The River

The River. Not exactly a show title that inspires fear or intrigue. The show itself is a supernatural themed horror filmed a la documentary style. A documentary style show that seems to have gotten rid of the shaky camera styles and some of the other annoying camera techniques that some have learned to not like.

The pilot was decent enough; however, I do not believe the show really finds itself until after episode 4 or 5 where it really starts to pickup. There is an adventure team similar to the TV Show Destination Truth that is sent to the Amazons most remote areas to find a missing adventure TV star. Along the way the encounter ghosts, possessions, plagues, a mysterious tribe of head hunters and also a shadowy group of natives that seem to resemble angels? They seem to have scars on their back below their shoulder bones where they apparently have cut off their wings. OK so now we are getting somewhere!

By the time we hit episode 7 the fear has finally reached a new pinnacle. *SPOILERS* For me Episode 7 is what this show should really be! The group wanders into the forest in the most remote region of the Amazon only to encounter what is a very secretive and undoubtedly illegal genetic research facility (not unlike 'The Hive' research facility you see in the movie Resident Evil). The facility appears to be recently destroyed, it is a very large complex of building seeming very out of place located in the middle of the jungle. Upon searching the abandoned facility they manage to find a mass grave in the basement of the main building with corpses that appear to be 'half eaten' and rotting. At this point the show takes on an almost movie like quality inspiring fear, and mystery. This is getting good! It very quickly becomes clear they are not alone...there is fresh blood and recently dismembered body parts in the medical facility indicating recent activity. The group manages to find one survivor, a member of the missing TV show hosts original entourage who seems traumatized having managed to survive for weeks in the building. She warns them of an impending attack of what can only be described as zombies on steroids, or perhaps a living version of infected humans similar to what is seen in the show 28 days later. They are chased by the zombies running for their lives until they manage to barricade themselves into a room while the horde tries to break down their door,,,,what a show!

Thats a taste of what you will find in this series. Admittedly I found that some of the episodes were a little boring; however, there are also episodes that are amazing like episode 7. I truly hope that the episode 7 excitement and level of quality is a sign of what is to come on future episodes for season 2.

Lost in the dark shadows of the Amazon rain forest the group encounters evil magics, ghosts and all sorts of paranormal entities that really seem to add some awesomeness to this show! All the excitement that can be seen in some of the really good episodes is also hurt by the episodes that are not that great. I believe the show has the potential to be truly great and a cult classic if done properly.

If Netflix picks up season 2 of the series there will be hope for it yet! I would like to see the show take on a more 'the walking dead' type spin- I mean zombies in the amazon rain forest!?! what could be better than this!

Good show, great potential. I have great hopes for Season 2 and go ahead and enjoy season 1 !

This was a joy to watch when I was a kid, so much magic, what happen in the jungle stays in the jungle, I hope someone go further and procede to do something like this near future. I got really upset when they cancelled because at least give it an ending with so many interesting things they could bring and do, for me could be one of the best series if they finish what they started, I've seen many jungle movies and for me not even close to this when it comes to the way things happen and so much things mix together and you can slowly see the progress of the horror and misteries that happen in the jungle.

In 2012, a new TV show aired on ABC called "The River;" amongst the constant release of "found-footage" horror films, or those mixed with traditional film, it seemed only fitting that a television series be made too, since these movies were so popular. Sadly, "The River" was canceled after only 8 episodes, and in these 8 episodes (produced by legend Steven Spielberg) we were introduced to a place where everything we know is wrong. "The River" is centered around an expedition into the Amazon, where TV show host, role model, and father Emmett Cole (Bruce Greenwood) went missing after his 22-year of the Undiscovered Country, a TV series that involved him and his family traversing the wild. Lincoln (Joe Anderson), his mother Tess (Leslie Hope) and some of the old crew of the Undiscovered Country then begin searching for Emmett, who's last position was on the Boiuna, a part of the Amazon that mysteriously vanishes into dense forest.

"The River" is easily one of the most entertaining, thrilling television shows ever made, as its strong cast, great visuals, sleek directing and creativity create an engrossing atmosphere and characters that you love and ones you love to hate. I have no clue why this was canceled because there was so much potential for this show to be something extraordinarily great; a cross between Lost and Prometheus, except Prometheus is getting a sequel. Now, I would recommend this show to everyone because it is something truly different, and full of cerebral scares (and a few jump scares), but because of the way it's filmed I cannot; some people can't handle the "found-footage" angles and shots. But those willing to watch, mainly those who love sci-fi/mystery/horror, will not be sorry. Hopefully someone can get the guys at ABC or whoever to use Kickstarter to bring back The River.

9/10 Stars

If you want an idea of what the extraordinary 8 part show, The River, is really like then you may have seen The Dinosaur Project (2012), or to a lesser degree Anaconda (1997), especially the found-footage camera techniques of the first example, or the wonderful characters of the second. The River is a startlingly original supernatural thriller, full of really good action tension and supported by a creepy suspenseful story, that has several alarming evolutions. Each episode features at least one or two good cgi sequences, low key but impressive and believable, nothing like the giant snakes of Anaconda, but pulling their weight. It all winds and treks with bucketloads of sweat and terror toward an unexpected and satisfying end, leaving room for more if ever there is a second series, but not ripping us off. Found-footage dramas are often frustratingly hard to watch either because of the camera shake or because at important moments the camera simply loses focus or gives us rushed impressions of the ground as people flee. The River never suffers this problem as so many cameras are used, from shoulder cams, or from static cameras set up around camps and or from cameras set up all over the boat. In fact, I think the format helped the editing and lent a great weight to the possibilities for extra suspense. The use of light was really impressive. Where raw nature crept in, especially insects or storms, it was also impressive but should have been much more so (don't expect to see shots of jaguars or monkeys or capybaras). I thought there was a lot of over-dramatisation, but when I think back I can't quite put a finger on where believability lost ground, but certainly the profound emotional ties in this story lead to a lack of common sense here and there. Then again, maybe that's a good thing. The River is a rare gem that all horror and sci-fi fans need to experience. It is definitely an experience!

WOW! This show is amazing so far. I absolutely love it. I love the authenticity of it, the legends they are using so far are interesting.

To all the people Who keep complaining about the characters speaking Spanish... for one, its supposed to be in Peru, not Brazil. For 2 the father and daughter are supposed to be people who were part of Emmett's crew, they worked as part of an American show, therefore they are perfectly in the accuracy to be speaking Spanish. The rest of the cast... are American. Maybe you should pay better attention to something before you start criticizing.

Now the camera work, the show isn't supposed to be lost footage, or documentary footage. The premise of the show is these people are making a documentary, behind the scenes type show, while searching for the missing Emmett. Therefore many of the things being shown are not supposed to be the "documentary's" footage, its supposed to be both. some parts we see is whats happening while they are filming this documentary of the search for Emmett. If you can't tell the difference between the cameras then you're not paying attention. Anytime they show someone on the documentary cameras they have a caption to it, naming the person in the shot. When no one is in the shot the documentary footage is shown more grainy.