Rogue River

"We won't keep you. I promise." Michelle (Page) is sitting by a river getting ready to scatter her dad's ashes when Jon (Moseley) shows up and tells her it's illegal. When Michelle finds her car missing she accepts an offer of a ride by Jon. After going to his house and meeting his wife she begins to regret her decision. This is another example of liking a movie based on your expectations. I really thought this was going to be low budget and cheesy and I have to admit that it wasn't that bad. It is still a B movie, but it's a higher B movie. I really can't say that this is a good movie but it was much better then I expected and Moseley is really creepy in this. I was a little disturbed at some of the scenes and found myself turning away in some parts, but overall this is really not a bad movie. Overall, nothing amazing but for a short horror B movie you could do much worse. I give it a B.

I try not to compare films with others and just watch it based on its own merit. Having said that, I thought the film was not as bad as most reviews made it out to be. The story had potential and the actors were quite convincing in their role.

What lacked for me was the lead actress not being able to connect with the audience. I think one of the most important things that a protagonist has to do is to be able to establish some sort of rapport with the people watching the film, and this is something she failed to do with me. I thought most of her decisions were quite questionable, though I did like the ending.

On its own, the story lacked some character developments and seemed to be "hurried", as if the writer wanted to get into the "action" real quick. The result was that the suspense did not build enough to put me at the edge of my seat, so to speak. There were a lot of instances for this, but the writer and director failed to deliver on this aspect.

The cinematography is good though. Scenes were clear and the shots complimented the entire movie.

All in all, it's an okay movie to watch if there's nothing else, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it to friends.

When I picked up "Rogue River" it was for the sole reason that Bill Moseley was in it, that is why I wanted to see it.

"Rogue River" is about Mara who ventured into the woods to scatter her father's ashes into the river where he used to take her camping when she was a young girl. There she meets Jon, a friendly stranger who falls into conversation with her. Discovering her car missing, Jon offers her a ride, but she should know better than accept a ride from strangers.

For a movie of this kind, then "Rogue River" was actually quite good. The movie starts out good and lets you wonder about things, and gradually gives you more and more information about what is going on and the various people's abnormalities in personality, until it climaxes at its peak where it is like you are right there in the movie.

The movie is well directed and really captivating, even though there is not all that much new to be seen in the story. There were some nice, and somewhat devious, turn of events and twists to the storyline along the way, which worked out quite nice. And one of the best things about "Rogue River" was the way that you got to see more and more of the character's personalities and nature as the movie unfolded.

And the acting in the movie was quite good. "Rogue River" had a relatively small group of actors/actresses, but people really carried the movie so well with their performances in their given roles. Most memorable were Lucinda Jenney (playing Lea) and Bill Moseley (playing Jon).

Now, for a horror/thriller movie, there wasn't all that much scary stuff, but instead, "Rogue River" was great in building up thrills and setting up the story. And that is, how I imagine, that the movie worked out for the best. Had there been shocks and scare moments in the movie, it wouldn't have been the same; it wouldn't have been as psychologically thrilling as it was.

I enjoyed "Rogue River", though I was somewhat ambivalent about the ending of the movie. I wasn't sure if I liked how it ended, or if it was the appropriate way that it ended. I would probably have opted to go another way, had I been directing it. But hey, it is a matter of personal preference.

Thumbs up for "Rogue River".

By now i'm a bit afraid to watch flicks coming from the After Dark label. Most of them are okay but aren't gory or do has anything to show. There are of course some exceptions sadly this isn't.

I just couldn't care what happened with anybody in Rogue River. The acting was okay but not that it will win prices but it was a bit low on every grade. And it did also scriptwise. There's nothing original in it not that it has to be but it doesn't have anything to add towards the genre. Once the flick was over I thought, what did I just see and I couldn't really say it.

It's low on blood and gore, there's no nudity and some things you just could see coming. It's okay to watch it if you have nothing else to do or to watch but this wont become a classic. Luckily the way it was shot was rather good.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

Let's see...where do I start? Let's start with what you're craving throughout the entire length of the film, character development. This is a basically non-existent element of the movie. The protagonist is unlikeable, a judgment which I base only on the first thing she says. The main reason why is because I actually have nothing else to go by. Her first impression is never redeemed, because her character never develops in the slightest. The only purpose of her existence is to be tormented and scream. And no, most horror protagonists are not necessarily like that. As far as the antagonists go, they do get more and more insane throughout, so at least something's happening.

There's no shortage of plot holes. I won't spoil anything (not that you'd care). But, I will say that even the motives of the kidnappers I feel were not fully explained.

Of course there's endless horror cliché's, but you're already expecting that. There are however some very creepy and original moments near the beginning.

I've heard people claim this is similar to Timber Falls (???). I honestly don't understand that at all. There's two scenes which bare a very slight resemblance to it, everything else is totally different. Those two scenes are not enough to accuse it of ripping off Timber Falls. Also, let's remember that Timber Falls is a much better film.

Ending on a positive note, the acting is pretty good actually. It has Bill Mosley of course. The other performers are quite good as well though.

4/10