Where do I start? I first watched the film and was really disappointed. Weird acting. Horrible dialogues and almost no plot. It was really hard to stick to it, because it was just super boring. Then I did some research and found interviews and even a making of. They all seem nice somehow and maybe even tried to make something here. But it lacks on all ends. I mean honestly. I had a little sympathy, but it is also really pathetic to make a making of about yourself and a film, that nobody cares about and nobody heard anything about anyone in the film yet. You can make that maybe if the film itself is a success. Then I also realized that the writer, director, producer and camera person is one person. And it seems to be somehow a personal project. Emily Skye had a troubled relationship and so on. And River in the film is, quote : something special. WTF.. sounds like major ego issues. What even happened to her? I hated the music. I don't mean the sound, but the cringy spring break music. While watching I was also asking myself why the mother of river acts so super weird. Who cuts a cucumber like that and looks like a lunatic. And why is she talking so weird. Then I read she is deaf for many years already. Respect for that, but why would I choose someone like that, when she just sounds so weird and is has nothing to do with the story? It is just irritating. I give 2 out of 10 for the effort though. But it's definitely a film to skip. You could literally make a better film with an iphone.
57 Reviews
Could be worse for a low budget ... thing.
seroom13 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A hint: don't let mentally unstable with suicidal tendencies drive - Dr. Glenn, (they drive a lot in this ... movie thing). Typical flapping fest to lead and supporting actresses, still you girls were ok. Get a sane screenwriter/director for your next projects.
The critics are right, sadly
veronicabrown934 September 2021
I happened to see the directors instagram story, that apparently someone has been trolling her and her film, so I decided to give her film a chance, since I'm a filmoholic like forever. And even though I think, that the trolling itself is something really obnoxious, I have to come to the conclusion, that her film is unfortunately really as bad as it's critics. I think it's difficult here to reduce that and put that in the light of a gender discussion. We've had female filmmakers. We've had Bigelow, Agnes Varda, we have Greta Gerwig, we have Sofia Coppola and we have Claire Denis just to mention a few. The world doesn't necessarily need Emily Skye so far. And for sure not her film. I think these about 50 reviews do not seem like a fake or trolling. I think for a debut and a film that is featured on amazon and Apple TV it is probably a fair number. Maybe her next efforts will be better, but this one is clearly a film to avoid watching. If you read the critics reviews from websites outside imdb the reviews are pretty much the same. No troll around, just a bad film. Just go to rotten tomatoes or letterboxd. It is the same. Rotten Tomatoes has 5 reviews, 4 of them are saying basically that it's a bad film. Actual critics. At some point you gotta accept when your work wasn't as good as you expected. Time to face it not finding excusing or say it's because a woman made it. That's ridiculous.
No Plot No Brain
camillabchristensen16 July 2021
Terrible film
there is absolutely nothing in it
i fell sorry for the people involved
horrible writing
no plot structure
also fun to see the fake ratings
10 our of 10 lol
go back to 101 screenwriting
annoying characters
cheap music
huge cringe factor.
Having a drone and a red doesn't make you a filmmaker
floydrose-4299116 July 2021
Plot holes all over the place. Badly written characters and dialogues. Implausible in general. No thrills or suspense at all. The worst beyond belief episode is the citizen kane compared to this bag of rotten potatoes. I never felt so bad spending time on watching a film. Missed it's target by far.
ridiculous
rocktronix-4501016 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I watched because I was curious after reading the reviews here. I hoped to see it different, but in fact the whole experience is just ridiculously silly. For instance : you make a film and you can do whatever you want and you make the character disappear for 1 (!) week. Really ? One week ? You could have gone with a month, a year or why not even a decade. But no, it's one fricken week ^^ haha
and the house is already available for sale. Like.. after a week.. hahaha.
only whining and whining and no real content
dylanhenryford16 July 2021
Young filmmakers need to know the difference between story and plot. Some nice shots here and there, but nothing special. The film suffers from bad writing. Poor dialogues. Empty faces of all characters. It looks like even they felt uncomfortable. I don't get the voice overs at all. All in all a miss. Won't watch ever again.
RIVEEEURR
riverallen-4489016 July 2021
Huge letdown
marybishop-4938217 July 2021
Some may think 1 out of 10 is a bit hard, but think about all the films in the world. I don't even know if there is any film I'd give 10. I'd give Alien a strong 9 and this is a real masterpiece. I'd give 9 for apocalypse now and 8 for shining. 1 for this is even too much. There is almost no story arch at all. It repeats itself all the time, the characters are flat and the writing is... I don't even know... just not good. No suspense.. no conclusion or anything in the end. As if she took the short and just threw a few characters in. You could cut out that bearded guy entirely and it wouldn't change a damn thing. I suggest to read a few books.
Cry me a river
felicity_parker17 July 2021
This film was just trash. Absolutely brain dead. 1 star for the music. Even though it was a little too present, but some nice sounds. I regret having spent money in this. I didn't want to watch any more of it after 10 minutes but went until the end and it just didn't get any better. It is not that everything has to be explained, but at least something. You can't just demand the audience to accept everything without any justification. There is no story.. Someone being sad and grieving is not a story. As much as I'd like to support other women... Worst film in a long time.
Good contribution for the transgender community !
laurenmitchell-5585011 December 2021
It might not be the greatest film in its whole, but it is a good example that even transgender actresses can perform as equal as her colleagues. No need to be ashamed. The crying scenes were so amazing. The transgender actress has really beautiful hair. I wonder if the red is real though. Keep on rocking !
I see the potential
dionaberishainfo16 July 2021
I see a lot of potential all round. A debut film is never easy especially on no budget. Kudos to the team. It's all artistic preference and can only get better from here.
Cinematography and grading was really good.
Music was good, I follow the composer and her work is actually incredible - she is a modern classical composer so I guess this was trying out a whole other style of music, sound palette is great
I say it again - all i see from Miss Skye is potential - and drive - Looking forward to.
Cinematography and grading was really good.
Music was good, I follow the composer and her work is actually incredible - she is a modern classical composer so I guess this was trying out a whole other style of music, sound palette is great
I say it again - all i see from Miss Skye is potential - and drive - Looking forward to.
This is what happens when people make films without learning the craft. Worst film I have watched in ages.
filmfreak_london16 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Debuts are never easy. Many people don't even get there. And making a film in general deserves a certain amount of respect. But this film was almost entirely unwatchable to me. Sure, tastes are different. But there a certain things, that are not about taste but about knowledge.
Film exists now for almost 130 years and the ways how stories work and how stories fascinate us, haven't changed that much, because it goes back to actual story telling that goes back thousands of years.
It is simple. Know the rules to break the rules. You can't want to build a bridge, because you once crossed one. You need to learn the basics. How does the bridge hold up to not break and crash.
Making a film is like flying a plane. You need to know all the knobs and mechanisms. There is a start, the flight and actual journey, and the landing. And in between maybe a drink, a sandwich or any kind of refreshment. And then on top of that you can try new things and go other ways (maybe not on a plane though). And then let the people out safely.. climax.. Here it's like you took a plane for a bus. It never got up.
It is like being an architect. There is no real structure. And people today are not dumb. Many people do know really well about stories. And then there are the others who just say either wow, that was great or wow, what a huge load of crackers.
This is actually one of the worst films I've ever watched. Goes into a category like Tommy Wiseau's The room. But the room is fun at least. I would recommend to really dive into story structures and storytelling. Leave the arrogance behind. Learn the anatomies of a film. Learn rhythm and editing. And just then. You can make a film.
It literally takes 37 minutes for anything to happen. And if the makers don't know what I mean, well, then I know I'm right.
Everyone knows it's sad when someone dies in general. If it's someone you were close with. Instead of wasting almost 40 minutes with crying and walking around and dragging, show it in like 2 minutes or let's say 5 at max.
For example. The film opens. RIVER. River and Mom are shopping in any kind of store. Having casual fun. Whatsoever. Maybe even have a mini argue. Let them drive in a car and reconcile. River is maybe about to leave the city to study ? And then they have a casual conversation, a hug, a smile and then Boom. A car crashes in the side of the car. Mommy dead now. Audience sad. A life changing incident. You could even make it look like her mother got her very young, so you don't know first if she's her friend, sister or maybe mother. Then you would've had already a handful of surprises just in the opening scene. That's filmmaking.
You can do that within 5 minutes. And spend the rest of the 85 minutes in actually telling something.
Ever heard of show don't tell ? The films starts with something like : You know my mother was only 17 years older than me? This is a huge thing. This is a thing you can put the entire film on. And this is exactly what I am talking about. They simply do not know how to write. This could be the main conflict of any film. You don't go and say that in the first written dialogue.
The dialogues in general are terrible. Cringe overload. The entire film is so one dimensional. Again, the beginning. Sad faces like her mother died right in that moment. Way too much info. Let them sit there and be sad and don't tell already who's grave that is. That would instantly make an audience curious. That's natural. We all seek meaning. Don't sit there and tell.
Then do a flashback if you want. But reveal later. Don't let the mother tell 50 times how she loves her by words. Show it differently.
And also the shaky camera throughout the entire movie? Hello? This is 2001 calling, Kiefer Sutherland and 24 want their crew back.
No offense to the actors, they did what they can with what they got. Fair enough. I don't know much about the director or screenwriter. I also wish I could reply to other critics. Soulful and deep ? Yeah, if you measure Sci-Fi by films like After earth or the cell or even Pandorum. Sci-Fi is huge. There is Kubrick, Scott, Nolan, Villeneuve, Cronenberg, Carpenter, Verhoeven, Spielberg, Lucas etc. Do your research. This is not even a black mirror episode. It's even too bad to win a razzie. I also didn't like the grading. Too many lense flairs. Looks like a commercial for a perfume in a grocery store. I hope the actors ever get another job. The music was okay, but also a little too much and sounds out of the box. Sounds almost like license free music you can buy pre recorded. It can only get better from here. This was just a waste of resources.
Film exists now for almost 130 years and the ways how stories work and how stories fascinate us, haven't changed that much, because it goes back to actual story telling that goes back thousands of years.
It is simple. Know the rules to break the rules. You can't want to build a bridge, because you once crossed one. You need to learn the basics. How does the bridge hold up to not break and crash.
Making a film is like flying a plane. You need to know all the knobs and mechanisms. There is a start, the flight and actual journey, and the landing. And in between maybe a drink, a sandwich or any kind of refreshment. And then on top of that you can try new things and go other ways (maybe not on a plane though). And then let the people out safely.. climax.. Here it's like you took a plane for a bus. It never got up.
It is like being an architect. There is no real structure. And people today are not dumb. Many people do know really well about stories. And then there are the others who just say either wow, that was great or wow, what a huge load of crackers.
This is actually one of the worst films I've ever watched. Goes into a category like Tommy Wiseau's The room. But the room is fun at least. I would recommend to really dive into story structures and storytelling. Leave the arrogance behind. Learn the anatomies of a film. Learn rhythm and editing. And just then. You can make a film.
It literally takes 37 minutes for anything to happen. And if the makers don't know what I mean, well, then I know I'm right.
Everyone knows it's sad when someone dies in general. If it's someone you were close with. Instead of wasting almost 40 minutes with crying and walking around and dragging, show it in like 2 minutes or let's say 5 at max.
For example. The film opens. RIVER. River and Mom are shopping in any kind of store. Having casual fun. Whatsoever. Maybe even have a mini argue. Let them drive in a car and reconcile. River is maybe about to leave the city to study ? And then they have a casual conversation, a hug, a smile and then Boom. A car crashes in the side of the car. Mommy dead now. Audience sad. A life changing incident. You could even make it look like her mother got her very young, so you don't know first if she's her friend, sister or maybe mother. Then you would've had already a handful of surprises just in the opening scene. That's filmmaking.
You can do that within 5 minutes. And spend the rest of the 85 minutes in actually telling something.
Ever heard of show don't tell ? The films starts with something like : You know my mother was only 17 years older than me? This is a huge thing. This is a thing you can put the entire film on. And this is exactly what I am talking about. They simply do not know how to write. This could be the main conflict of any film. You don't go and say that in the first written dialogue.
The dialogues in general are terrible. Cringe overload. The entire film is so one dimensional. Again, the beginning. Sad faces like her mother died right in that moment. Way too much info. Let them sit there and be sad and don't tell already who's grave that is. That would instantly make an audience curious. That's natural. We all seek meaning. Don't sit there and tell.
Then do a flashback if you want. But reveal later. Don't let the mother tell 50 times how she loves her by words. Show it differently.
And also the shaky camera throughout the entire movie? Hello? This is 2001 calling, Kiefer Sutherland and 24 want their crew back.
No offense to the actors, they did what they can with what they got. Fair enough. I don't know much about the director or screenwriter. I also wish I could reply to other critics. Soulful and deep ? Yeah, if you measure Sci-Fi by films like After earth or the cell or even Pandorum. Sci-Fi is huge. There is Kubrick, Scott, Nolan, Villeneuve, Cronenberg, Carpenter, Verhoeven, Spielberg, Lucas etc. Do your research. This is not even a black mirror episode. It's even too bad to win a razzie. I also didn't like the grading. Too many lense flairs. Looks like a commercial for a perfume in a grocery store. I hope the actors ever get another job. The music was okay, but also a little too much and sounds out of the box. Sounds almost like license free music you can buy pre recorded. It can only get better from here. This was just a waste of resources.
catastrophe
jezzrivers22 July 2021
Even though I almost share the leads name I can't bond with that piece of trash. There is no depth at all. Boring and bloodless. Nothing happens. Stupid looks. Waste of time. All characters are almost the same. That's due to rotten writing skills. Way too much crying and whining. All over stupid.
Flush it down
anastasia_boca17 July 2021
Do you know the so bad it's good again thing ? It's not the case. The movie just sucks unfortunately. It's superficial nonsense and nothing really happens. One could cut this film into a shorter version than the previous short attempt. I wish no one to have a therapist like the one in the film. What kind of store is this even ? The characters serve no real purpose and in almost every scene some characters pop up out of the blue. River and Amanda are doing things in the garden and looking for the time capsule after being inside doing other stuff. And then eureka Jamie pops up. Like he was wandering around for hours in the backyard and no one is asking dude how did you get here. As if a 12 year old wrote that script. Oh boy.
really really bad
beanz-0024426 July 2021
Worldwide seems to be a lie
rampere-7619018 July 2021
I am from spain and you cannot find the film anywhere. I also have friends in Berlin and Paris and you cannot find it there either. Why put under every video and post worldwide then? It is like click bait. I found a leaked version online and I am glad I didn't spend any money in it.
Air ball
jamieutah17 July 2021
I am tired of this standard electronic Arpeggio stuff everywhere since Stranger Things. This just tries to sound like that but it's just a carpet of synth waves with no substance. I think I heard a Korg Polysix, but probably just a plug in. Get a real composer. It's like you let a drunken person sit on a synthesizer.
Bad story with good actors
gabsi-metin14 July 2021
Me at 63 minutes: this movie is dragging so badly, but I can't stop now. I have already invested a whole hour into it. Only 30 more minutes!
Also me at 85 minutes: This ending is worse than the thought I would never get these 90 minutes back.
In all honesty - the acting was really good! The setting was also captivating. But, really! The screenwriting was terrible! At first I kept thinking, ok ok, tie a few knots, can't wait to see how they untie. But the constant overexplaing of how her friend is looking out for her and that rotten ending just spoiled the entire experience. I am glad I didn't pay for this movie. Even the free version I watched hurt me so badly. Won't even consider watching anything from Emily Skye again.
Also me at 85 minutes: This ending is worse than the thought I would never get these 90 minutes back.
In all honesty - the acting was really good! The setting was also captivating. But, really! The screenwriting was terrible! At first I kept thinking, ok ok, tie a few knots, can't wait to see how they untie. But the constant overexplaing of how her friend is looking out for her and that rotten ending just spoiled the entire experience. I am glad I didn't pay for this movie. Even the free version I watched hurt me so badly. Won't even consider watching anything from Emily Skye again.
what the heck did i just watch ?
sonyahancock-0718730 July 2021
I don't even know what to call it. Who let them do it? This is the worst -insertwordhere- I have ever seen in my entire life. I'd rather stick knives in my eyes than watching that ever again or any other film by the director.
SciFi for the soulful
elliot-7512714 July 2021
River is scifi grounded in very honest human storytelling - the result is intriguing, mysterious and like all good cinema leaves us with ourselves to ask questions and reflect on bigger ideas. At a time when many believe wrongly that "science fiction" is short hand for explosions, mindless action and spectacle at the cost of substance, River reminds those of us who know otherwise that humans will always be the greatest special effect of them all.
worst film ever
lauraplummer902 August 2021
Really bad acting, horrifying screenplay and simply no real story or plot at all. I love movies since early childhood and I honestly never saw something that bad. Thinking about the dialogues makes me want to throw up. Every line is like from a fortune cookie. Simply dumb and generic. I saw the director is already filming her next project and that looks even more stupid already. Instead of taking the time to reflect. More nice hairstyles to come and big time cringe. They should give the money to people who actually have to tell something. Honestly it's not worth a dime.
Welcome to Dullywood !
barbarastain31 July 2021
horrible by any means
davetucker-9571926 July 2021
Dude. This. Was. Pure. Trash. It looks and feels all the time like a poorn film where you cut out all the explicit scenes XD and it's also what they all probably would be better at . Some bcc action with the two girls.
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