Sweet River (2020)

Directed by: Justin McMillan | 101 minutes | horror | Actors: Jack Ellis, Lisa Kay, Jeremy Waters, Chris Haywood, Charlotte Stent, Rob Carlton, Jordan Shields, Geneviève Lemon, Martin Sacks, Cymone Rose, Bryan Probets, Sam Parsonson, Eddie Baroo, James McGregor, Jayden McGinlay

Talk about misleading titles! ‘Sweet River’ sounds like an anonymous romcom, but turns out to be an intensely nasty horror thriller. A film about infanticide. In any case, this Australian production is well worth checking out for genre fans!

In Sweet River, Hanna (Lisa Kay) moves to a sugar plantation owned by her new neighbors John (Martin Sacks) and Elenor Drake (Geneviève Lemon). This trio shares an intense sadness. They all lost their children. Hanna’s son Joey was presumed dead after he was kidnapped and Elenor’s daughters lost their lives in a traffic accident. Hanna learns that her son has been the victim of a serial killer who targeted young people. This killer took his own life after being caught. Hanna realizes that the chance that her son is still alive is nil, but wants to know where he is. To close an inky chapter. In the village where the serial killer lived, she hopes to find answers. However, the villagers are not happy with that…

‘Sweet River’ relies heavily on atmosphere. Director Justin McMillan manages to maintain this doomsday ambiance throughout the entire film. You just feel that something isn’t right. Something is wrong with the villagers, but what? The cast knows that their performance needs to be strongly supported and puts its best foot forward. The acting is very good and you can almost feel the despair of the broken parents. Very well done. The rolls must have been very heavy. In addition to the strong cast, ‘Sweet River’ also features a beautiful soundtrack that enhances the gloomy atmosphere.

All sounds good right? Unfortunately, there is a downside in the form of the playing time: it could have been a bit shorter. Sometimes the film drags a bit, because the tension is slacking. A somewhat tighter direction (read: smoother editing) could have prevented this. Nevertheless, ‘Sweet River’ is a nice dark horror thriller that gets under your skin.