -- the dolls? The creature? The camerawork? Leave a comment and let us know.
Best Lines:
"There's magic out there."
--Dr. Emmet Cole's catchphrase.
"We can find his ship. We can find him. I need you to come with me."
--Tess to Lincoln.
"I did not like Ghost Friend."
--Emilio on his daughter's imaginary buddy.
"It's tasted blood. It doesn't want us to leave."
--Jahel on the creature's motives.
"We never lose the things that matter."
--Emmet to Lincoln in a flashback.
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