bob_meg There really should be a disclaimer at the start of films that rely on any form of fantasy to hold a plot together...at least ones that masquerade as a thriller, like "Blood River." To expect us to believe the "avenging angel" nonsense might fly on some Disney TV show or some bible-belt rouser like "In Search of Historic Jesus" but in the context of a traditional horror film, it's just lazy writing.I can't remember being so let down by a film. This is a very well-made, well-shot, generally well-acted picture that falls apart in its last twenty minutes through a variety of indecipherable and unclear "revelations" all of which may or may not be true. No one knows....no one. Every single post I've read falls back on either the angel explanation (which Mason obviously BELIEVES, according to interviews) or just meanders with semi-plausible, wistful thinking. The killing, torturing savior for Jesus, right? Ugh...fine. You believe...whatever. Don't insult the rest of us with this fairy nonsense.What really stinks is what a waste this film is. Lots of good character conflict, good dialog, some genuine tension...and it ends in a pseudo-Sunday school lesson. What a gyp.

Paul Andrews Blood River is set in the Nevada desert as loving couple Summer (Tess Panzer) & her husband Clark (Ian Duncan) drive across the lonely open expanses on route to Summer's parents house, while driving along one of the tyres on the car blows out & with no spare Summer & Clark are stranded miles from anywhere in the baking heat of the Nevada desert. Checking a map the only form of civilisation within walking distance is a town called Blood River, the couple walk there but discover Blood River is an abandoned ghost town. Then unexpectedly a stranger turns up, Joseph (Andrew Howard) claims that he ran out of gas & he too seeks help, the three decide to stick together but Joseph has some very strange ideas but it's Summer & Clark who are forced to face up to their sins & pay the price...Edited, co-written & directed Adam Mason this psychological thriller with a touch of the supernatural about it is well made & has a few nice moments but overall it's pretty forgettable & a bit too ambiguous for my liking. The script explains nothing, there are various ideas & themes thrown in but largely Blood River is a bit of a mystery. I suppose if four separate people watched Blood River it's entirely possible you would get four different interpretations of it but that's more because it's narrative is so bare rather than the fact it's amazingly deep or meaningful. Just what is it all about? The obvious answer is the idea of our sins catching up with us & the idea of what is worse, is committing a sin worse than knowing someone else has & not saying anything? The majority of Blood River features just three character's talking to each other in a single location exchanging thought's, ideas & exploring each others psychology in what has to be said is a fairly dull way. At an hour & three quarters long Blood River takes ages to ask various vague questions & then offer up no answers or explanations. Some of the dialogue is quite sharp, it's well written & has a certain fascination to it but the lack of any answers or explanation becomes very frustrating & Blood River ends up feeling rather pointless. I can't say I hated Blood River but I can't say I particularly liked it either & it is a somewhat frustrating film to watch.One thing going for Blood River is that it's extremely well made with the scorching Nevada desert playing it's part & almost becoming a character in itself. Don't expect much blood or gore, a guy is shot in the head, someone has two fingers cut off & a woman is seen in a bath with some cuts but nothing else.Filmed at Gold Point in Nevada the production values are really good, I am pretty sure Blood River had a fairly low budget but you wouldn't tell by looking at it. The acting is very good from the whole cast of three, a wide range of emotions & plenty of screen time give the character's a chance to develop, unfortunately the story does nothing with them.Blood River is a film that is very well made & looks nice, it has a psychological based story that steers between thriller & horror to decent effect. It's just that there are so many unanswered questions, so many scenes & dialogue exchanges that go nowhere or are left in the balance, I just found it a bit frustrating & not as rewarding as it should have been.

Robert W. No one loves dark horror slasher flicks better than me especially if it follows a certain formula and to me Blood River had all the makings of that great horror genre. Isolation, ghost town, mysterious stranger, stranded in the desert, a distinct western feel how could it go wrong? Well it can go wrong by just being boring. Gore is at a bare minimum and while the dark stranger and isolation would seem to be an easy setting for some nice intensity and thriller like qualities but instead the film crawls at a snails pace and you just want it to be over, a true disappointment.Ian Duncan and Tess Panzer play the young married couple who find themselves in a terrible accident in the desert. Ian Duncan looks crazed and insane right from square one. I think he looks the scariest of everyone and if overacting was an award he could take it home easily. Tess Panzer is great eye candy and she does the scream queen thing decently but it is just absurd how quickly and easily she trusts the strange cowboy. Ian Duncan plays the strange cowboy and psycho. In a better written and directed and created film he and his character might have been solid because he has enough experience as an actor but then they all do but this drivel of a story doesn't help.I think the biggest issue with Blood River is the pacing of the story. It just seems to go on and on and doesn't have enough twists and turns to keep you riveted to the story. The cast has very very little chemistry with each other whether its the husband and wife or either of them to killer you just don't sense any chemistry. Director Adam Mason apparently loves straight to video horror flicks having directed a handful of other ones which I have not seen and I hope for his sake he gets a better script to work with. I read a lot of reviews both on IMDb and independently and some of them were reasonably good calling this a creepy western, and well thought out and a stimulating thriller and I just didn't see it. This one for me was a dud in every sense of the word. 3/10

dkreds12 WOW!!!!!!! Blood River is amazing, It freaks you out, opens your mind, makes you think and really sticks to you. It's a truly unforgettable classic film. The cast was small but the acting was brilliant, intense, captivating and believable. The writers did a magnificent job of developing the characters, scene and entire storyline. I would love to see how each of them actors/ writers/ producers, follow this up. This is how films should be made. I'm going to tell everyone I know that they have to see it.........I will definitely see it again many times. I'm glad I went to the Newport Beach Film Festival. To all involved..........GREAT JOB!!!!!!