The River

Directed by Liam Banks

2022

Superfreak Media

“Row row row your boat”

The River is a new short horror coming courtesy of Liam Banks and his Superfreak Media production company which stars Sarah Wynne Kordas as a kayaker facing peril on the waterways of the Midlands.

The short opens as we pan to introduce a woman resting by the shore of a river that looks half Midlands canal and half Amazonian swamp with its tropical greenery and a slithering snake.

Soon our protagonist receives text messages to her mobile and we discover via a voice message that her sister is profusely apologising for an affair with this woman’s husband.

Obviously taking a break as a way to escape the domestic drama, the woman cries as she tosses her wedding ring into the creek in a shot that makes it look like it’s waiting to be found by Gollum. And she finally enters the water and paddles away, upset by the situation she faces.

Straight away, the film is a great example of efficient backstory using different techniques to personalise the lead character. We know she’s hurt, in a relationship and escaping family strife in just a few short moments. But then a point-of-view shot from under the water suggests she may be escaping from more than just domestic conflicts. An animal? A leviathan? Or something more otherworldly?

She soon passes under a road bridge whilst seeing some ominous graffiti, before slowly making her journey up the winding river in an overhead shot filmed like the Torrance’s car in The Shining’s opening credits.

A Danger sign poking from the water also raises the stakes as the film begins to slowly increase the tension. Pausing for a brief relaxing rest, she is suddenly jolted by a vibrating phone. This time, it’s her husband which humanises the story and again adds important little touches to the short’s narrative.

Suddenly a bump on the boat nudges her and she hangs up before we spot a boggy woman’s head poking from the surface. Shocked from what’s in front of her, she loses her paddle and faces a more physical attack.

The River has additional depth by hinting upon something metaphorical about horrors tracking you down no matter what you do to try and avoid them. And director Liam Banks shows fantastic filmmaking, using a range of tools and techniques to highlight different aspects of the story. From POV, slow motion and drone footage, the short is a great example of keeping a story visually interesting during a brief run time.

And kudos certainly to Sarah Wynne Kordas who helps centre the film and who also, along with the support cast, throw themselves into the water-based filming. I hope the director went easier on them than James Cameron!

Back in the story, our protagonist faces a gaggle of zombie-looking entities but as they submerge themselves, our heroine (and we the audience) are unsure where they may lurk and pop up again. And as the sodden woman scrambles back to her kayak she unsheathes a knife from the floating sanctuary and although things appear calm, the film’s finale teases more terror to come.

Taking its cues from cult aquatic horrors like Lake Placid (1999), Alligator (1980) and Swamp Thing (1982), even the film’s 70s-inspired yellow title font harks to its influences - seen also in the recent work of Tarantino and Ti West too.

And so, The River closes as a spooky beast of a short which combines quieter drama with a rapid pace to brilliant effect. It channels all the right genre tropes and its cinematic influences mix with its humid atmosphere ensuring plenty of unknown fear and frights. By its conclusion, excited audiences will definitely be soaked by The River’s supernatural and swampy scares.

★★★★½

4.5/5

Michael Sales