Movie Review: River of Blood (2024)
Synopsis: Long-time friends Ajay and Ritchie are vacationing in Southeast Asia with their wives, Jasmine and Maya and decide to take a 2-day kayaking tour. Things become strained when Ritchie learns Ajay and Jasmine have been having an affair and she is pregnant with Ajay's child. Things turn even worse when they enter a restricted part of the river and anger an indigenous cannibal tribe that kills their guide then begins hunting them down.
Who's in it? The movie stars Joseph Millson, Sarah Alexandra Marks, Ella Starbuck, David Wayman and Louis James.
Review: I gifted my wife a day at the nail salon as one of her Mother's Day presents and, when she got home, let her pick out a movie for us to watch. After scrolling through Amazon Prime, she selected River of Blood.
It had been a long time since we watched a cannibal movie and, based on the description and the jungle setting, I hoped this would be one of the better ones. Unfortunately, while it wasn't the worst cannibal film we've seen, it did fall well short of being what I would describe as a "good" movie too.
I think my biggest problem with this movie is there really wasn't anyone in that group of friends I would consider the protagonist/hero of the film. Ritchie (Wayman) was the guy who ultimately put their lives in danger. Ajay (James) cheating on his wife with his best friend's wife and did multiple other things that just made him unlikable to the point he didn't deserve the character redemption he was later granted. Jasmine (Marks) was cheating on her husband, dressed like she was going to a club, not on a kayaking trip in the jungle and mostly served as the damsel in distress. Maya (Starbuck) did nothing wrong but also didn't really do much of anything.
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think this movie was dragged down by quite a bit of sexism. The women were just there to be rescued and the guy who ended up being the one to do it didn't deserve the honor. Had Maya or the pregnant Jasmine stepped up, I might have had a different view. Heck, that biker woman (Tiffany Hannam-Daniels) could have even filled the void had she not been nothing more than a secondary character for the cannibals to kill off.
Another problem with the movie is it has, as I mentioned, a great location for a cannibal film but fails to take advantage of it. They are supposed to be in a dangerous jungle, with crocodiles, venomous snakes and various other life-threatening things. Yet, the movie never shows any of those dangers.
I also found it hard to root against the cannibals. I mean, they were nice enough to draw a line and agree not to attack anyone unless they crossed into their territory. As far as I'm concerned, they held up their end of the deal and I'm sorry, but it is hard to enjoy a movie like this when the "villains" really aren't.
Final Opinion: As I said, it wasn't the worst cannibal movie I've seen. However, it failed to live up to its potential, both by wasting the dangerous setting and not giving the main female characters anything to do except be rescued.
My Grade: C
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Here are some reviews of other cannibal movies:
Movie Review: Pandorum (2009)
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