Proving that nothing is safe from the industry’s incessant desire to capitalize on repurposed IP, Netflix will be streaming River Wild exclusively in the United States beginning from August 23.
If that name doesn’t ring a bell, then that’s completely understandable given that its predecessor isn’t quite held up as an all-time classic, although it was a hugely successful, widely-acclaimed, and award-nominated hybrid of outdoor adventure and nail-biting thriller.
Released in 1994, Curtis Hanson’s The River Wild followed a family that saw their vacation take a turn for the worse when they end up being taken hostage by armed fugitives. The movie netted almost $100 million at the box office, landed Meryl Street and Kevin Bacon Golden Globe nods, with the ensemble also featuring David Straithairn, Joseph Mazzello, John C. Reilly, and Benjamin Bratt.
This time around, the lead characters will be brought to life by Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, with the real-life married couple playing estranged siblings who head off on a whitewater rafting trip alongside Taran Killian’s childhood friend, only to be caught in the midst of a killer deliberately trying to sabotage their excursion in an effort to bury secrets from the past once and for all.
Existing somewhere between a reboot, remake, and standalone sequel, co-writer and director Ben Ketai’s reimagined take on the story is the sort of no-nonsense thriller that’s destined to enjoy a solid opening weekend on Netflix, even if it’s got a lot of catching up to do in order to secure a fraction of the success enjoyed by The River Wild almost 30 years ago.