No matter how much horror storytelling evolves and changes with the times, some constants will likely always remain: scream queens rule, and the more genre vets in one movie, the merrier. Both of those notions are being tapped into for an upcoming horror movie titled River that will bring together stars from Evil Dead, Happy Death Day, Prey and more. Huzzah!
Specifically, Evil Dead and Don't Breathe survivor Jane Levy is starring opposite the Happy Death Day films' Jessica Roth for a new slasher flick titled River, which is set for a theatrical release as a Shudder Original. If that star duo wasn't enough to sway everyone, we also have Prey's Predator actor himself, Dane DiLiegro, who's also popped up in spooky projects like V/H/S/Beyond, American Horror Stories, and Werewolves. (He was also one of my favorite things about Only Murders in the Building Season 5, oddly enough.)
Rounding out the main cast that's been announced (via Variety) is Max Mattern, who most recently portrayed victim Billy Carroll in Peacock's true crime drama Devil In Disguise: John Wayne Gacy.
What Will River Be About?
River is described as being about a trio of estranged siblings who come together following their father's death with a goal of spreading his ashes around a remote river area that he loved most. But the mournful voyage takes a horrific turn when their boat breaks down miles from anyone who can help them, and without working communication. And yep, that's when they realize that they're also being hunted down by a terrifying threat that comes out of the nearby woods. The siblings have to continue setting aside their differences in order to survive the nightmare stalking them.
The logline makes it sound as if the threat may be slightly more than just a hulking feral human, with the words "almost mythic" being used. But maybe that's reading too much into it. Either way, it sounds great, and I can't wait to see Levy and Rothe in survival mode together, both antagonistically and cooperatively.
The Other Horror Talents Behind The Scenes
River is the first feature from writer/director Josh Guiliano, who has cut his teeth on award-winning horror shorts, and it's a project six years in the making. But while he's newer to the scene, he worked with some veteran genre producers to get the film made.
First off is someone I will always beat the drum for regardless of the project: Nick Antosca, who created Channel Zero and has written/produced for a slew of excellent horror shows such as Chucky, Hannibal, and Brand New Cherry Flavor, as well as true crime series like The Act and the currently streaming Murdaugh: Death in the Family. (He's also behind the upcoming Cape Fear series, which happens to co-star the aforementioned Max Mattern.) Antosca and Alex Hedlund's Eat The Cat produced the movie alongside another horror-friendly banner.
Also behind River is Spooky Pictures' Steven Schneider, who broke out with the Paranormal Activity and Insidious franchises, and later aligned with M. Night Shyamalan's run of releases from The Visit through Knock at the Cabin. More recently, he's worked on acclaimed features such as Watcher, Late Night with the Devil and one of this year's many Stephen King adaptations, The Long Walk.
Beyond River, Jane Levy is set to star in the upcoming thriller Whalefall with Josh Brolin, a survival thriller that takes place partly inside of a whale, while Jessica Rothe will pop up in the 2026 release schedule for the Amazon rainforest-set horror Titan, from Mike P. Nelson, who helmed the upcoming 2025 movie Silent Night, Deadly Night remake. Long live scream queens!
We'll be waiting for more news on River like a release date, which hopefully won't emerge from the woods in the form of a deadly evil entity.
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