# The River (2012)

> A family and film crew search the Amazon for a missing wildlife expert, and the journey turns deadly and mysterious.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/36146

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 8
- Episode runtime: 43 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: horror, mystery, drama
- Created by: Michael R. Perry, Oren Peli
- Network: ABC
- Cast: Bruce Greenwood, Joe Anderson, Leslie Hope, Eloise Mumford, Paul Blackthorne, Thomas Kretschmann, Daniel Zacapa, Shaun Parkes
- TMDB rating: 6.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1836195/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: eerie, tense, claustrophobic, foreboding, paranoid

## What critics say

Mixed audience reception: viewers found the found footage Amazon survival mystery gripping in its early episodes but felt its scares and mystery were uneven.

## Synopsis

The River (2012) is an American found footage horror mystery series created by Michael R. Perry and Oren Peli for ABC. Bruce Greenwood plays wildlife expert and TV personality Emmet Cole, who vanishes deep in the Amazon while filming a popular nature show. His wife Tess (Leslie Hope) and son Lincoln (Joe Anderson) lead friends and crew into the rainforest in search of him, and the engine of the series is their growing desperation as each episode uncovers more of the jungle's hostility and the mystery of what happened to Emmet. Presented largely through camera footage the characters themselves are shooting, the eight-episode season builds a sense of dread and fraying trust among people who are both rescuers and suspects. Set in the present-day South American jungle, the series moves with the unsettling intimacy of a documentary turned nightmare, with tense, claustrophobic tones and eerie stretches of silence. Its atmosphere and survival focus recall the paranoia of Lost and the disorienting wilderness mystery of Lake Mungo, and fans of found footage horror will find resonance in its raw, handheld approach. The single season was canceled, leaving the central search unfinished.

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