Tag: The River Wild

Spoiler-Free Review of “The River Wild” (2023) on Netflix: Doesn’t Compare to the OG but a Solid Thriller Nonetheless!

*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

“Not on my river…”

The River Wild (River Wild) released on Netflix on August 1st 2023. Loosely based on the film starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon from 1994, the adventure thriller remake stars Leighton Meester, Adam Brody, Taran Killam, Eve Connolly, and Olivia Swann. It runs for approximately 92 minutes.

Joey accepts her brother’s invitation to go whitewater rafting with a group, but when they end up in a dangerous situation, someone begins to sabotage their attempts at survival as secrets are revealed.

Here is the trailer:

The River Wild will get your heart racing with a solid cast and some shocking moments, but is it worthy of YOUR next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Netflix

Fun cast!

Leighton Meester and Adam Brody are married in real life and both starred on two of my favorite series so I was excited to see them in this one. Leighton is making a comeback in Netflix thrillers!

It was going to be hard to top Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon’s performances, but I thought this cast really held their own and I cared about what happened to these characters, which is important in films like this.

Images courtesy of Netflix

Gets more and more intense as the plot unfolds…

Things started off a little slow, but as the movie continued, I was quickly on the edge of my seat. Everything kept building more and more, making this a consuming watch. I’m not sure I’ll be attempting whitewater rafting any time soon, but this movie really got my adrenaline pumping and I felt like I was there!

It really made me want to re-watch the original film again, which you should watch immediately if you haven’t yet. Trust me…it’s fantastic!

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Netflix

Should have been a standalone thriller to prevent comparisons…

The plots really have nothing to do with one another except for the fact that they are whitewater rafting and someone in their group means to do them harm. Other than that, this is a completely different thriller and I’m wondering why it was called the same name.

As a standalone film, this one checks off all the boxes for me as a fantastic “movie of the week.” It’s actually really solid and my only con is that it doesn’t come close to the original. This film was strong enough to have its own name and identity and I think sharing the name with the original film hindered it slightly.

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Netflix

I’m in!!!

Leighton Meester shines in this intense and entertaining thriller!

If you enjoy quick survival thrillers, there’s plenty to appreciate in this one.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on The River Wild (2023) in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

It was only supposed to be temporary…but when Olivia Crewe accepts a new position that seems too good to be true, she soon discovers that twelve other girls previously had the same job as her. Only none of them lasted for more than thirty days. No notice. Nothing…right before they mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe.  Thanks for your support!

Spoiler-Free Review of “The Ledge” (2022) on Demand: Intense and Brutal Thriller

*This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!*

“Use your mind…”

The Ledge (2022) originally released on February 18th 2022. It is currently available to stream on demand. The adventure thriller film stars Brittany Ashworth, Ben Lamb, Nathan Welsh, and Louis Boyer. It runs for an hour and twenty-five minutes.

A rock climber ends up in a life threatening situation when she flees from several men trying to kill her by climbing up a mountain with barely any equipment.

Here is the trailer:

The Ledge follows a simple formula that is actually really effective, giving us plenty of thrills and edge-of-your-seat moments. Is it worthy of your next watch? Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Images courtesy of Evolution Pictures

Intense AF!

This movie really delivered for me in the intensity department. At first I wasn’t really sure about what I was going to watch and then I was completely reeled in before I knew it. There were so many moments that had me screaming at the television. I love survival-type thrillers like this. In a lot of ways, this film had the same vibe as Alone (2020), which I also really enjoyed. If you haven’t watched that one yet, you can check it out on Hulu.

The Ledge had a very simple approach, but sometimes less is more and I think that this style really suited the film.

Images courtesy of Evolution Pictures

Brittany Ashworth is fantastic!

I loved her character and I thought her performance was believable. She was very easy to root for in this. We didn’t get too much set-up in this film, but the layers of her character were later revealed during her climb and I thought that this helped the audience connect to her journey that much more.

The Cons:

Images courtesy of Evolution Pictures

Some over-acting from others…

While Brittany Ashworth really gave it her all, the guys didn’t have the same impact. There was some over-acting going on and these characters didn’t really do much for me even though we got some glimpses of potential here and there. This wasn’t a major con, but since some of the acts we witnessed were really brutal and violent, I wanted a little bit more out of the performances so that the intensity matched. Screaming “bitch” over and over isn’t really that original or effective…

So am I in or out?

Images courtesy of Evolution Pictures

I’m in!

The Ledge may seem like your average thriller, but it really delivers with brutal intensity and a captivating performance. If you enjoy films like Alone (2020) and The River Wild, you will thoroughly enjoy this adventure-thriller.

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on The Ledge (2022) in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

DON’T TAKE THE JOB…

It was only supposed to be temporary…but when Olivia Crewe accepts a new position that seems too good to be true, she soon discovers that twelve other girls previously had the same job as her. Only none of them lasted for more than thirty days. No notice. Nothing…right before they mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

My supernatural thriller Girl Number Thirteen is out now! I hope you enjoy!

Girl Number Thirteen is available here!

**If you enjoyed this blog, I would love it if you would click the follow button on your way out to subscribe.  Thanks for your support!