The trailer for River arrived this week, offering the first real look at Joshua Giuliano's feature debut. Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Atomic Monster acquired the film out of the Midnight Madness section at the Toronto International Film Festival, reportedly for over $10 million after a competitive bidding war.
Jane Levy and Jessica Rothe play estranged sisters who travel to a remote river with their younger brother, played by Max Mattern, to scatter their late father's ashes. Their boat breaks down. They are stranded. A masked killer, played by Dane DiLiegro of Prey, moves in from the shore.
Giuliano wrote and directed the film, developing it during his time at Shudder under genre executive Sam Zimmerman, who now oversees Blumhouse Atomic Monster's indie filmmaking. Steven Schneider of Spooky Pictures and Nick Antosca and Alex Hedlund of Eat The Cat produce. Jason Blum serves as executive producer.
Critics who saw it at TIFF called it a "brutal, well-made survival slasher," according to JoBlo. River opens January 15, 2027, during the MLK Jr. holiday weekend. Giuliano's follow-up, Occupant, is already in development with Blumhouse Atomic Monster.
Levy and Rothe each carry substantial horror credibility. Levy broke out in the 2013 Evil Dead remake; Rothe anchored the Happy Death Day franchise. The pairing gives the film the kind of genre shorthand that tends to land in January.
