River of Blood

No pun intended - I don't think the title and the movie itself leaves too much to the imagination. Not sure if you know what this is about, but even if you haven't read the summary about what is going to go down (and can't imagine what the river or rather why it is filled (?) with blood) ... well the first minutes will clue you in to say the least.

The horror movie trope where we get the very first shocks ... and which sets the tone for the rest of the movie. What happens next ... well we get new characters ... and we are supposed to get to know them and care for them. I am not sure that will happen for everyone ... just saying and giving you a heads up. A low budget horror movie .. like it or not (no pun intended)

Stumbling upon the 2024 horror movie "River of Blood" by random chance here in 2025, of course I had to watch it, given my lifelong admiration of the horror genre. Sure, I had never even heard about this movie from writer Tom Boyle and director Howard J. Ford, but that hardly mattered as it was a horror movie.

The storyline in the movie is fair enough. I mean, it was a straightforward and enjoyable enough script and storyline, but writer Tom Boyle didn't exactly bring anything new to the cannibal subgenre of horror movies. It has been seen and done before in much older movies. Now, that doesn't make "River of Blood" a poor or boring movie, not at all, but just don't get your expectations winded up too high.

I was not familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. And despite of having a rather small cast ensemble, and thus having more pressure on the actors and actresses to perform well in order to carry the movie, I will say that the actors and actresses did put on good performances in "River of Blood".

Effects-wise, then "River of Blood" was okay. There was a little bit of blood and gore in the movie, which was disappointing to say the least. Why? Well, with "River of Blood" being a cannibal movie, then you would assume and expect to have way more blood, mutilations and visceral brutality in the scenes.

Visually the movie was good, they had shot the movie in some nice locations.

Sure, if you've never seen a cannibal movie before, then you might be getting a bigger kick out of watching "River of Blood" than I did. But then again, I've watched more than my share of cannibal movies over the years. And while "River of Blood" was a watchable movie, it just wasn't outstanding.

Watchable, for sure, but hardly an extraordinary horror experience.

My rating of director Howard J. Ford's 2024 movie "River of Blood" lands on a five out of ten stars.

River of Blood" plunges viewers into a heart-pounding nightmare as two couples on a kayaking trip find themselves at the mercy of a cannibalistic tribe. The film taps into primal fears and the age-old conflict between 'civilized' masculinity and the untamed savagery of the wild. What elevates "River of Blood" beyond a simple slasher is its character-driven narrative. One male character, initially portrayed as flawed and driven by jealousy, undergoes a compelling transformation. His journey towards redemption, culminating in a sacrificial act to protect the women, resonates with classic masculine archetypes. The film's action sequences are brutal and effective, delivering raw, unflinching fight scenes that enhance the sense of danger. While not a masterpiece, "River of Blood" offers a thrilling and ultimately satisfying cinematic experience for those seeking a visceral and thematically rich action flick.

Bad bad acting. I saw the trailer & thought wow, I have got to see this which I did...just now & I need all those minutes of my life back please 🙏

The only thing good about this movie was the ending lol. It ended differently to how I predicted it to end after the first 30 minutes of hurting my brain watching it & usually my ending predictions are pretty spot on so that's the only thing it had going for it lol.

I kept looking on all of my available streaming platforms to try to find it as I was prepared to pay to watch it after seeing the trailer but a friend got a copy of it. Gee thanks friend lol.

There's a lot that is good. Bringing back the old trashy cannibal flick is a great idea and the way it sets itself up works pretty well.

The acting's good enough, it looks good, the kills aren't bad and the music's a positive so why does it miss?

There's 4 tourists and 2 of them are the most insufferable, the, you want to watch them bleed for a long time type of people, and it takes the time to show you that. Jasmine and especially AJ.

And then It makes them main characters.......and they stay insufferable. It does not make up for their continued presence with fantastic kills, laughs or clever plot developments. It annoys you constantly while the action is going on and it didn't have to.

There is a lot of enjoyment here but and if you can overlook that you'll like it. But annoying was not the word I wanted to describe this with and it is.

So disappointing.