Wire report
River review – so-so survival slasher offers more of the same and little else
Toronto film festival: strong performances from two experienced scream queens and some surprisingly thoughtful direction can’t elevate yet another stalk-by-numbers horror It would be unwise and unfair to expect that Toronto’s genre-led Midnight Madness strand would open with quite the same jolt as it did last year with the record-breaking horror hit Obsession . That film was an outlier in almost every respect , both as it premiered and as it was unleashed on wider crowds, the highest-grossing festival acquisition of all time topping out at over $513m worldwide and sparking genuine Oscar buzz. But it hasn’t curbed the thirst, or wider speculation, over whether anything might come even remotely close to what Curry Barker achieved and whether the festival might start to rival Sundance as the smartest place for new and exciting horror film-makers to premiere their debut projects. The jury is
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Toronto film festival: strong performances from two experienced scream queens and some surprisingly thoughtful direction can’t elevate yet another stalk-by-numbers horror It would be unwise and unfair to expect that Toronto’s genre-led Midnight Madness strand would open with quite the same jolt as it did last year with the record-breaking horror hit Obsession . That film was an outlier in almost every respect , both as it premiered and as it was unleashed on wider crowds, the highest-grossing festival acquisition of all time topping out at over $513m worldwide and sparking genuine Oscar buzz. But it hasn’t curbed the thirst, or wider speculation, over whether anything might come even remotely close to what Curry Barker achieved and whether the festival might start to rival Sundance as the smartest place for new and exciting horror film-makers to premiere their debut projects. The jury is
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What happened
According to The Guardian’s source item, River review – so-so survival slasher offers more of the same and little else, Toronto film festival: strong performances from two experienced scream queens and some surprisingly thoughtful direction can’t elevate yet another stalk-by-numbers horror It would be unwise and unfair to expect that Toronto’s genre-led Midnight Madness strand would open with quite the same jolt as it did last year with the record-breaking horror hit Obsession . That film was an outlier in almost every respect , both as it premiered and as it was unleashed on wider crowds, the highest-grossing festival acquisition of all time topping out at over $513m worldwide and sparking genuine Oscar buzz. But it hasn’t curbed the thirst, or wider speculation, over whether anything might come even remotely close to what Curry Barker achieved and whether the festival might start to rival Sundance as the smartest place for new and exciting horror film-makers to premiere their debut projects. The jury is
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Culture file for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-09-11T18:08:05+00:00.
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Primary source: River review – so-so survival slasher offers more of the same and little else via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- River review – so-so survival slasher offers more of the same and little elseThe Guardian - 2026-09-11T18:08:05+00:00
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