A family trip down a remote waterway turns into a fight for survival in RIVER, the suspenseful new slasher from writer-director Joshua Giuliano. Making its World Premiere at TIFF 2026, the film brings together family drama, rural isolation and a terrifying masked killer in what promises to be an intense new entry in the modern slasher genre.
With Jane Levy, Jessica Rothe, Dane DiLiegro and Max Mattern leading the cast, River places three estranged siblings in an environment where there is nowhere to run, and the danger is slowly closing in around them.
Plot
Three embittered siblings reunite for a difficult family obligation: scattering the ashes of their late father.
What should be a quiet final farewell instead becomes a nightmare when their family motorboat stalls beneath a derelict bridge along a remote rural waterway.
With the siblings stranded, years of resentment and unresolved family wounds begin bubbling to the surface. Old arguments resurface, accusations are exchanged, and the isolation of the river makes their already fragile relationship increasingly volatile.
Then they notice someone watching them.
A strange man stands silently on the shoreline. Tall, imposing and seemingly devoid of emotion, he offers no explanation for his presence. His anonymous appearance and unnerving stillness make it impossible for the siblings to determine exactly what they are dealing with.
But their questions quickly become less important than their survival.
When the mysterious figure stops simply watching and begins to act, the three siblings have no choice but to put their differences aside. If they want to escape the river alive, they will have to work together.
River
- Director: Joshua Giuliano
- Starring: Jane Levy, Jessica Rothe, Dane DiLiegro, Max Mattern
- Genre: Horror, Thriller
- Runtime: 92 mins
A Slasher Built Around Sound and Suspense
For horror fans, one of the most intriguing aspects of RIVER is director Joshua Giuliano’s previous work with the slasher genre.
His acclaimed 2018 short film In Sound, We Live Forever experimented with the relationship between sound and image, allowing audiences to hear violence before witnessing its consequences.
That approach appears to inform RIVER, where suspense is rooted not only in what the characters see, but in the feeling that something terrible could be approaching from just beyond their line of sight.
The river itself becomes an important part of the horror. The siblings are surrounded by water, isolated from help and restricted in their ability to escape. What might normally be a peaceful natural environment becomes a claustrophobic trap.
Family Conflict Meets Survival Horror
While RIVER promises plenty of slasher tension, its setup also gives the film an emotional foundation.
The siblings aren’t particularly close when they arrive. Their father’s death has brought them together physically, but years of resentment have left emotional scars that haven’t healed.
Their confrontation with the masked killer changes that dynamic.
Suddenly, the family conflict that once seemed like their biggest problem becomes secondary. To survive, they must rediscover the connection between them, even as the killer exploits their isolation.
That combination of family drama and survival horror could give RIVER a little more emotional weight than a traditional slasher.
Cast
The film stars:
- Jane Levy
- Jessica Rothe
- Dane DiLiegro
- Max Mattern
Levy brings genre experience from projects including Evil Dead, while Rothe is particularly recognizable to horror audiences for Happy Death Day and Boy Kills World. DiLiegro, meanwhile, has become a familiar presence in creature and genre cinema, including Prey.
Their combined genre backgrounds make the casting particularly appealing for horror fans heading into TIFF.
Joshua Giuliano Makes His Feature Directing Debut
RIVER marks an important milestone for Joshua Giuliano, who expands on the ideas explored in his 2018 short In Sound, We Live Forever.
His feature debut appears to continue his interest in using the conventions of horror to create tension beyond the violence itself. The concept of a family stranded on a river, unable to escape a mysterious figure on the shore, provides a simple but effective foundation for sustained suspense.
RIVER TIFF 2026 Details
Title: RIVER
Director: Joshua Giuliano
Writer: Joshua Giuliano
Country: United States
Year: 2026
Runtime: 92 minutes
Language: English
Festival: Toronto International Film Festival 2026
Premiere: World Premiere
Genre: Horror / Slasher / Thriller
Where to get tickets: Tiff.net
