Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity) and Steven Spielberg’s new “found footage”-style television show was somewhat of an acquired taste for me. After watching the entire season, I kind of enjoyed it, but there is no way I would have continued watching The River if I had caught it during its original broadcast. The first episode simply doesn’t provide enough motivation for the viewer to return for the next episode. The series gets progressively better in its sophomore episode and beyond, however.
Each episode of the series was at least a little bit more gripping than its predecessor. Each episode left off with some unanswered questions, but they were never any compelling reasons to tune in the following week. The season finale was no different. It left a few unanswered questions, but most of the story arcs were tied up neatly enough that I was really indifferent as to whether or not a season two would even be necessary. As it stands, a second season is up in the air. Netflix has reportedly looked in to picking up The River, but no official announcement has been made regarding the ultimate fate of the series. [Editor’s Note: It’s not looking good for season 2…]
The River develops its cast over time and the viewer becomes at least casually invested in the welfare of most of the main players. Most of the performances were bearable. Thomas Kretschmann (Dracula 3D) was enjoyable as Kurt Brynildson. I had trouble warming up to the Leslie Hope, as Tess Cole (Dragonfly), however. She was very cold and distant through the entire season. I thought the part should have been played in a way that showed her mourning a profound loss but still showing some degree of vulnerability or approachability. I didn’t like Joe Andersons (The Grey) portrayal of Lincoln Cole, Emmet’s son, either. Nothing about his performance endeared the viewer to his character.
The River borrows from a little bit of everything but doesn’t offer much in the way of original ideas. There were ideas borrowed from everything from The Exorcist to The Blair Witch Project. It also explores a lot of different themes that weve seen before. The show has trouble defining itself. It suffers from a touch of schizophrenia, dabbling in the horror, the supernatural and survival sub-genres.
I am not typically a fan of the “found footage” approach to filmmaking. I found that certain aspects of The River worked well, though. The camerawork was well done. There were very few shaky, handheld, headache-inducing moments. I appreciated that the “found footage” style wasn’t used as an excuse for shoddy camerawork and a micro budget. The footage was well edited. One thing that impressed me was that the cast members of The River who played camera operators actually captured some of the footage that was used on the show.
The effects were a mixed bag. They were primarily done digitally. Im usually not a fan of digital effects. But, to my surprise, some of them were quite good. The monkey, in the first episode, was superimposed digitally, and I didn’t realize that until delving in to the special features. The dragonflies were pretty poor looking, however. There were some definite accomplishments and some definite misses. The gore effects were realistic enough.
The River isn’t without its problems, but it does have its moments. If you go in to it with low expectations and an open mind, you may not hate it. You might even kind of enjoy it. Its worth a rental, if you have a few hours to kill and nothing better to do.
